A delegation from Humber College appeared before Orangeville Council Monday to provide an update on the Veterans Way campus that originally was to have opened in 2006.

Amid growing skepticism about the project ever getting off the ground, Council was told it will be another three years before the first phase of the facility is open to students.

Currently housed at the Alder Street Recreational Complex, Humber had originally planned to begin building the new campus in 2006. That date was changed to 2007 and then 2008, due in large part to a requirement for an environmental assessment study.

On Monday, the delegation told council that a 2012 start date is more realistic, as the college gauges the current economic climate and awaits the necessary funding for the project and the enrolment of students it feels is necessary to make the new campus viable.

The delegation pointed out that Humber currently has $10 million earmarked for the project and has applied the federal and provincial governments for the estimated $30 million more it will need to commence construction.

Having met the environmental and municipal planning requirements, the college is in a position to apply for funding through such avenues as the federal government's recently announced education infrastructure initiative.

The repartee between the delegation and council was, for the most part, upbeat despite the fact campus plans have fallen six years behind schedule and ground has yet to be broken at the Veterans Way site.

Councillor Gail Campbell did voice her concerns about the lack of construction activity, albeit in a friendly manner. She said the town borrowed about $3 million in 2005 to purchase 28 acres for the new campus, and provided infrastructure services with the understanding that the construction would start in 2006.

The councillor was also worried about the delegation's announcement that the new campus could not proceed without a student "cohort," or enrolment, of 600.

"I know you've been an excellent tenant (at Alder)," Ms. Campbell told the delegation. "My concern is that, four years ago, we thought it would be built in four years. Now, you're saying that it won't be started if you don't get your cohort."

Rani Dhaliwal, Humber's vice-president of finance and administration, replied by saying "technically, we were shovel-ready by 2008. "As for the cohort, one thing we have to be assured of is that we're spending the taxpayers' dollars wisely. We have to make sure it [the new campus] is viable."

Rick Embree, associate vice president of development at Humber, told council that the plans to build up the Alder site enrolment to 450, from the current 145, by the fall of 2011 are still realistic.

He added that he is encouraged by the results of surveys the college took of high school students in Dufferin and surrounding areas, since "43 per cent said they plan to attend a college. That's remarkably high, particularly among the Grade 9 and 10 students."

In previous surveys, he said, "it would be typical for 70 to 80 per cent of them saying they wanted to go to university."

Councillor Mary Rose pointed out possible drawbacks of a policy of waiting for a student cohort to be built to a certain number.

"I've noticed that some students don't want to come to the Alder campus because they feel they won't be experiencing the whole college experience. You're losing these students while you're waiting for 600 students to come. It's almost a catch-22 situation."

Joe Andrews, Humber's Orangeville campus director, responded that in many cases students choose to come to Orangeville because it is a smaller campus and not as threatening or confusing as a bigger site could be.

He also indicated that the Orangeville site is making proactive inroads by having 150 local high school students participate in a "dual credit program," wherein selected high school students can take one college course per semester that can later be applied toward a community college diploma or a university degree.

Concerns have also been expressed as to whether the relatively small Alder site could actually handle 450 students.

Mr. Andrews said the increased numbers can be accommodated as the campus intends to increase its classroom size from four to five with the addition of a retractable wall in one of the larger rooms. As well, the campus plans to stagger class scheduling as the enrolment grows.

In a news release, Humber said the Veteran's Way campus will eventually accommodate 2,000 students, primarily in diploma programs and will be well positioned to respond to the needs of local business and industry. Degree and apprenticeship programs will be added as student demand increases.

"The Veterans' Way campus will have a number of environmentally friendly and sustainable features including area reforestation, geothermally conditioned buildings and ground water pollutant reducing systems."

The proposed campus is described as "a strategic initiative for the college," and Humber says a request for funding has been submitted to both the provincial and federal governments.

"Humber looks forward to working with the Orangeville Town Council in moving this project from the planning stages, to final construction and to the arrival of students."