Southeast College unscathed by pandemic

The Southeast College campus in Estevan is coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic relatively unscathed, according to one of its staff members.

The college's marketing and communications manager Sheena Onrait says the college was able to pivot when the pandemic started which allowed it to function effectively over the last couple years.

"When we originally went home in March of 2020, we were able to quickly shift and adapt and put our programs online," Onrait said. "So that our programs and our students were able to finish out the year as best as possible."

"And then as we went into the next fall for enrolments, we kind of adopted a hybrid approach or a mixed philosophy where 'let's put as much face-to-face instruction as we can, but let's also plan for the alternative, and let's make sure that we have that back up and we have the ability to put our programs online when and if we need to."

Onrait said that after a bit of a dip when the pandemic first started, the college's enrolment numbers are strong again.

"Our adult ed basic education has already seen a significant number of applications for the fall, as well as our full-time programs that we're offering at Southeast College Estevan campus are also in very healthy positions."

Onrait added that there's always plans for new programs in the future, though there's nothing on the immediate horizon.

"As a regional college, we're always looking ahead and trying to determine what's the trend coming up, what's the student demand, what's the labour market demand, and what are the economic needs of our communities that we serve," she said.

"I would say that our options are always open."

Southeast College is holding an open house Tuesday April 26 from 2-6 p.m. at Estevan Comprehensive School.