Bermuda College has lost 50 percent of its freshmen this year due to an extra year in the public school system but the number of non-traditional students is up.

College President Dr. Michael Orenduff said the college has not faced the enrolment deficit that was originally expected despite the reduction in the number of students starting out at the college this year

At the annual convocation ceremony yesterday, when both students and faculty formed a procession and gathered for speeches before the college was officially declared open, Dr. Orenduff said it was set to be an exciting year.

He said the college was expecting a 70 percent drop in freshmen this year but the actual reduction was not that severe.

He said: “We do have freshmen. We have quite a few new students. We have adult students and returning students and people who did it a year ago and decided it was not quite the time and have decided to come back.”

And he said the college had ended up with 80 percent of the admissions it had last year.

What was more exciting for the college, he continued, was the fact that a lot of changes and improvements that were introduced during the last 12 months would come to fruition this year.

He said he was particularly thrilled that this year Bermuda College had a new mission statement - Student Success.

But he noted success would only come as a result of a partnership between the college and students.

Dr. Orenduff said: “We are going to work very hard and you have to work very hard. You must come to class regularly and you must study diligently, and, if you do that, we will do our part and you will succeed.”

College chairman Jan Spiering told the assembled guests, which included Acting Premier Eugene Cox, Education Minister Paula Cox and Leader of the Opposition United Bermuda Party Dr. Grant Gibbons, that this year was set to be a new era for the college.

“We have spent a lot of time putting in place a reorganisation, which has taken some time to activate,” said Mr. Spiering.

“We have been restructuring the college to be more of a community college and this is really our first year of opportunity. It's with excitement that we watch this year.”

Mr. Spiering said the college was going to set targets for every facet of student life and was willing to be measured against those milestones.

And he added: “The other thing we are excited about is the enhanced partnership with the National Training Board.

“We are very excited at the prospect of providing further support for our technical school. I put this out there, so you can watch the progress.

“The (college) board is completely committed to student success.”

But he reiterated that student success had to come from both sides, and said in order to ensure maximum results, the college would be clamping down on poor attendance this year.

Any student found to be skipping the same class three times in a row, or five times in total during a semester, without good reason, will be thrown off the course.

At yesterday's ceremony, a number of returning students received certificates after being named on the president's and the vice president's lists for obtaining a high grade point average last year.

And freshman Danielle Doreen Ford, who has just graduated from Bermuda Institute, received the Going for the Gold scholarship for excellence.

Adult student Sally Price received the Bermuda College 25th Anniversary Award scholarship. She is resuming her studies and hopes to eventually become a clinical psychologist.