The history, successes, and future of public community colleges in Canada are examined in this paper. After explaining the conditions that precipitated the conception, birth, and rapid growth to maturity of Canadian community colleges between 1965 and 1975, the paper describes their essential characteristics, e.g., a comprehensive curriculum,…

This paper documents the development of a unique institution in Canadian higher education, the university college in British Columbia. From its roots as a comprehensive community college, the university college was confronted with numerous legislative and policy changes which culminated in its current claim to be called a regional university. In…

This report provides an account of the transfer and articulation process within British Columbia's postsecondary education system, from 1963 to the present. It focuses on five factors in policy development: (1) a critical decision was the creation of a system of colleges and universities that would cooperate to ensure that students who met stated…

Describes the development of Canada's five basic community college organizational systems: colleges of applied arts and technology, comprehensive community colleges, postsecondary vocational-technical colleges, rural community colleges, and public multicampus universities. Reviews common elements and differences and discusses the influence of the…

The realization that a substantial segment of Canadian society could participate in a college education only if barriers of time and distance were removed led to an emphasis upon the concept of distance education as a necessary and desirable component of the programming of a community college. Recently, however, critics have argued that the…

This book provides a critical analysis of the most significant developments in Canadian colleges in every province and territory since 1985. With contributions by leading scholars, it addresses such topics as leadership, entrepreneurship, new forms of organization, accountability, instructional methodology, the emergence of a college culture, and…

One alternative model for post-compulsory education, the community college, is examined as it developed in British Columbia (BC). Attention is given to the social and historical context in which the community college idea developed, the complex set of circumstances that lead to an unprecedented growth of educational institutions in BC and the…

A study was conducted at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria (UV) to assess the academic performance of community college and technical institute transfer students in terms of baccalaureate degree attainment, time taken to complete the degree, rate of withdrawal, and final academic standing at the time the…

A longitudinal follow-up study of career/technical students in British Columbia (BC) community colleges and technical institutes was conducted to determine the number of students who completed, withdrew from, or discontinued their studies; reasons for program non-completion; student opinions of the career/technical programs; and students'…

As their second decade draws to an end, Canada's community colleges are confronted with budgetary constraints and increasing demands for more accountability. While in many ways their performance has been impressive, these institutions face a number of issues which defy satisfactory solutions. Four of the more demanding issues are: (1) increasingly…