Date: Aug. 26, 2009 To: Noah Morris, Superintendent Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Student Support Branch Private Career College Compliance Unit 9th Floor, Mowat Block 900 Bay Street Toronto ON M7A 1L2 Dear Superintendent: We are the students of the National College of Technology and Management under the Business Administration program who would like to bring to your attention the depressive feelings we have by the abrupt issuance of an immediate suspension of our college, which was from the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges and conducted on August 18, 2009. This unexpected issuance shocked all of the students and put us in some disastrous situations. Some of us have almost completed our program and have job offers upon graduation. If the school remains closed, we will have to be transferred to another school and possibly start all over again. As a result, we will have to either abandon training or give up on the new job. In this time of recession, it's not easy to find another job and if we abandon training then we have a great deal to lose. Money, time and effort have all been wasted. To be frank, nobody is perfect, and neither are schools. We know this school might need some improvements in some places. but as students of the Business Administration Program, we have really enjoyed studying here. We have conducted extensive research prior to selecting this school and felt it best suited our needs. As far as we are concerned, this school is better than many other schools. The staff members are really kind and always ready to offer any assistance. We have now become familiar with the environment, created friendships and built solid relationships with our instructors. For all of the above reasons and more, we want to continue with our studies at National College of Technology and Management. We appeal for your kind attention and consideration on our plight. It is an urgent matter for there is only less than one week left for the National College to appeal; we hope you will help the students to complete our program at the college, which we love. We look forward to hearing from you with regard to this letter. Thank you so much.
Sincerely, Students of National College of Technology and Management All of the students listed below have contributed to and agree with the above letter: Student Y. X with Telephone number and Email Address Student M. J. with Telephone number and Email Address Student X. X. Z. with Telephone number and Email Address Student L. Z. with Telephone number and Email Address Student H. M. with Telephone number and Email Address Student H. L. with Telephone number and Email Address Page'2 of 2
August 20, 2009 Andre Marin Ombudsman Ontario Bell Trinity Square 483 Bay St. 10th Floor, South Tower Toronto, ON MSG 2C9 Dear Andre Marin: We, the undersigned, are the students of the National College of Technology and Management under the Community Service Worker Program who would like to bring to your attention t.he heartbreaking feelings we have as brought about by the sudden issuance of notice of suspension of registration of National College of Technology and Management in 212-716 Gordon Baker Road, Toronto, Ontario, which the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges has issued on August 18, 2009. This action shocked us to the point that we were devastated and put us in crisis. The whole world fell as if our future has been stashed, because we are almost done with program and left us emotionally affected. The experiences we have with the excellent learning environment at National College made us stick to the Progran1until we completed it. We are very grateful that the College has hired a conscientious and knowledgeable Instructor who dedicatedly devoted each minute of the class hour to teach and prepare the student for the actual work in the field. With this, we are very eager to be in social work and contribute, with confidence, to the solutions of the social problems within the community. We learned a lot from class presentations, case analysis, planning and research. In the course of these activities, we developed a great group dynamics that cultivated us to a working group culture amidst student community. Even our family has the high hopes on us completing the Program with the National College for they are witnesses also to our hard learning and hard work under the Program. They are very hopeful that in the near few weeks, we will graduate and we could land positions in the social service field. Through our learning experience in this school, we have gotten huge gains from the unique college background that is providing us with a competitive edge in the job market. The school also offers interesting co-op placement experience for the students. The College management staffs are very friendly and supportive. They work together with the Instructor in building a unique job networking for us. One thing is for certain, the exceptional experiences and knowledge we gained by taking the CSW Program will be with us for a lifetime. All these experiences are made possible with the assistance of the supportive management staff of the National College. We are proud to be the students of this College.
So, we appeal for your kind attention and consideration on our plight. It is an urgent matter for there is only around one week left for the National College to appeal; we hope you will help wrap up the Program at the College with love.. We look forward to talking with you on this regard. Thank you so much. Sincerely, Student F. B. with Telephone number and Email Address Student H. Y. T. with Telephone number and Email Address Student E. B. with Telephone number and Email Address Student L. P. with Telephone number and Email Address Student Y. Z. with Telephone number and Email Address Student K.W.C. with Telephone number and Email Address Student J. P. with Telephone number and Email Address Student G. Z. with Telephone number and Email Address
August 23, 2009 To whom it may concern, I am writing to show my support for National College of Technology and Management. I was an Early Childcare Assistant student until the school suddenly closed on the 18 th of August 2009 when the Ministry of Training representatives came into the College and abruptly shut down the school. This left me extremely shocked, emotionally disturbed and having sleepless nights thinking about my uncertain future. I have really enjoyed my time at National College of Technology and Management. I am blessed with a wonderful teacher who has all the qualities of a great educator. She is very punctual, professional, supportive and she shows concern for her students. In fact, all of the staff at the school offered a lot of support for busy moms like me. I am a mother of 3 and my children are very young. National College of Technology and Management is close to my home and my children's school, making it possible for me to fulfill my dream of completing school. The thought of someone else choosing a new school, as the members of the Ministry of Training suggested they will do, makes me very uncomfortable and upset! I love the school I am in and the people around me. understand that the school has some issues but why do students and teachers have to pay for these mistakes? It is totally unfair! I have taken so much effort to do my homework and study diligently hoping for a dream and to graduate with a diploma. Please let the school re-open again so I can continue my training and move forward with my life! Thank you for your understanding, ECA Student R. R. Aug. 23, 2009 Date
Date: December 31, 2009 To Whom It May Concern: I am writing this letter to complain about the way the Ministry dealing with our case. The following a few things I would like to point out: First, when the Ministry staff came on September 18, 2009 to suspend National College, they told us that they were coming to protect students, however for the following several months I did not feel they were protecting us. It's contrary to what they said before. Second, the Ministry staff did not provide us information in timely manner, we have to always call them to leave messages or send emails, then they might reply for the status; however those information provided by the Ministry were not that informative. Meantime, the Ministry staff repeatedly request for the same information from us, I am doubt if the Ministry has a good management system. The process was not efficient at all, it took almost three months to approve our case. Third, the Ministry informed us that our Business Administration program students were transferred to Academy of Learning, it is ridicules to send us to Brampton campus since we all living in Scarborough and surround area. I am not happy with this arrangement made by the Ministry at all, also I don't like the teaching style of Academy of Learning, they do not provide us any lecture with a instructor but instead was computer based self study. I do not feel I can learn anything from this school as I have heard some other students have same opinion. I have learned a lot from National College. I think Ministry made mistake on close this college. The worst thing is I cannot afford the addition 8 months of study, I decided to withdraw from the school even though my employment counselor told me that my tuition fee was finally approved by the Ministry. Finally, I was almost finished my study at National College, it confused me a lot why I should take 8 more months with other colleges. In my mind the only reason for us to take the EI training is to find a better job after several months of training. I have family waiting for my support, therefore I cannot afford to spend eight more months to repeat the program that even not taught as good as National College and without any living support from the government. Throughout this period, I am so disappointed with the decision made by the Ministry that finally left me without a diploma to looking for a better job. Sincerely yours, Original Signed by BA Program Student L. Z.
August 20, 2009 To whom it may concern, I am writing you to discuss closing of National College (member of the National Association of Career Colleges since 2003). I was working as a teacher in the Early Childhood Assistant program and suddenly lost my job on Tuesday August 18, 2009 when Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities representatives came into the college and abruptly closed the school, leaving students and teachers extremely emotional due to lost jobs, lost graduation dates and lost dreams. The school has been closed indefinitely pending an appeal and court proceedings. What I don't understand is why the feelings of students and teachers were not considered? Teachers were given little notice of the termination of their jobs. The staff members are contracted employees with families to care for and are not eligible for Employment Insurance. Students fared worse. Some will face expired student visa's and be forced to return to their home countries with no diploma and no hope to return to Canada based on their certification since they will miss graduation deadlines. Other students were offered jobs upon graduation and certification that they will no longer be able to take since they were told by ministry members that they cannot be certain that any of their field placement hours or assignments will be accepted by the next college that they will be transferred to. I wonder how justice was served here? Any issues that the school faced were not known to students or staff so all of this came as a shock, personally, professionally and financially. I understand that there are issues that need to be dealt with but I don't feel it's fair to make so many innocent people pay for mistakes that were not theirs. Please let me know if there is anything you or I can do to rectify this situation and get us all back to school. As you know, teaching jobs are scarce and I don't think I will be able to find a job that I loved as much as this one anytime soon. The students and staff are a close knit community and we really need to get these issues resolved or face horrible circumstances. We all love the school and need it to re-open as soon as possible so that we can get back to work and back to our normal lives. Any information or assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks- you for your time, ECA Instructor B.E.D, B.A, E.C.E (member of the Ontario College of Teachers)
Date: August 24, 2009 To whom it may concern: I am very saddened by the news that National College has been suspended. I was really looking forward to completing my Quality Assurance and Software testing program. I don't want to go to another school. I want to know if anybody at the ministry actually thought about a strategy to address the number of students that were going to be put out by this decision. National College was the school I chose for a special reason. Many other schools weren't as good as National when I researched which college to go to. Now the ministry's solution is for me to choose one of those schools because they shut down National? This is very frustrating. My program was due to complete at the end of October and I was really excited about beginning my job search. This interruption is not what I expected and I do not want to have to start at another college. There are many factors that go into making such a decision. A decision that I thought I completed already. I hope that the ministry can come to their senses and give National College another chance. They have damaged a lot of students with this decision and without warning. It is now time for the ministry to turn this situation around. QA Program Student with Telephone number and Email
To whom it may concern: On behalf of the students of the Computerized Accounting program at National College of Technology and Management, we deeply regret the ministry's decision to suspend our college. This action has severely inconvenienced the students of our program. We were very much looking forward to graduating and receiving a diploma so that we could finally begin our careers. Now everything has been put on hold. We don't feel as if the ministry has put much thought into what to do with the students that have been victimized by this situation. We have really enjoyed our experience at this college and we appreciate the education we are receiving. We hope that the ministry will take our opinions and our voices into consideration while National College prepares its appeal. We would like to continue on with our study at National College. the flowing Computerized Accounting program students in year 2009: Student A. A. with Telephone number and Email Address Student C. V. with Telephone number and Email Address Student M. E. W. with Telephone number and Email Address Student L. Y. with Telephone number and Email Address
Re: Xiao Xiang (Gloria) Ye, Director National Technology and Management Corp. o/a National College of Technology and Management 716 Gordon Baker Road, Suite 212 Toronto, ON M2H 3B4