The programs

Programs need to be as varied and as flexible as possible. They need to be held in a variety of accessible locales and with flexible scheduling to encourage attendance by those who work odd shifts and are seasonal employees.

Courses should be mounted on Native reserves where there is an expressed need. Where the college is too far removed from the area of need, or transportation is a problem, courses should be offered in storefront learning centres in accessible city or downtown locations.

Bridging opportunities as provided by one-to-one tutoring programs and learning centres are required to help students make the transitions to more regular programs.

Waitlists need to be eliminated and there needs to be continuing contact with those on the list so that they know someone cares and has not forgotten about them.

In smaller centres, an instructor/coordinator cannot be expected to handle all courses. Additional help in the form of aides or tutors is required if there are low-level literacy people in the class.

More telephone tutoring or student hotlines were requested by some of the men who were or had been in programs in isolated areas and had tried to use home-study courses.

Programs which offer Life Skills and Job Training along with literacy training have also been mentioned. Simple courses in bookkeeping and managing one's own business might be appropriate and appealing to those with marketable talents and hobbies.

RETENTION

To address the problem of attrition/retention adequately province-wide requires some serious discussion on the use of terms. Has someone “dropped out” if he/she only came to one meeting? What about the stopouts, or "drop-ins"? What if specific short-term needs were met and the person "disappears"? This could be an unknown success story, but would likely be registered as "Withdrawn". Is dropout a function of length of time and attendance, or is it a function of met needs?