Parution le 9 février 2015
Culinary students at Red River College may lose the opportunity to study at a school in France as the college is reviewing the program and looking into alternative institutions .
RRC is in the second year of a three-year agreement with the Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance . Each year , members of the alliance can send their top students to train at the Institut Paul Bocuse for four-months . Membership costs the college $ 11,515 annually , with the cost of each student ’ s tuition and flight covered through fundraising .
“[ The college ] was just under review for a scandal about how they were misappropriating college funds , so I don ’ t think they should be getting rid of this ,” said culinary arts student Kelsey Fitzgerald , 21 . “ They ’ re cutting actual beneficial programs .”
The provincial government recently released a report on financial and human resource practices at RRC . The report questioned some of the previous RRC president ’ s spending , including why the president and two other staff members were required to travel to France to set up membership in the alliance . The report also notes that RRC ’ s membership in the alliance is unusual as it is the only Canadian member and there is only one American member .
Graham Thomson , interim dean of the school of hospitality and culinary arts , said the program review is not related to the report regarding the former president , but was based on an internal review of the program ’ s validity .
“ The question for me is how much does this mean to potential graduates and employers in Manitoba ,” said Thomson . “ There are alternatives , we probably don ’ t need to spend that kind of money on an exchange .”
Thomson describes the institutions looked into by RRC as being equivalent to that of a community college , which is disappointing to some students .