Mohawk’s former library at the Fennell Campus is undergoing a $1.3 million renovation to become the future centre for student services. Scheduled to open this summer, the 17,000 square foot centre will centralize services previously offered at 17 locations throughout Mohawk’s largest campus.

“Students will find an easy path to whatever support they need,” says Wayne Poirier, Mohawk’s Vice President of Student Services, who is leading the project. Poirier, who joined Mohawk in January, led a successful consolidation of student services at two campuses at George Brown College in Toronto. “With the addition of our new centre, students will spend more time focused on becoming future-ready graduates and less time navigating the campus in search of services.”

A team of more than 120 staff will deliver a full range of one-stop services and supports, from financial aid and counselling to admissions, registration and accessible learning services, to the 7,000 students who attend the Fennell Campus. 

Along with creating a new student services centre, Mohawk is renovating the main lobby to improve accessibility to the college for everyone in the community.

The new student services centre is part of the largest campus renewal project in Mohawk’s history. The $16.5 million Mohawk Learning Exchange, home to the new Harold Cummings Library and Collaboratory, officially opened in January.  Facing Fennell Avenue, the 3-storey building was constructed on time, on budget and accident free.

Last summer, Mohawk renovated an entire wing of the campus for the School of Human Services, converted offices into common areas for students to meet before, between and after classes and completely renovated the cafeteria.

The Fennell Campus Renewal Project is earning high marks from students. In the Ontario government’s most recent student satisfaction survey, Mohawk achieved the highest scores among all colleges in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area for quality of services and facilities, along with quality of programs and learning. Compared to last year’s survey results, Mohawk also posted the highest percentage point increases for quality of services and facilities among Ontario’s 24 public colleges.

Mohawk College delivers a quality education to more than 16,000 full-time and apprenticeship students, 700 international students and 42,000 continuing education registrants. The majority of Mohawk’s 85,000 alumni continue to live and work in the Greater Hamilton Area.

Mohawk College's new Student Services centre is set to open in the Fall of 2011, where the Library is currently located. The new centre will bring together services  offered in 17 locations across the Fennell Campus. 

Extensive consultations with students and staff throughout the Fall of 2009 helped influence the design and features of Mohawk's new Learning Exchange that opens in January 2011.

Students are invited to complete the online survey that will be available until the end of this week. 

Set to open in the Fall of 2011, the new centre will bring together services currently offered in 17 locations across the Fennell Campus (everything from Registration and Financial Aid to Student Life and Counselling).

The Student Services Centre is part of the largest campus renewal project in Mohawk's history now underway at the Fennell Campus. The centre will be located in the current home of the Fennell Library. The library is set to move to the new Learning Exchange and reopen in January 2011 as the Cummings Library and Collaboratory.

Students and staff were widely consulted in the design of the Learning Exchange throughout the Fall of 2009 and the new building incorporates many suggestions put forward through online surveys, town halls and open houses.

This Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Student Services staff will be in the Learning Exchange next to Starbucks promoting the survey and getting feedback.