Red River College has a brand new home in Portage la Prairie.

The newly-opened Portage campus, located at 32 5th St. S.E. (the former site of Victoria School, built in 1916), doesn’t just provide far more space than the former site, it also seeks to improve accessibility issues for students from the city and surrounding area.

The College has maintained a presence in Portage for years, but for the last decade, the campus itself has been located just outside the city — approximately six kilometres away, at nearby Southport.

“There’s no bus service in Portage, so the only way that students without their own vehicles could get out (to Southport) was by cab,” says Campus Manager Lori-Ann Grenkow.

” That was a huge concern, especially given the number of sponsored students we have in our programs. We want to do everything we can to help them succeed.”

Grenkow says the new campus, expected to be fully operational by September 2011, will also afford greater visibility for the College, since it’s located along Portage’s main thoroughfare.

This fall, the Portage campus will serve as home base for approximately 80 fulltime students, with evening classes (held on-campus and at other locations) drawing an expected 800 to 1,200 more throughout the coming year.

The new location allows for an expanded “campus concept,” says Grenkow, including study areas, student and staff lounges, instructor office space, and a new Aboriginal Student Centre.

Click here to learn more about Red River College’s Portage Campus.