Nelson Sergerie

GASPÉ – The Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles marks a significant milestone as it celebrates 25 years of distance learning.

It was in the academic year 1998-1999 that the first distance learning course was launched at the École des pêches et de l’aquaculture du Québec at the Petit-de-Grat campus, in Nova Scotia, which was part of the community colleges of New Brunswick. Embarking on such an endeavor was ambitious given the technology and resources at the time.

“The means were rudimentary. We had cathode ray tube televisions, the signal was transmitted by telephone lines. Even the lecture notes were handwritten and had to be manually entered into a computer. We weren’t digital. It was a lot of adaptation and we didn’t know that it would become an extremely important avenue of development for the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles,” notes the director of studies, Serge Rochon.

Today, the institution offers eight programs through distance learning. “We were in the early stages of distance learning. We were among the first and our geographical distance meant that we thought about it to attract new students. It was quickly included in the strategic plans for development avenues. But we didn’t believe at the time that it would be so important,” notes the director.

“Our teachers have adapted their teaching so that the programs are suitable for distance learning. It is because we invested in human resources and technology that we succeeded in this shift,” notes Mr. Rochon.

The deployment of the nursing techniques program with remote sites in Chandler and Carleton-sur-Mer during the 2011-2012 academic year marked a significant turning point for distance education.
“We did not think that such a complex program could be deployed remotely. It was a complex program to put in place and that gave the signal to start,” points out Mr. Rochon.

The program contains laboratory practices, which added to the complexity of developing adequate training.
“Remote training was not invented with the pandemic. For us, it’s been there for a long time. This helped keep programs alive that might have been suspended or closed. Accounting and management in the Magdalen Islands was very fragile; and the nursing program too. This was the case for Medical Archives and Legal Techniques (programs). Eight distance learning programs help promote accessibility to studies for young people in the Gaspésie. These are programs offered both in-person and remotely. We are able to guarantee these programs for young people in the Gaspésie,” notes Mr. Rochon.

Even though technology has simplified the creation of virtual programs, face-to-face training will remain in the long term.

“At eight programs, that’s probably the potential we can afford,” admits Mr. Rochon, considering the ins and outs surrounding distance learning.

“We want to consolidate what we do and we have set ourselves the goal of remaining a leader,” maintains the director of studies. This year, distance learning has 475 students. “We have never had so many students,” he notes.

“I was looking at the Accounting and Management program in the Magdalen Islands. A third of the graduates in the last 10 years are students who are in distance learning. You see the impact,” says Mr. Rochon who estimates that hundreds of students have been trained remotely in a decade.

Moreover, the costs associated with creating virtual classrooms have significantly decreased over time.
At one time it cost $80,000 to create such a class, whereas today it is possible to do it for less than $25,000.

“It costs a lot less than at the time, but we have around forty classes. Equipment must be upgraded regularly but we think it’s worth it,” concludes Mr. Rochon.