News

Message from Jim Reed – President, BC Colleges

Welcome to this month’s edition of “What’s New at BC Colleges”. For many, August means a quiet end to summer but for BC’s 11 community colleges, August is a busy month. BC’s colleges are in full swing preparing for the return of students this fall.

As I reviewed this month’s media from the more than 60 community college locations throughout BC one word kept coming to mind – new - new programs, new training, new initiatives, new partnerships, new collaborations and new MOU's. All of this activity is certain to translate into new experiences and new opportunities for the more than 160,000 students who attend one of our colleges each year.

I believe our colleges need to continue to embrace "new" and discover different and innovative ways to deliver programs to meet the growing demand for college graduates. These highly-skilled graduates, some right out of high school, others retraining for a new career, are needed to fill the more than 1 million job openings forecasted by 2020. Our college graduates are equipped with the education and training to start to close the skills gap and make sure BC has the skilled workers necessary to power our economy in all regions of the province.

Read on to learn more about the accolades, projects, collaborations and announcements from our 11 member colleges during the past month.

For a full list of this month's news, please check out  "In the News" on the BC Colleges website. As always, I welcome your feedback, you can reach me by e-mail.

Sincerely,

Jim Reed

NIC Welcomes New President John Bowman
North Island College Media Release, July 31, 2013
On August 1, John Bowman assumed his new role as North Island College’s fifth President. Mr. Bowman served as President and Chief Executive Officer at the College of New Caledonia (CNC), headquartered in Prince George, for the past seven years. Read more.

Selkirk College Delivers National Pharmacy Technician Bridging Education Program
Selkirk College Media Release, July 30, 2013
Selkirk College recently signed an agreement with the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities to deliver the online version of the National Pharmacy Technician Bridging Education Program. The program will allow those already working in the role of pharmacy technician to upgrade their skills to align with changes in the scope of practice for pharmacy technicians without having to return to school to complete a full-time training program. Read more.  

Explore Your Adventurous Side at College of the Rockies’ Fernie Campus
College of the Rockies Media Release, July 31, 2013
College of the Rockies’ Fernie Campus is offering a new program that is perfect for those adventurous at heart. Rocky Mountain Educational Adventures gives participants the opportunity to challenge themselves and to learn new skills with experienced, certified guides. With three options throughout the year, there is sure to be something for every type of adventurer. Read more.

Getting greener by the gallon
Vancouver Community College Media Release, July 30, 2013
Here’s a story about garbage that’s good for Vancouver, good for B.C., and even good for your health. Vancouver Community College’s award-winning culinary programs and campus cafeterias have begun a recycling program that prevents organic waste from needlessly ending up in landfills. Leftover waste like food scraps and expired produce from VCC’s eateries are picked up several times a week and trucked by B.C.-owned Northwest Organics to a ranch near Lytton, located 250 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. Read more.

Health Care Assistant program coming to Fort Nelson
Northern Lights Media Release, July 26, 2013
Residents in the Fort Nelson region will have a special education and training opportunity starting in January 2014 at Northern Lights College. A special intake of the College’s Health Care Assistant (HCA) program will be hosted at NLC’s Fort Nelson Campus, starting in January, and continuing through until early August 2014. Read more.

UNBC and CNC 11TH Annual Teaching and Learning Conference - August 28th and August 29th, 2013
College Of New Caledonia Media Release, July 26, 2013
For the past ten years CNC and UNBC have held a late summer event dedicated to teaching and learning. What started as a one day workshop in 2002 is now a two day event that regularly attracts over 100 participants. Read more.

NWCC becomes supporter of Green Marine
Northwest Community College Media Release, July 25, 2013
Northwest Community College (NWCC) is now a member of Green Marine, the sustainability initiative that establishes performance benchmarks for an environmentally safe marine industry in Canada and the US. NWCC is the first and only education institution on the west coast of North America to become a Green Marine member. Read more.

Langara Celebrates International Partnership
Langara College Media Release, July 21, 2013
Langara’s School of Nursing welcomed a delegation from a partner institution in India this week, to celebrate the success of an exchange program and to explore new opportunities for collaboration. Representatives from the Royal Institute of Nursing (RIN) in India were presented with a commemorative plaque at the College in appreciation of an outstanding partnership program. Read more.  

Nursing grad encourages nurses to volunteer
Douglas College Media Release, July 18, 2013
Tracy Glenn is encouraging other nurses to volunteer in different parts of the world to provide medical care to people in need. “I hope that through reading about my experiences, Douglas College student nurses can see that there are many opportunities for different types of nursing worldwide,” says Tracy, who graduated from the Douglas Nursing program in 1991. Read more.

Camosun a Canadian leader in solar thermal heating education and development
Camosun College Media Release, July 10, 2013
Camosun’s Plumbing/Pipe Trades department has been working together with Pacific Solar Smart Homes to develop a leading-edge “CamoSun” Solar Thermal Heating System for residential housing. The innovative product is eligible for incentives through the Solar Colwood energy solutions program. Read more.

Okanagan College and BCIT deepen partnership with MOU
Okanagan College Media Release, July 8, 2013
Okanagan College and the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) took a significant step forward in joint collaboration this week with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that formalizes each institution’s commitment to explore and pursue joint opportunities to provide high-quality programming, complementary disciplines and applied research. Broadly, the MOU is aimed toward further joint development in the areas of planning, partnerships related to programming and applied research, and capital planning. Read more.

BC Colleges is a consortium representing BC’s 11 public, community colleges serving over 160,000 students annually with campuses in over 60 communities throughout British Columbia. BC’s colleges offer a comprehensive range of programs from university studies and baccalaureate degrees to career, technical and trades education. All of BC’s colleges offer programs that are designed to be accessible, affordable and responsive to the evolving needs of BC communities and industry.

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