Hundreds of students at Georgian College have withdrawn from their fall semester, as a result of this year’s lengthy faculty strike.
College officials said on Wednesday that 1,100 students dropped the semester. That’s up by about 700 students when compared to the withdrawal rate from 2016.
The college believes the increase is a result of the five-week long faculty strike that flared up in mid-October.
"Condensing the semester, it gives more of a rush, stressed finish,” Jonathan Edwards says. He withdrew from the semester. “I don't want to settle for subpar academic finishing."
College officials say of the 700 students who withdrew, about half say they will reapply to Georgian in the future. About 125 have already reapplied and will start in January.
The Ontario government has said those students who withdrew from the semester would get a full tuition refund. But some colleges have said they will hold back some fees.
Georgian College’s president says its student have received full tuition refund.
Students had two weeks from the resumption of classes to decide whether they wanted to continue with the condensed semester.
Officials say 470 applications have been filed to date to the Strike Relief Fund. Application will be accepted until the end of April.
Georgian College has about 11,500 full-time students.
