Overview

Suncrest College was established July 1, 2023 as a result of merging Cumberland College and Parkland College. Both colleges had a strong history with many achievements over the years. Cumberland College was in their 48th year of operation while Parkland College celebrated their 50th Anniversary just two months before the merger. This is an interesting journey for our colleges, so let us tell you our merger story from the beginning.

The Beginning

In 2018, the Ministry of Advanced Education asked the regional colleges to identify transformational opportunities for the provincial college system that would ensure sustainable, efficient, and improved program delivery. In the Spring of 2018 both colleges were searching for a President and CEO and the Minister of Advanced Education paused the searches to explore alternative governance and leadership options while maintaining compliance with the Regional Colleges Act.

As such, effective July 2019, the Coalition of Cumberland College and Parkland College was established through the efforts of the Boards of Governors of the two Colleges, the Ministry of Advanced Education and with support of the Board Chairs and CEOs of the five other Saskatchewan Regional Colleges. In July 2021, the colleges began their journey and operated with a shared President & CEO and Board of Governors.

The Coalition was set up as a pilot for a two-year term, July 2019 to June 2021 and was extended to May 2023. The Coalition pilot accomplished and identified a number of synergies including;

• Enabling the colleges to pool their individual strengths and become more missional and fiscally responsible through the sharing of resources for the benefit of students and staff.
• Enabling development of new and innovative programs and delivery by pooling resources, sharing best practices and investing in common platforms.
• Enabling opportunities for shared leadership and initiatives that provide and leverage expertise and skills for the benefit of both institutions.

The Cumberland and Parkland College Coalition certainly had complexities but had established positive momentum that identified the ideal future state. The Board of Governors identified the next logical business step is a successful merger and announced this in January 2022.

On January 19, 2022, we excitedly announced official approval from the Ministry of Advanced Education to merge Cumberland and Parkland Colleges on July 1, 2023.

The decision to merge was decided to ensure we better positioned both colleges to serve our learners and communities through shared resources, increased partnership opportunities and the development of new programming. The merger would provide organizational sustainability, organizational stability, and more opportunities for staff and students. The new college is based on shared values and an equal partnership that will support the local labour market and demands of a growing Saskatchewan economy.