Enrolment on the rise for U of S College of Agriculture

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

The College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Saskatchewan is reporting higher first-year enrolment heading into the new school year.

The college has enrolled 134 first-year students, who have already begun attending classes this semester, compared to the 105 first-year students enrolled last year.

This semester marks the first full year for the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, formerly known as the College of Agriculture.

Graham Scoles, interim dean of the department, believes that several factors have contributed to the rise.

"I would like to think the higher first-year enrolment is due in part to the college's new name," he stated. "However, the greater explanation may be that the college has also been participating in active recruitment initiatives in recent years."

Scoles says the college decided to change its name to reflect how it has evolved and expanded over the course of time. "To many people, the word ‘agriculture' denotes only the production side of the equation. Over its many years, this college has diversified to include new levels of expertise and new faculty members," he noted.

"So we had considerable discussions in terms of what name might better represent what we are and what we expect to become. ‘Agriculture and Bioresources' was the one that struck us."

Up to this point, the school has been a single-degree college, offering only a bachelor's degree in science and agriculture. However, with its new name comes a new degree program that is already underway this semester - the Bachelor of Agribusiness.

Scoles says that several other new programs are also in the works. The college intends to introduce a bachelor's degree in renewable resource management next year, and the plans don't end there.

"We are trying to diversify our offerings, and we expect that, by adding new programs, we will attract students to the college who would have otherwise not been attracted before," Scoles stated. "So we're working on others, but are interested in seeing the impact of these new programs first. We don't want to over-extend ourselves."

The college's ambitious recruitment is also believed to have had a positive impact on the increasing student numbers.

"Active recruitment activities are something the college had never tried before. They simply relied on students to come to the college on their own," Scoles said.

"Now, the college has a community liaison officer who is responsible for visiting various high schools and tradeshows to talk about the new vision for the College of Agriculture and Bioresources. We believe these activities have made the positive impact on our first-year enrolment numbers."

The new vision Scoles refers to includes a modern emphasis on the bioresource value chain.

"The bioresource value chain begins with the environment in which we produce the plants and animals that we use in agriculture systems," he explained. "The other end of the chain, in terms of adding value to those products, is to drive economic activity and to essentially bring wealth to the province, its producers and its entrepreneurs."

Potential students can find out more about the college and its registration requirements at http://www.ag.usask.ca/, and by watching for the college's presence at various tradeshows around the province.

For more information, contact:
Graham Scoles, Interim Dean, College of Agriculture and Bioresources
University of Saskatchewan
Phone: (306) 966-4050
E-mail: graham.scoles@usask.ca