Whew! Acadia Strike Appears To Be Over: Are Students Transferring to Dalhousie?

After 60 hours of mediated talks, the faculty and administrators at Acadia University appear to be close to signing an agreement, ending the three-week-old strike. 

We’re hoping for an announcement that classes will resume on Wednesday or Thursday.  Fingers crossed!

 Much of the discussion over at the ASU strike blog is centered around the rumor that a number of Acadia students have transferred to Dalhousie University in Halifax.  Apparently, a few have. Dal is a good school, but the faculty there is working without a contract and they may be having a strike in the coming months as well.  Hard to say. 

However, as a parent of a daughter who is looking at colleges (in addition to having a daughter at Acadia and two others in different universities) and is especially interested in Dal, I’m not sure we’d choose to go for a school without a strong faculty contract.  Besides, Dal is notoriously persnickety about transfer credits.  They don’t make it easy to bring your credits with you, which is a shame.  They are missing out on some excellent students.

Savvy colleges are making it easier–not harder–for motivated students to transfer to their programs.  Watch for backlash in the months and years ahead as students recognize that many schools–including most of the Ivies–refuse to give credit for any semester not spent on their campus.  I suppose if there are thousands of potential students vying to get in and pay the full price, there’s no need to welcome others.  Four-year universities are, alas, businesses.  They are looking to attract students who will spend all four–or five–years at their school. 

There are lots and lots of options.  Our daughter at Acadia is happy to be there and excited about the education and experience she will be getting there in the next couple of years.  That matters.  We’re glad.

Tagged as: Acadia University, Dalhousie, Halifax, Ivy League, Nova Scotia, professor strike, transfer students