College of the Rockies
College of the Rockies
It was established in 1975 in Cranbrook to keep up with the growing demand for apprenticeship training. Today, this public community college offers a full range of academic programs that lead to diplomas, Associate degrees, and certificates. Currently, the main campus is still located in the city of Cranbrook, but there are five regional campuses of the College of the Rockies in the cities of Fernie, Invermere, Creston, and others. Every year, College of the Rockies attracts more and more international students, not only with its great academic facilities and affordable tuition fees but also with the nature of the city: international students enjoy hiking and skiing in the Rocky Mountain area of the province.
Programs in College of the Rockies
One of the peculiarities and greatest advantages that make so many international students enter the College of the Rockies is that the completion of some of the programs leads to guaranteed admission to the University of Victoria and achieving a Bachelor’s degree there. The main requirements are completing twenty-four credits, which are equal to eight courses, and having a minimum GPA of 2.0.
One such program is Education, which leads to a Bachelor of Education degree awarded by the University of Victoria, but the entire program is taken at the Cranbrook campus of the College of the Rockies. The location chosen for teaching the program is not fortuitous. Such a choice was made to provide students with the opportunity to practice their teaching skills in rural areas and communities as more and more teachers are needed in small cities. Moreover, it’s predicted that more than ten thousand vacancies will be opened for elementary school teachers in the next ten years in the province of British Columbia.
College of the Rockies offers international students the opportunity to earn an Associate of Arts. It’s also possible to obtain an Associate of Science degree and specialize in Environmental Science. Studies are held in small classes so that every student at the College of the Rockies receives the personalized attention of an instructor. This program can be taken in blended, online, or offline formats, according to a student’s preferences. During the studies, students learn Cultural Anthropology and Biology on different levels of difficulty, Genetics, Ecology, Geography, Microbiology, and a number of other subjects. Each subject is taught from various angles to help a student have a comprehensive picture of the environment and its components.
Basically, completion of the Associate of Science program will be tantamount to the first two years of towards a Bachelor's degree, and afterwards, students can continue their education and achieve a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science. For example, students can choose the University of Bachelor Columbia as their further destination to study Environmental Sciences. Here, they will learn Genetics, Evolution, and Ecology, Hydrology, and, of course, Global Climate Change, together with a number of other disciplines. It’s possible to achieve an Honours Bachelor degree at the University of British Columbia, and also take a co-op term to gain paid work experience along with full-time academic studies. It’s claimed that after their graduation, international students with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences can work in research, education, advocacy, and law fields as, besides having a deep understanding of environmental problems and possible tools to resolve them, they have well-developed research, analytical skills and critical thinking.
The cost of one academic year for an Associate of Science in Environmental Sciences is around CAD 15,300. Together with international, lab, and medical insurance fees, the whole two-year program at College of the Rockies will cost international students CAD 32,200.
College of the Rockies offers international students the opportunity to achieve a diploma by studying the following programs: Education Support Worker, Child, Youth, and Family Studies, Social Justice, Dental Assistant, Management, Kinesiology, Practical Nurse, Wireless Systems Technician, Accounting, and others.
Certificates can be obtained through studying the following programs: Bookkeeping, Engineering, Fine Arts, Professional Cook, Office Administration, Adventure Skills Training, Social Justice, Social Justice, Administrative Assistant Specialty and a lot more.
The last program, for example, is delivered in the online mode. College of the Rockies aims to teach people, who are seeking employment as executive administrative assistants and want, in the shortest time possible, to acquire all the skills needed for this job. It lasts for fifteen weeks, and can be taken either full-time or part-time. Students will learn how to work with various office software, official documents, math, and business communication skills.
The program of Early Childhood Education at the College of the Rockies teaches students the methodology and other tools to work with children from thirty months to the age of twelve. Students can also choose to specialize in either Infant and Toddler education or Special Needs education but within a diploma program of the same name. During the certificate program, students learn Inclusive Interpersonal Communications, Developing Positive Relationships with Young Children, Creating Curriculum for Young Children, and others.
The program that leads to a Dental Assistant certificate can also be taken in online and offline modes. It takes only ten months to be prepared for the special exam needed to be eligible to work as a dental assistant. This ten-month period includes a practice period that lasts for three weeks, during which students gain practical experience in the College of the Rockies Preventative Clinic, which is visited by more than three hundred people annually. Students learn about such disciplines as Microbiology and Infection Control, Patient Assessment, Dental Radiography, Lab Procedures, Patient Care Procedures, and others. International students who want to achieve a Dental Assistant certificate need to pay CAD 16,900 per program, including application, international, student association, and medical insurance fees. The books and supplies needed to study the program cost an additional CAD 1,700.
A post-degree diploma or a certificate can be obtained studying the program of Sustainable Business Practices at the College of the Rockies. It’s made for students who already have a degree in business or tourism but wish to further their studies and learn business from the point of view of sustainability. In the course of a post-degree diploma program, students learn Financial Accounting, Macroeconomics, Principles of Management, Business Ethics, Sustainability Theory and Metrics, Biology of the Environment and a number of other disciplines. International students pay around CAD 31,800 per two academic years, with all additional fees included.
Accommodation in College of the Rockies
Cranbrook is located at the confluence of the Kootenay and St. Mary’s rivers and boasts a population of over twenty thousand people. It’s a tranquil and small town in the province of British Columbia, with a rich history of indigenous population settlements and a number of sports and recreation centers. A one-bedroom flat in the city will cost between CAD 900 and CAD 1,400 monthly, but the price may vary according to its location, proximity to the city center, and the type of furnishing.
Renting an apartment is not the only option for the international students at the College of the Rockies. They may choose to live in student housing, located just a few minutes away from the main campus in a so-called Student Village. There are five buildings overall that have places for a hundred student. Every building has two or three floors with a laundry room and a lounge room on each. Students are provided with private bedrooms, and even private bathrooms in some of the buildings. To secure yourself a place in a student residence, it’s better to apply for it as early as possible. The cost of living from September to December is around CAD 2400; the same amount is charged for a winter period, while living in the summer will cost slightly less.
Another option for international students is homestay. Living with a Canadian family is a great opportunity to practice their English skills and immediately immerse themselves in Canadian culture. Host families introduce foreign students to the new environment, help them with various problems they can encounter, provide students with three meals a day, a private bedroom, and, of course, equal access to all the home's facilities. Every homestay provider makes everything possible to match a student and a family according to their interests and preferences, but if a student wants to change families, special counselors will provide them with this opportunity.
Future Prospects
After completing their studies at the College of the Rockies, international students are free to continue their education at other educational institutions in Canada. Actually, a lot of opportunities lie ahead of international graduates who have completed a full-time program and meet certain other requirements to get a post-graduation work permit. It will allow them to work in the country for three more years. Later, students whose first step was finishing College of the Rockies can apply for permanent residence and citizenship in Canada.
Their opportunities extend far beyond the Canadian borders, as academic credentials gained in Canada are recognized all around the world, and graduates of Canadian educational establishments can build a career anywhere they want.
In case, if you need help with Custodianship and Homestay in order to study in College of the Rockies, please fill in application below or contact us directly.
