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(January 11, 2001, Gazette)
Unique
partnership
(L-R) Steven Rowe, Level III student;
Hayward Blake, member of the Board of Regents and Ascension principal;
Diane Cmor, QE II librarian; Michelle Snow, Office of Recruitment
of Promotion; Dr. Axel Meisen; and Darren Pike, Ascension vice-principal.
Memorial
University will become a computing technology and library services
resource for Conception Bay students thanks to an agreement announced
Dec. 14.
The unique educational partnership program will be piloted at
Ascension Collegiate in Bay Roberts.
A formal agreement for a one-year pilot program was signed in
March 2000. As in all partnerships, both parties expect to see
benefits from the agreement.
“At Ascension Collegiate we are always seeking ways to ensure
that our students are provided with the very best educational
experiences,” said principal Hayward C. Blake. “I believe
that this partnership with Memorial University will expand our
capacity to offer students quality learning opportunities and
will better prepare them for postsecondary studies.”
Under the partnership agreement, Ascension students will have
access to Webcat and interlibrary loan service at Memorial’s
QE II Library. The school’s learning resources specialists
have spent time on campus learning about the various resources
and a Web site has been created to guide students through the
resources available to them at the university. Ascension has
also been given access to the extensive computing communications
and technology resources at Memorial, especially those related
to product support services.
Dr. Axel Meisen, president of Memorial, said the partnership
builds on Memorial’s close connection with the high school
system and is consistent with the university’s mandate.
“Memorial is mandated to share its expertise with the community.
When Ascension Collegiate proposed the idea of this partnership
to us, we knew that this was something we needed to explore and
I am delighted to see this pilot program launched.”
The partnership agreement will also provide for a mentoring program
whereby Ascension students – as they decide upon which areas
of study to enrol – will have the opportunity to seek advice
from members of the Memorial University community.
By far the vast majority of Memorial students come from high
schools in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Dr. Meisen noted that
the partnership could yield a recruiting dividend.
“While the past couple of years have seen increases in the
percentage of eligible students who choose to attend Memorial,
there are areas within the province where there is significant
potential for attracting more students,” he said. “One
such area is the Avalon West School District, and Ascension Collegiate
is the largest senior high school in that district and we think
the partnership may encourage Ascension students to consider
making Memorial their university.”