The Southeast Regional College is holding orientations for both parents and students next week as a prelude to the new school year.

The parent orientation has been moved to Wednesday, Aug. 30 to avoid conflict with the Comp awards night. The orientation will run from 7-9 p.m. at the college.

"This has been well attended in the past. There will a student from the school as well as one of our teachers, George Hoffman, to answer any questions and give pointers for parents to help their students be successful," said university advisor Lynn Kot.

The student orientation will take place on Thursday, Aug. 31 at the college starting at 10 a.m. This session is mandatory for all first-year students. Kot and a former student will be on hand to speak about the expectations at university and the differences between high school and university. The orientation will also provide an opportunity for the students to meet each other.

"This year we have our largest enrollment of full-time students and our largest number of direct high school entries. Last year we had 42 full-time students. So far this year, we have 46 full-time students," said Kot. "We also have our largest enrollment from the rural areas around Weyburn. There are students from Yellow Grass, Pangman, Oungre, Radville, Stoughton, Midale; it makes a nice cross-section in our student population."

At noon, the students and staff will have a more relaxed atmosphere to become acquainted during a barbecue lunch on the college grounds. From 12:45 to 1:30 p.m. the students will meet with teachers to discuss specific subject areas. The orientation will wrap up at 1:30 p.m. with the awarding of scholarships.

Kot is looking forward to the coming semester. Apart from the regular class offerings, the college is using Picture-tel, SCN courses and two new Internet courses that are being offered in only four sites in the province. This variety of multimedia classes allows for students to build programs around the other commitments in their lives.

"Using the technology we have, we are now able to offer some students a second year, and this year we have three full-time, second-year students. This helps students who need to stay close to home while providing them with an education that is leading edge," said Kot.

"I am very pleased to see our student body and programs are still growing. I think it's wonderful, and it means we can keep our first-year program as a really solid program."