Southern B.C. Colleges to Collaborate

Presidents of the three institutions recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding that provides the framework for a new working relationship. The MOU will allow the colleges to work together on program development and delivery, improved transfer arrangements to benefit students, student recruitment and applied research. The MOU also covers areas such as offering programs from one institution at another and international education.

“This MOU is a mutually beneficial, collaborative approach to post-secondary education in the southern and southeastern interior regions of our province and will be a vehicle to enhance opportunities for our students and continue to meet the educational and training needs of our communities,” says College of the Rockies President and CEO Dr. Nick Rubidge.

“Through this agreement, we are better able to co-ordinate what we offer, how we offer it, and to maximize the opportunities for students to access the education they need.” says Marilyn Luscombe, President of Selkirk College. “It is a win for our learners and for our institutions”.

“Each of our three institutions can already claim considerable success in meeting community needs,” says Okanagan College President Jim Hamilton. “This agreement –provides us the chance to share our unique programs and services and develop new opportunities for students and employers.”

Any program or service agreements developed between the three institutions or among any of the signatories will be covered by separate agreements.

Together, the three colleges educated or trained a total of 11,269 full-time equivalent students in 2007-08. Their regions cover about 12 per cent of the overall area of the province and take in about 12.7 per cent of the province’s population (550,890 of 4.31 million people).

First published on July 10, 2008