Post-secondaries ready for new school year

By Lethbridge Herald on August 30, 2024.

Volunteers welcome new students on the first day of orientation last year at the University of Lethbridge. Herald file photo by Theodora MacLeod

Alexandra Noad – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With shorter cooler days approaching and the leaves changing colours, it means only one thing: a new school year is here.

Lethbridge is known for its two post-secondary schools which both bring in new students each year.

Marko Hilgersom, registrar for Lethbridge Polytechnic, says while the school won’t know official numbers until the end of September, his guess is the polytechnic is showing growth on both domestic and international students.

“I think everything’s trending to the positive with domestic students (and) international students we do continue to grow a little more modestly than in the past,” said Hilgersom.

The University of Lethbridge is also optimistic about the engagement for their Start Smart quiz, a quiz which helps incoming students recognize their strengths and weaknesses. This quiz helps students receive personalized supports based on their answers.

Natasha Reners, coordinator of orientation, transition and retention for the university, says there is a buzz around campus which is excited to bring students back to campus.

“This time of year, is always incredibly exciting on campus and new students come back and join us once again. So, there’s definitely an energy about campus that’s picking up and staff and faculty are so excited to get to welcome students back on to campus,” said Reners.

Going out on a new endeavour can be a challenging time for some, especially if it’s far away from home, but according to a study done by the University of California in 2022, participating in extracurricular activities have helped students feel a sense of belonging. Both the university and polytechnic have several events happening to help students get to know new people as well as their instructors.

On Tuesday, both the university and polytechnic will be hosting their new student orientations to help introduce new students to their prospective schools before the first day of classes on Sept. 4.

The university Students Union will be hosting their annual Fresh Fest Jamboree on Sept. 7 as well as the Horns triple header taking place the same day where the Women’s soccer team will take on the Manitoba Bisons followed by the men’s soccer team playing the Saskatchewan Huskies with the Women’s Rugby team facing the Alberta Pandas the same evening.

The polytechnic’s Student Association will be having their Welcome Back Bash on Thursday evening.

With the Polytechnic’s name change officially happening Tuesday, Hilgersom is excited to see what it will bring for the upcoming years.

“It’s just now, finally we feel like we’re getting formally recognized for what we provide. We have degrees, certificates, and everything in between. We have lot of highly technical programs. So, we met the definition of polytechnic. we’re hoping that maybe we get some eyes and ears that we wouldn’t normally,” said Hilgersom.

Along with the new name the Polytechnic is also offering new pre-apprenticeship certificates, whereas before these were non-credit courses. They have also increased seating capacity for their nursing and healthcare aide courses.

Hilgersom added the Polytechnic is still accepting applications until Tuesday for some of their courses, so students who are still on the fence still can still apply for the fall semester.

With all schools being open Tuesday, LPS is warning people to watch for an influx of both pedestrians and vehicles, especially in school zones.

In a news release on Friday, they reminded vehicle operators that Playground zones are in effect from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily all year round, so drivers should be accustomed to the 30 km/hr limits.  They also stressed to watch out for buses especially when students are loading or disembarking the buses.

While embarking on new beginnings can be terrifying, Hilgersom says its never too late to start.

“It’s never too late to start. If someone sitting on the fence kind of like, ‘I’m not sure’, come in as open studies, take a few courses, see what what’s out there, what you’re interested in, and then you can make a plan for next year about what you want to do.”