Painted faces, robotic dogs and busy chatter greeted the visitors to Durham College’s Open House on Nov. 8 at the Oshawa campus.
Faculties from Health Sciences to Media, Art and Design filled the Gordon Willey Building with interactive examples of the education provided by each program.
A robotic dog from the Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship crawled through the Pit while tours of the campus were conducted.
From 10 a.m to 2 p.m, visitors had the chance to roam the campus, ask questions and let staff, students and alumni help them navigate next steps and decisions.
About 3,500 potential students arrived at the open house, one of them being Adrianne Stremele.
Stremele was considering Durham College’s Business Administration program for its job and networking opportunities. The event solidified her choice.
“I like it a lot. I found a lot of information,” she said.
With the building filled with hope and opportunities, there was one factor that made this open house different from ones in the past.
A number of programs were not represented as they are suspended, which means they are not allowing new admissions.
These include programs such as Advertising – Digital Media Management, Recreation and Leisure Services, and Interactive Media Design among several others.
Over the past year, a number of college programs have faced suspensions due to lack of funding and low enrolment.
This has spanned across faculties, with 46 semester intakes across 37 programs being suspended for the May 2025, September 2025, and January 2026 terms, according a September financial and operational update.
Several of these suspended programs fall under the Business and Information Technology and Media, Arts and Design faculties, known in conjunction as BIT-MAD.
“Media, arts and design is something very creative,” said Khushi Minhas, a graduate of the Advertising and Promotions program.
She said the courses she took made way for vast opportunities.
“It gives you the opportunity to explore yourself more, be free with the art,” she said, “I am very happy where I am right now so I feel like whoever is gonna come in will be happy, too.”
Minhas now works for the Greater Oshawa Chamber and Commerce and uses her education to produce events like the festivals and parades in Durham Region.
She said innovation keeps these professions alive.
“We have a lot of unique stuff. Graphic design, photography, people are always coming up with something unique and new ideas,” she said.
This open house was Durham College’s largest to date with 877 visitors applying for programs and 78 confirming their offers of admission that day.