Confederation College Media Release
The Study North Initiative (SNI), is experiencing great success as it enters into its third year of the Northern Ontario college collaboration project.
The objective has been to engage Southern Ontario students looking for quality post-secondary options and inform them about the six great schools in Northern Ontario.
The success of the project is proving to be an economic stimulus for the partner colleges and Northern Ontario. Economic Modelling Specialists International (EMSI), an economic data firm specializing in education, states the average living expenses (room and board, personal expenses, transportation) of students who locate in Northern Ontario equals $15,755 per student, per year.
These new students will have a significant economic impact on Northern Ontario communities said Shawn Chorney, Vice-President Enrolment Management, Indigenous & Student Services of Canadore College.
“Based on the 180 plus enrolments to date, SNI has the potential to generate approximately $2.8 million in economic activity for Northern Ontario per academic year, and over $8.5 million over three years, well over doubling the project investment to date”.
The six SNI colleges have a significant economic impact on the communities in which they are located. “Together they contribute approximately $1.6 billion to Northern Ontario’s economy in tuition, housing and lifestyle spending,” said Dr. Ron Common, President of Sault College.
The Study North team are building on the mid-project momentum with a number of initiatives planned in key Southern Ontario markets throughout the fall and winter of 2016/2017.
“Through geo-segmentation analysis and qualitative research, Study North has identified key target audiences for the new season with marketing and recruiting efforts designed to reach these key targets. If the current trend continues, the project will be an extremely successful one.” said Theo Margaritis, Brand Strategist/Partner TWG Communications, Study North Project Lead.
The project is funded for three years but the long term impact of the marketing efforts coupled with the excellent collaboration between the six Northern Ontario colleges will prove beneficial for years to come.
“When we began the initiative, our market research identified students in the Greater Toronto Area were unable to identify a single college in Northern Ontario. Thanks to SNI, this will no longer be the case,” said Dr. Common.
SNI launched, with backing from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), in October 2014 as a cooperative undertaking of Northern Ontario’s six community colleges to market Northern Ontario schools to prospective students in Southern Ontario. The six Northern Ontario partner colleges include Confederation College, Thunder Bay; Sault College, Sault Ste. Marie; Collège Boréal, Sudbury; Cambrian College, Sudbury; Northern College, Timmins; Canadore College, North Bay.
