Dental program suspension to continue at CNC

The College of New Caledonia has suspended its two-year dental hygiene program for at least another year.

The school initially suspended the program in April to help chip away at a $2.8 million deficit, but program upgrades – and heightened tuition that would likely come with it – have not been approved, meaning there will be at least two academic years missed.

“It didn’t happen the way we wanted it to. It has to be approved by the province as well, because part of that process was to look at a revised tuition as well,” says CNC Board Chair Vincent Prince. “The province has to approve all changes before the tuition could be increased for it.”

Prince added the college couldn’t afford to run the program as it was, and the revised curriculum will face the Education Council Approval Process this fall.

When the suspension was first announced, Dental Hygiene faculty member Carole Whitmer thought local dentists would suffer because of the cuts.

“There’s no dental hygiene program north of Vancouver and Vancouver Island and there no assistant program north of Kelowna. The reason the dental hygiene program was started here was because there was no dental hygienists in the north.”

As a result of the original cuts, 39 layoff notices went out, and 6 positions went unfilled.

Now, more layoffs could be ahead, as staff kept on board to educate the program’s second years will be without a progrgam next year.

Dean of the School of Health Sciences Sandra Theroux says CNC considers different strategies with the help of an outside layoff committee.

“One of those strategies is a soft hiring freeze, (A hiring freeze where candidates will only be considered for critical positions). Conversations about any labour adjustment strategies will begin in early 2016, and we’ll have the conversations before anything regarding layoffs is even considered.”

Theroux doesn’t want the decision to reflect negatively on the quality of the program.

“The dental hygiene program has been in Prince George for many, many years. It’s an excellent program, and I’m optimistic that the program will be re-established in a short period of time.”

In the meantime, The college will still offer a one-year dental assistant course, which was saved by a one-time, $268,000 grant from the province last year.