Seneca Polytechnic

Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, branded as Seneca Polytechnic since 2023, is a multi-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccalaureate, diploma, certificate, and graduate levels.

History

Seneca opened in 1967 as part of a provincial initiative to establish an Ontario-wide network of colleges of applied arts and technology providing career-oriented diploma and certificate courses as well as continuing education programs to Ontario communities. The province was responding to the increasing need for sophisticated applied learning as technology continued to change the nature of work and the provincial economy. General education was considered an important element in post secondary education, and breadth courses continue to be a part of every program. In 2001, the colleges were granted the ability to offer baccalaureate degrees. Seneca is one of five Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning that can offer up to 15 per cent of its program activity at the degree level.

Campuses

Seneca has campus locations throughout the Greater Toronto Area and in Peterborough.

Newnham Campus

The Newnham Campus is one of the largest college campuses in Canada. It has more than 15,000 full-time students in business, engineering, aviation, early childhood education, fashion, opticianry, information and communications technology, and liberal arts. The campus, initially known as Finch Campus, was renamed in 1984 after founding president William Thomson Newnham, and is also the site of continuing education activity during the evenings and weekends. The campus includes a 1,113-bed residence, sports centre, and daycare centre. It is located west of the intersection of Highway 404 and Finch Avenue East .

The campus's first building was opened in 1969 and has involved various architects (William H.D. Hurst (Phase 1); John B. Parkin (Phase 2 with Searle, Wilbee and Rowland); Abram, Nowski, and McLaughlin (arena)). In 1973 a 100 m2 (1,100 ft2) domed planetarium was added to the Phase 3 section of the campus, but it has since closed.

In fall 2011, a 19,000 m2 (200,000 ft2) expansion, designed for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, was officially opened at the campus. The new building, designed by Craig Applegath of Dialog, features three 80-seat classrooms; twenty-three 40-seat classrooms; fourteen 40-seat computer labs; a multi-purpose auditorium for 240 students that can be turned into a conference room or two 120-seat lecture halls; increased computing commons and library space; several new areas of collaborative student study and work space; a new "front door" for the campus; and improved campus access for people with disabilities. The atrium in the new space was named after Frederick Minkler, Seneca's first chair of the board of governors.

In 2019, Seneca's Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE) opened at Newnham Campus. CITE includes Seneca's innovation centre known HELIX, technology labs for mechatronics and robotics courses, and computer labs and classrooms. CITE is infused with Indigenous design, the highlight of which is a 9.1 m (30 ft) diameter medallion in terrazzo rendered from an original work by Joseph Sagaj.

Seneca@York

Seneca@York Campus, located on York University's Keele Campus, includes the Stephen E. Quinlan Building, designed by architect Raymond Moriyama and named after Seneca's third president Steve Quinlan. Seneca also shares the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Building (formerly known as TEL building) with York University. Several schools are located at this campus, including the Schools of Creative Arts and Animation, Media, Biological Sciences and Applied Chemistry, English and Liberal Studies, and Legal, Public and Office Administration.

Former locations

Seneca's first homes from 1967 to 1969 were various buildings in North York:

Sheppard Campus at 43 Sheppard Avenue East, a converted factory; the college vacated it for Newnham Campus, and the site is now a low-rise office tower.

Several North York Board of Education offices

A Woolworth store at Sheppard Avenue East and Yonge Street; the strip mall was demolished and is now the site of a condo development, Hullmark Centre.

Lewis S. Beattie Secondary School (now École secondaire catholique Monseigneur-de-Charbonnel of the Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir) at Drewy Avenue west of Yonge Street

Other former Seneca Polytechnic campuses include:

Jane Campus home to Seneca's Centre for Advanced Technologies. Students studying at the campus pursue careers in the areas of Tool Design, Computer Numerical Control (CNC), and Metals Machining Trades such as Tool & Die Maker and Mould Maker. The building is located at 21 Beverly Hills Drive in Toronto and can be seen from the westbound collector lanes of Highway 401. Seneca's Jane Campus closed in May 2019.

Vaughan Campus officially opened its doors on 28 January 2011, at 1490 Major Mackenzie Drive West, in Vaughan. It offered services including academic upgrading, employment services and workplace essential skills training for professionals, as well as a centre for entrepreneurship. The campus closed in March 2020.

Newmarket Campus offered Employment Ontario services and access to resources and information. Programs at this location included employment counselling, job search workshops, job development services, and computer skills training. Academic upgrading was offered in the day and evening. The campus was located in Nature's Emporium Plaza, 16655 Yonge St. in Newmarket.

Yorkdale Campus on Dufferin Street, south of Lawrence Avenue West in North York, was home to the Travel and Tourism program from the 1980s to 2000. Formerly C.B. Parsons Junior High, it is now home to Fieldstone Day School. The building was owned by the North York Board of Education and is now owned by the Toronto District School Board.

Markham Information Centre located at the northeast corner of McCowan Road and Highway 7. The office later relocated to 6061 Highway 7 east of Markham Road (Employment and Community Services).

Buttonville Campus located at the Buttonville Municipal Airport housed Seneca's aviation program from 1968 to 2013. The aviation program later relocated to Peterborough Airport.

Don Mills Campus located in a former IBM building at 1380 Don Mills Road in North York. Don Mills Campus opened in 1991 and housed the School of Computer Studies and Financial Services Department.

Academics

Seneca offers more than 145 full-time programs and 135 part-time programs including 14 Bachelor's degrees and 30 graduate certificates. It provides 759 courses at Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Bachelors, Post Graduate and Post Degree Certificate levels.

Many programs offer experiential learning opportunities such as co-op, placements, internships and community service options, and some include a mandatory co-op period prior to graduation. Seneca also offers career search assistance to graduating students. Seneca Polytechnic programs are developed and kept current with the assistance of advisory committees made up of industry members.

Seneca Polytechnic has more than 70 transfer agreements with both local and international post-secondary institutions, including universities in Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These agreements allow students to apply their college education to obtain credit towards a university degree.

Faculties, schools and centres

• Community and Health
• Applied Science & Engineering Technology
• Business
• Communication, Art & Design
• Arts
• Nursing
• Continuing Education

Seneca Libraries

Seneca libraries offer print, audiovisual and electronic resources including books, magazines, journals, videos, DVDs, slides, recordings and a variety of topical databases. A high percentage of the collection is now digital. Services include research support, library instruction and a large circulating collection. The libraries provide online help through e-mail and the live reference chat services, "AskUS" and "askON". The Seneca Libraries' website also hosts research guides tailored to program-specific offerings. The library facilities are located at the Newnham, York University, Markham and King campuses and offer facilities for group and individual study and electronic training centres, the Sandbox, and workstations equipped with instructional software and information resources tailored to course requirements.

Seneca Archives and Special Collections

Seneca Archives and Special Collections identifies, preserves, and makes available for use the documentary heritage of Seneca Polytechnic. The service collects inactive records of long-term value produced by Seneca's departments and other services, as well as the records of individuals and organizations closely associated with the college. Seneca Archives and Special Collections holdings consist of textual records, graphic records, sound and moving image records, architectural drawings, publications, artifacts, and more. The Archives' resources are open to all members of the College community and outside researchers for the purposes of research, teaching, publication, television and radio programs, and for general interest.

International

Seneca has been active in international education for decades and now attracts about 10,000 international students each year from about 130 countries. Seneca's English Language Institute prepares international students for post-secondary study through intensive language training that can last anywhere from two months to more than a year. The college has several partnerships with overseas institutions and is expanding its activities in joint applied research and work / study abroad options.

Ethical problems with Canadian college's international student enrolment has become an issue which has resulted in 23 of 24 Ontario colleges implementing standards of practice to protect international students because most of them had entered into partnerships with for-profit private colleges. Seneca did not. Seneca Polytechnic has not implemented these standards.

Residence

Seneca Polytechnic currently offers residence at both the Newnham Campus and the King Campus. Seneca residences are composed of suite-style units containing two bedrooms, a bathroom and kitchenette. Each bedroom contains a double bed, desk, chair, closet and dresser space, as well as cable TV, internet access and phone. Students also have access to a common kitchen, laundry rooms, lounge areas, a games room and a convenience store. Buildings have a front desk and 24-hour video monitoring, and are accessed by swipe card. The King Campus residence houses 233 students in a three-storey low-rise structure, while the Newnham Campus residence houses 1,113 students in a high-rise tower with a dining hall, convenience store, and restaurant all within the building. Seneca Polytechnic Residence have organized a free shuttle service from the Newnham Campus to the Markham, Seneca@York and King campuses.

Athletics

The school's athletic teams are named "The Sting". The Seneca Sting is one of the most-decorated athletic programs in the history of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA), having won more than 450 medals since 1967. Seneca has eighteen varsity sports teams for men and women, including badminton, baseball, basketball, cross country running, dance, rugby, soccer (indoor and outdoor), softball, and volleyball. The Seneca Sports Centre located at the Newnham Campus includes a full ice arena, a triple gymnasium, six tennis courts, a softball diamond, two beach volleyball courts, a soccer field, and a fitness centre with a dance studio. Seneca Polytechnic also offers various fields, gymnasiums and fitness equipment at other campuses.

Concerts

Seneca hosted a number of concerts in the 1970s and 1980s at the Minkler Auditorium and Seneca Field House (both at Newnham Campus). Monty Python's Flying Circus performed at the Minkler Auditorium on their first Canadian tour in 1973. The Grateful Dead performed at Seneca Polytechnic's Field House on 2 November 1977. Other famous artists who performed in the late seventies and eighties at Seneca include Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen (in one of his first Canadian appearances), David Bowie, Thin Lizzy (1977), Graham Parker, Sparks, Teenage Head, Max Webster (1977), Blondie, and Iggy Pop.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)