Douglas College
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 1970[1] |
| President | Dr. Scott McAlpine[2] |
| Provost | Dr. Kathy Denton [3] |
Academic staff | ~ 486[1] |
| Students | 14,000 credit students 9,000 continuing education students[1] 1,000 international students |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Urban (New Westminster), Suburb (Coquitlam) |
| Colours | Black Green Silver |
| Affiliations | ACCC, CBIE, CUP |
| Mascot | Roary Douglas |
| Website | douglascollege.ca |
| File:Douglascollegelogo2012.jpg | |
Douglas College is one of the largest public colleges in British Columbia, Canada.
Founded in 1970, the college serves some 14,000 credit students, 9,000 continuing education students and 1,000 international students each year. Douglas offers Bachelor's degrees and general university arts and science courses, as well as career programs in health care, human services (Child, Family and Community Studies), business, and the creative arts.[1]
Douglas College is recognized by the British Columbia Education Quality Assurance (EQA) program. British Columbia's EQA Designation is a provincial seal that is recognized globally as a symbol of quality for post-secondary education.[1][4]
History
The college is named after the former Governor of British Columbia, Sir James Douglas, and the David Lam campus is named after the 25th Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. The music department at Douglas College started with the founding of the college in 1970. The College has two year transfer programs with universities such as University of British Columbia and University of Victoria[5]
Campuses
The college has four major learning centres: the New Westminster Campus, the David Lam Campus in Coquitlam, the Surrey Training Centre (which specializes in short-term training programs) and the Surrey Learning Centre (which specializes in English language services for adults). The David Lam Campus has just completed a major $39 million expansion, adding a large Health Sciences Centre which opened in January, 2008. This state-of-the-art facility offers a great environment for nursing students, psychiatric nursing, and health information management.
The concourse on the New Westminster campus was renovated in summer 2011. Now, double-sets of doors with vestibules keep the concourse temperature warm in winter. Also, nine TV monitors and soft seating offer multi-purpose work stations for students. Other than these changes, double-paned, sound-reducing windows, sound-absorbing panels and rubberized flooring were installed.[6]
Faculties
The college is divided into six faculties:[7]
- Child, Family and Community Studies
- Commerce and Business Administration
- Health Sciences
- Humanities and Social Sciences
- Language, Literature and Performing Arts
- Science and Technology
Programs
Douglas provides four major areas of educational service: university degrees, diplomas, university transfer programs, continuing education in professional and personal upgrading and over 30 major career-training programs. Douglas has also started offering 'post-degree diplomas,' which are one-year programs offered in certain subjects to help students upgrade their skills in new areas.
The selection of career programs includes full degrees: Bachelors of Science in Nursing and Psychiatric Nursing, Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation, Bachelor of Business Administration, BA in Child and Youth Care, and Bachelor of Physical Education and Coaching. Two recent additions to the Bachelor roster include the BA in Performing Arts and BA in Psychology, which is done as a partnership with Thompson Rivers University.[8]
Many Douglas College students are in university transfer programs in which they complete up to two years of degree-level courses before continuing on to institutions such as the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, or the University of Victoria. Many students start at Douglas because it is more affordable (tuition is about 40 percent lower than at university), offers substantial student support services and features smaller classes with greater student interaction.[9]
In career education, some of the most popular Douglas programs are: health care, community services (Child, Family and Community Studies), criminology, psychology, music and performing arts, business and physical education and coaching.
International Education
Douglas College currently has more than 1,000[10] international students taking credit courses, with nearly half currently coming from China, and the rest coming from South Korea, India and South America. Students from more than 40 countries account for roughly 10 percent of full-time students[6] at the College.
Each year, more than 100 students participate in overseas programs such as practicums, field schools, internships, work experience and cultural and academic exchanges in countries including China, Wales and Uganda. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, students from the Global Leadership Program went to Zambia[11] for three months working with non-government organizations in the areas of community health, education, physical education and sports, small business and micro-finance, as well as community development and youth outreach.
In September 2011, Douglas College accepted an Internationalization Excellence award from the Canadian Association of Community Colleges for its leadership in international education,[6] and partnership in a dual-degree program with a college in China, which has seen more than 1,800 graduates since opening 14 years ago.
In June 2013, Douglas College's Zambia Global Leadership Program received the British Columbia Council for International Education's Outstanding Program in International Education award.[12] [13]
Controversy
In January 2012, Global's 16x9 news magazine aired a story alleging large scale fraud at Douglas College's Chinese partner campuses. Some faculty members complained that some Chinese students were unable to speak basic English upon graduation.[14] They alleged mass scale fraud whereby students were guaranteed to pass their courses through various methods such as black market answer sheets, progressively easier make-up exams, and grade tampering. Robert Buller, a former Dean of Commerce and Business alleged Douglas College President Scott McAlpine said "he needed plausible deniability and he wanted to see and hear nothing" when approached about the issue.[14]
Since then, Douglas College and the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education completed an independent review of the situation.[15] The Ministry released a report in November 2012 stating that British Columbia's Degree Quality Assessment Board found "no evidence of academic dishonesty or fraud in the conduct of Douglas College."[16]
Scholarships, Awards & Bursaries
Douglas College also offers various scholarships, awards and bursaries for its new, current and graduating students.[17] Money is available for students from all faculties and programs to better fund their post-secondary education.
The Government of Canada sponsors an Aboriginal Bursaries Search Tool that lists over 680 scholarships, bursaries, and other incentives offered by governments, universities, and industry to support Aboriginal post-secondary participation. Douglas College scholarships for Aboriginal, First Nations and Métis students include: Awards for Aboriginal Women.[18]
Media
The student newspaper The Other Press has been in print since 1976, making it one of BC's oldest continuously run student publications. It is a member of Canadian University Press.
Athletics
Sports teams at Douglas College are known as the Royals, their mascot is a lion named Roary Douglas. The Royals have three sports that compete in the U.S. which are the golf and baseball programs, both members of the NWAACC and wrestling which is a member of the NCWA Northwest.
Notable Alumni
- Daniel Igali,[19] Olympic gold medalist (wrestling) in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
- Fred Ewanuick,[20] actor featured on Corner Gas, Dan for Mayor, Robson Arms and others.
- Susan McCaslin, literary writer and poet.
- James Moore,[21] current Member of Parliament and Minister of Canadian Heritage
- Scott Richmond,[22] Major League Baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, pitched for the Royals in 2000 and 2001.
- Patrick Gallagher,[23] actor who has performed on Glee, Da Vinci's Inquest and True Blood, among many other credits.
- Terry Glavin, author and journalist, founder of The Other Press.
- Keith Baldrey,[24] Chief Political Correspondent for Global BC.
- Elizabeth Bachinsky,[25] Canadian poet, editor of Event Magazine and current faculty member in the Creative Writing department at Douglas College.
- Dr. John Bertram,[26] Associate Professor of Anatomy at the University of Calgary.[27]
- Frank Giustra,[28] Founder and former CEO Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (commonly referred to as Lionsgate) which is a North American entertainment company. He graduated in 1979 from Douglas College where he spent his first year playing trumpet in the school's music program before switching over to business and finance.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Douglas College: About Us Retrieved on 28 March 2009
- ^ http://www.douglas.bc.ca/about/presidents-office/bio.html
- ^ http://www.douglas.bc.ca/__shared/assets/Douglas_College_Organizational_Chart55529.pdf
- ^ http://bceqa.ca/about
- ^ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0000768 The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
- ^ a b c http://www.douglas.bc.ca/about/locations/new_west_campus/concourse-renovations-summer-2011.html
- ^ http://www.douglas.bc.ca/faculties.html
- ^ http://www.douglas.bc.ca/programs/psych-degree.html
- ^ http://www.douglas.bc.ca/choose-douglas.html
- ^ http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_maple_ridge/tricitynews/news/131101098.html
- ^ http://www.douglife.ca/zambia-blog/
- ^ http://www.royalcityrecord.com/business/Douglas+Zambia+program+wins+award/8591052/story.html
- ^ http://www.royalcityrecord.com/business/Douglas+Zambia+program+wins+award/8591052/story.html
- ^ a b [1]
- ^ http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/01/28/douglas-college-orders-review-of-china-programs/
- ^ "Degree Authorization". http://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ [2]
- ^ Aboriginal Bursaries Search Tool
- ^ http://www.douglasishere.com/2011/01/40-after-40-daniel-igali.html
- ^ http://www.douglasishere.com/2010/09/40-after-40-fred-ewaniuk.html
- ^ http://www.douglasishere.com/2011/01/40-after-40-james-moore.html
- ^ http://www.douglasishere.com/2010/11/40-after-40-scott-richmond.html
- ^ http://www.douglasishere.com/2010/09/40-after-40-patrick-gallagher_06.html
- ^ http://www.douglasishere.com/2010/12/40-after-40-keith-baldrey.html
- ^ http://www.douglasishere.com/2010/11/40-after-40-elizabeth-bachinsky.html
- ^ http://www.douglasishere.com/2010/09/then-and-now-dr-john-bertram.html
- ^ http://www.cell.ucalgary.ca/j_bertram.html
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions_Gate_Entertainment.html
External links