Despite construction delays, low enrollment and financial loss expected in its first year, the college’s vice president of international, communications and strategic priorities Doug Wotherspoon is enthusiastic about the progress of Algonquin College – Kuwait.
“I’m massively excited,” Wotherspoon said. “From my end the result is even better than I anticipated.”
He visited college’s newest international campus and the second to open in the Middle East on Oct. 7.
The college has already invested $60 million in the construction of the new campus. The first phase began in 2013 and has produced an academic wing and basketball and soccer fields.
“The campus looks spectacular,” Wotherspoon said. “Their learning commons is three times the size of our learning commons in Ottawa.”
A second phase of construction is scheduled to begin in 2016, offering students another academic wing as well as an auditorium and fitness centre.
Wotherspoon’s excitement, however, is not reflected in the school’s enrollment numbers. Only 78 students have signed up at the new campus – less than one percent of its capacity.
The college also anticipates a first-year loss on its investment in the upcoming budget.
Construction delays are believed to have confused prospective students, causing them to pull out of their programs.
Wotherspoon believes Kuwait’s rigid cultural expectations are another factor in the low recruitment numbers.
“There’s societal pressure driving people towards degrees,” he said. “If you don’t have a degree in Kuwait the salary level is half of what you’d get if you have a diploma.”
According to Wotherspoon, the concept of college and applied learning is “not as well understood around the world as it is in Canada.”
Algonquin’s growing presence in the developing world seeks to change this narrative.
“There’s a huge market for better, applied education,” he said. “That’s why we’re trying to create a model to spread Algonquin throughout the world.”