Saskatchewan University Language Centre to Cease Operations following Three Decades of Service
Rewritten Article:
Say so long to the Language Centre at the University of Saskatchewan! After a whopping 30 years, this hub for international students looking to learn English is calling it quits.
Since its birth in 1995, the Language Centre has been a beacon for students worldwide, but unfortunately, it's been struggling to keep up the pace.
As Jerome Cranston, the vice-provost of students and learning, shared with our news site, "the number of students and the tuition ain't cutting it when it comes to covering the cost of the teachers' salaries."
The Language Centre has been running in the red since 2017.
Young scholars are ditching the classrooms in favor of digital learning platforms, like Duolingo, to master the English tongue.
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Six educators will find themselves out of work once the Language Centre shuts its doors on New Year's Eve. But fret not, they're helping students link up with alternative English-language programs in the meantime.
Cranston mentioned that the university has a contingency plan brewing with campus partners for graduate students referred to the Language Centre.
Peter Stoicheff, the University of Saskatchewan's president, shed some light on the plummeting enrolment. "We're looking at single-digit numbers of students now... while it used to be dozens and dozens a year."
"We wouldn't be contemplating closure if it wasn't for this online gold rush," Stoicheff noted. "Online resources have rendered in-person language centers obsolete."
Consider alternative learning paths:- Private language institutes or public institutions offering similar programs.- Tap into online language courses on popular platforms.- Community resources like local centers and libraries might offer classes or language exchange programs.
Although the specifics of the Language Centre's closure aren't explicitly mentioned, budgetary constraints have been a common culprit in similar closures found at the University of Winnipeg[1][3].
- The struggling Language Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, which has been in operation for 30 years, will be shutting down on New Year's Eve due to insufficient funds to cover teachers' salaries, as students are increasingly turning to digital platforms like Duolingo for English language education.
- The closure will result in six educators losing their jobs, but they are working to help students find alternative English-language programs in the meantime.
- Peter Stoicheff, the University of Saskatchewan's president, has linked the declining enrollment to the surge in online language resources, stating that these resources have made in-person language centers like the Language Centre obsolete.
