On the eve of its fifth academic year, the Université de l'Ontario français (UOF) is celebrating its fifth consecutive increase in enrollment, surpassing the milestone of 550 students. Another positive note: more than 80% of them come from Ontario. These figures reflect the relevance of the expansion of course offerings launched by the University three years ago, when it added the Bachelor of Education program to its curriculum.
This September, for the first time, UOF will also be training teachers who will go on to work in Ontario's secondary schools - a significant step in addressing the shortage of qualified personnel across the province. In 16 months, about twenty of them will be ready to teach high school students.
Of course, like other universities in the province and across Canada, UOF would have preferred to welcome many more international students. The decrease in study permits issued to foreign students by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been felt at UOF just as it has at all other postsecondary institutions.
That said, the energy generated by UOF's growing enrollment was palpable on August 26 during the integration day for new students. The day was dedicated to campus orientation activities, learning about teaching technologies, meeting professors, and connecting with community partners who can help make student life easier. The day ended on a festive note, with interactions between the new students and the cohorts that preceded them.
From the outset, the new cohort was welcomed by Vice-President Academic and Research, Professor Isabelle Dostaler, who congratulated them for joining the UOF family: "We are very proud to be a very young university, and you are now part of this adventure with us. Being part of a young institution means you can help shape and create it with us. I encourage you to do so."
Professor Dostaler went on to remind students of the importance of balancing study time with personal life, before returning to one of the institution's core principles: "At UOF, we have a deeply rooted ideal of social justice that drives every professor. In today's global context, the university is perhaps the best place to take a step back to understand the world we live in, and how we can work to change it."
It is with these words - and above all, this vision - that the entire university community will begin UOF's fifth year of teaching on September 2.
