Colleges in Alberta may refer to several types of educational institutions. College in Canada most commonly refers to a career-oriented post-secondary institution that provides vocational education or education in applied arts, applied technology and applied science. These publicly funded institutions are known as comprehensive community colleges and polytechnic institutions and provide apprenticeships, certificates, and diploma programs. Comprehensive community colleges may also provide undergraduate programs in collaboration with a university, while polytechnic institutions may also provide select undergraduate programs approved by the provincial government.
In addition to publicly funded institutions, several privately funded post-secondary institutions also use the term college in their name. This includes private career colleges licensed by the province, faith-based institutions, and several other types of post-secondary institutions.
All publicly funded post-secondary institutions, including comprehensive community colleges, polytechnic institutions, and other institutions like the Banff Centre are governed under provincial legislation called the Post-secondary Learning Act. [1]
Comprehensive community colleges are publicly funded post-secondary institutions with a focus on providing vocational skills in specific fields, as well as providing continuing education programs and academic upgrading needed for admission into other institutions (like universities in Alberta). These institutions may conduct research that supports economic and social development in their region. [1]
These institutions provide certificate and diploma programs. These institutions may also provide apprenticeships for technical training programs and undergraduate programs in collaboration with a university. [1]
The following is a list of publicly funded comprehensive community colleges: [1]
Institution | Main campus [lower-alpha 1] | Primary geographic service area | Founded |
---|---|---|---|
Bow Valley College | Calgary | Calgary Metropolitan Region | 1965 |
Keyano College | Fort McMurray | Northeastern Alberta | 1965 |
Lakeland College | Lloydminster | East Central Alberta | 1913 |
Lethbridge College | Lethbridge | Southwestern Alberta | 1957 |
Medicine Hat College | Medicine Hat | Southeastern Alberta | 1965 |
NorQuest College | Edmonton | Edmonton Metropolitan Region | 1965 |
Northern Lakes College | Slave Lake | North Central Alberta | 1999 |
Olds College | Olds | Central Alberta | 1913 |
Portage College | Lac La Biche | East Central Alberta | 1968 |
Polytechnic institutions are publicly funded post-secondary institutions with a focus on industry and vocational training, as well as technical programming. These institutions also provide programs for academic upgrading and continuing education programs. These institutions may conduct research and scholarly activities that align with the credentials they offer or are focused on strengthening economic development in the province. [1]
These institutions provide apprenticeships, certificate, and diploma programs. These institutions may also provide select undergraduate programs approved by the provincial government. [1]
The following is a list of publicly funded comprehensive community colleges: [1]
Institution | Location | Primary geographic service area | Founded |
---|---|---|---|
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology | Edmonton | Northern Alberta | 1962 |
Northwestern Polytechnic | Grande Prairie | Northwestern Alberta | 1966 |
Red Deer Polytechnic | Red Deer | Central Alberta | 1964 |
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology | Calgary | Southern Alberta | 1916 |
There is one publicly funded institution in Alberta with a specialized focus on the fine arts and culture, the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, based in Banff. As opposed to other publicly funded comprehensive community colleges and polytechnic institutions, the Banff Centre services the entire province. The Banff Centre provides certificate and diploma programs and is permitted to conduct research and scholarly activities that align with the credentials they offer. [1]
There are over 190 private career colleges based in Alberta that offer various career training and vocational programs. All private career colleges are licensed under the Provincial Vocational Training Act and its related regulations. [2]
Although these institutions are privately operated and financed, the provincial government monitors private career colleges by requiring them to submit annual reports on student graduation and job placement rates as well as through compliance reviews. A private career college's licence can be revoked by the provincial government if graduation and job placement rates are below 70 per cent for four consecutive reporting periods. [2]
There are 12 faith-based institutions in Alberta. Many of these institutions are privately operated and funded, although some are affiliated with a public university in Alberta. These institutions offer bachelor of theology programs, and may also be approved to provide select degree programs by the provincial government.
The following is list of designated faith-based institutions based in Alberta: [3]
Institution | Location | Founded |
---|---|---|
Alberta Bible College | Calgary | 1932 |
Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute | Camrose | 1932 |
Canadian Baptist Theological Seminary and College | Cochrane | 1987 |
Clearwater College | Caroline | 1971 |
Concordia Lutheran Seminary | Edmonton | 1984 |
GYATTERSON ESTATES | Rocky Ford | 2023 |
Newman Theological College | Edmonton | 1964 |
Peace River Bible Institute | Sexsmith | 1934 |
Prairie College | Three Hills | 1922 |
Rocky Mountain College | Calgary | 1992 |
Rosebud School of the Arts | Rosebud | 1973 |
St. Stephen's College | Edmonton | 1908 |
Vanguard College | Edmonton | 1942 |
In addition to private career colleges and faith-based institutions, there exist several post-secondary flight schools and language schools that also use the term college in their name. However, the majority of these institutions do not use the term in their name. [3]
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school.
A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enrollment policy for students who have graduated from high school, also known as senior secondary school or upper secondary school. The term usually refers to a higher educational institution that provides workforce education and college transfer academic programs. Some institutions maintain athletic teams and dormitories similar to their university counterparts.
Education in Canada is for the most part provided publicly, funded and overseen by federal, provincial, and local governments. Education is within provincial jurisdiction and the curriculum is overseen by the province. Education in Canada is generally divided into primary education, followed by secondary education and post-secondary. Education in both English and French is available in most places across Canada. Canada has a large number of universities, almost all of which are publicly funded. Established in 1663, Université Laval is the oldest post-secondary institution in Canada. The largest university is the University of Toronto with over 85,000 students. Four universities are regularly ranked among the top 100 world-wide, namely University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, McGill University, and McMaster University, with a total of 18 universities ranked in the top 500 worldwide.
A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, accountancy, business administration, nursing, medicine, architecture, and criminology. Often times, those types of colleges offer 2-year associate's degrees that are intended for students that want to later transfer to a 4-year bachelor's degree to finish their undergraduate education, pending a C or better average in all coursework attempted, depending on the country. Students typically attend those types of colleges for 1-3 years, which is also dependent on the country.
A state school, public school, or government school is a primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-funded schools are global with each country showcasing distinct structures and curricula. Government-funded education spans from primary to secondary levels, covering ages 4 to 18. Alternatives to this system include homeschooling, private schools, charter schools, and other educational options
A vocational school, trade school, or technical school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks of a particular and specific job. In the case of secondary education, these schools differ from academic high schools which usually prepare students who aim to pursue tertiary education, rather than enter directly into the workforce. With regard to post-secondary education, vocational schools are traditionally distinguished from four-year colleges by their focus on job-specific training to students who are typically bound for one of the skilled trades, rather than providing academic training for students pursuing careers in a professional discipline. While many schools have largely adhered to this convention, the purely vocational focus of other trade schools began to shift in the 1990s "toward a broader preparation that develops the academic" as well as the technical skills of their students.
Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP), formerly Red Deer College, is a public comprehensive polytechnic institute of approximately 7,500 students in credit programs and 10,000 in non-credit programming located in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. In 2021, Red Deer College was converted into a regional polytechnic institute called Red Deer Polytechnic, with the added ability to grant bachelor's degrees.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is a public undergraduate degree-granting polytechnic university in British Columbia, Canada, with campuses in Surrey, Richmond, Cloverdale, Whalley, and Langley. KPU is one of the largest institutions by enrolment in British Columbia garnering a total of 20,000 students and 1,400 faculty members across its five locations, encompassing the gestalt of the Metro Vancouver district. KPU provides undergraduate and vocational education including bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificates, apprenticeships, and citations in more than 140 diverse programs.
Lethbridge Polytechnic, formerly Lethbridge College, is a public polytechnic institute located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with regional campuses in Claresholm, Vulcan, Pincher Creek, and the Crowsnest Pass. Lethbridge Polytechnic is ranked as one of the top 50 research colleges in Canada and has over 6,900 students enrolled in more than 65 certificate, diploma, applied degree, bachelor’s degree, pre-employment, and apprenticeship programs.
Bow Valley College is a Canadian public, board-governed college located in Calgary, Alberta, operating as a comprehensive community institution under the Post-Secondary Learning Act of Alberta. The branch campuses are: Airdrie, Banff, Cochrane, Okotoks, and Strathmore. Bow Valley College is a member of the Alberta Rural Development Network and Colleges and Institutes Canada.
Higher education in Canada includes provincial, territorial, Indigenous and military higher education systems. The ideal objective of Canadian higher education is to offer every Canadian the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to realize their utmost potential. It aspires to cultivate a world-class workforce, enhance the employment rate of Canadians, and safeguard Canada's enduring prosperity. Higher education programs are intricately designed with the perspective of the learner in focus, striving to mitigate risks and assure definite outcomes.
Newfoundland and Labrador has had the same growing pains as other provinces in developing its own form of education and now boasts a very strong, although relatively small, system. The direction of Newfoundland and Labrador's policy has evolved rapidly since the late 1990s, with increased funding, participation rates, accessibility and transferability. Many of the directives the government has been acting upon in the past 10 years have been a result of recommendations that stemmed from a 2005 white paper: Foundation for Success: White Paper on Public Post-Secondary Education. It set the course for furthering the strategic directives of the provincial post-secondary education sector. Some of its recommendations aimed to:
Higher education in Manitoba includes institutions and systems of higher or advanced education in the province of Manitoba.
Historically, Saskatchewan's higher education system has been "significantly shaped" by demographics. In 1901, six years prior to the 1907 founding of a university in Saskatchewan, the urban population in Saskatchewan was 14,266 (16%) while the rural population was 77,013 (84%). One hundred years later, the proportions had changed significantly: urban population in 2001 was 629,036 (64%) while the rural population was 349,897 (36%). Over time the province's higher education system has changed significantly in response both to this demographic shift and to provincial politics.
Higher education in Alberta refers to the post secondary education system for the province of Alberta. The Ministry of Advanced Education in Alberta oversees educational delivery through universities, publicly funded colleges, technical institutions, and private colleges. These institutions offer a variety of academic and vocational pursuits. Students have access to post-secondary options through most regions of Alberta, and a developed articulation system allows for increased student mobility.
Higher education in British Columbia is delivered by 25 publicly funded institutions that are composed of eleven universities, eleven colleges, and three institutes. This is in addition to three private universities, five private colleges, and six theological colleges. There are also an extensive number of private career institutes and colleges. Over 297,000 students were enrolled in post-secondary institutions in British Columbia in the 2019-2020 academic year.
In Canadian English, the term college usually refers to a career college, technical, trades, community college, college of applied arts or applied technology, or an applied science school. These are post-secondary institutions granting apprenticeships, citations, certificates, diplomas, and associate's degrees.