Benefits & Services

 
Big White - Deals for Alumni! 
Branch Information
Bursaries
(Life-long) E-mail Address
Employment Services
Insurance Program
Library Cards
Medical Access Insurance
Perkopolis! 

Once again, we are happy to partner with one of the best ski hills in the world!  We have partnered with the management of Big White to bring Okanagan College alumni discounts to ski and stay.  Click on the Big White button on the right to check out the specials available to you!

What is a branch and how does it work?

A branch is a group of Okanagan College (or OUC) alumni living in the same geographic area outside of the Okanagan Valley. Branches perform important functions in addition to providing you with a network to keep in touch with other grads and the university college. As a branch member, you can contribute to issues facing the university college, develop valuable skills as volunteers and meet with Okanagan College administrators, professors and researchers who travel to your area.

Branch activity is initiated by the college, the Association or the branch reps. Some branches have events linked to all three, while others might just have Association-led events.

Your branch is unique

Each one has a different demographic, a different focus, a different level of energy. The types and number of activities that take place are tied to the time and resources of both branch volunteers and the Alumni Association. Flexibility is critical when developing or operating an alumni branch.

The Alumni & Community Relations Coordinator provides support and guidance to make the representative’s role as uncomplicated and, most of all, enjoyable, as possible. We recognize that our volunteers lead busy lives.

What can our coordinator do for you?

• Act as liaison between the branch reps, the Alumni Association and Okanagan College;
• Maintain regular contact with branch reps;
• Inform, orient and support branch contacts by helping them access resources within the Association, on campus and in their region;
• Encourage and develop the participation of alumni in branch activities;
• Organize one annual event in active branches;
• Provide resources, ideas and materials to branch reps for branch-led local activities;
• Provide a calendar of university college travel activities;
• Advise branch reps of publication deadlines to facilitate branch activities, announcements and news;
• Help the branch set annual goals;
• Attend and support branch events as required and as funding permits.

What can you do as a volunteer?

The time a volunteer rep devotes to branch development depends on how much they want to do and the availability of other alumni volunteers. The following is a general outline of the rep’s responsibilities. Please note that not all of these responsibilities would be necessary in any one year:

• Serve as the Alumni Association contact in the area. This would include posting your name and contact numbers in Alumni Association publications and on the web page, taking calls from interested alumni or potential Okanagan College students, taking calls from interested Okanagan College personnel;
• Maintain regular communication with the Coordinator, respond to communications in a timely fashion and report regularly on activities;
• Notify the Coordinator when you are unable to perform branch rep responsibilities;
• Represent the Alumni Association and/or Okanagan College at Association and College led activities;
• Support the Coordinator in organizing Association-led activities;
• Act as the ambassador for the Alumni Association at relevant events and activities;
• Be a liaison between local alumni and the Coordinator;
• Assist the Alumni Association with tracing "lost" alumni in your area;
• Coordinate activities of the local branch and delegate tasks to branch volunteers.

MONEY!

Branches should be financially self-sustaining. Your branch may choose to charge a membership fee and build a branch operating account. You may levy an additional charge of about $1–$3 per person for cost-recovery events to help build up the branch account.

But cost (and cost recovery) shouldn’t be the biggest concern. We recommend that you keep charges for events as reasonable as possible, so price does not discourage attendance.

Bursaries

The Alumni Association has established two bursaries to help support Okanagan College students with the financial burden of pursuing post-secondary education.

Okanagan College Alumni Association Bursary
An annual award of $500 for an Okanagan College or OUC alumnus or the son or daughter of an Okanagan College or OUC alumnus. The recipient will be enrolled full-time in any year of any program of study at any campus of Okanagan College.

Selection of the award recipient will be based on a combination of academic achievement and financial need, with emphasis on financial need.

Okanagan College Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award
An annual award of $500 for a student who has completed one or more years of full-time study in any university transfer, degree or diploma program at Okanagan College and who is returning the following September for a subsequent year of full-time study.

The recipient will be a permanent resident of Canada with demonstrated involvement in community affairs, public service, the arts, or the environment, either within the Okanagan College community or in the community where they reside. Selection of the award recipient will be based on a combination of academic achievement and financial need, with emphasis on achievement.

Life-long Alumni E-mail Address

As an alumnus of Okanagan College, you are entitled to keep your myOkanagan e-mail address.  Not only does it provide continuity of communication from your student life to career, but it's also much more professional for any job related correspondance than funny_monkey182@hotmail.com would be! 

If you'd like to reactivate your myOkanagan e-mail account, either complete our online Stay In Touch form or contact us via e-mail!

Employment Services

They can help you:

• Prepare competitive resumes and cover letters
• Find a job in your field of interest/study
• Develop & practice professional interview skills
• Connect with employers in your field
• Explore the job market and find a career you enjoy
• Learn about overseas employment opportunities
• Gain volunteer experience

For more information, contact the Student Graduate & Coop Employment Centre. 

As a graduate of Okanagan College (or its predecessor, OUC) you are automatically a member of the Alumni Association and with that comes many advantages, one of which includes the opportunity to join our Alumni Association's group insurance program. Okanagan College Alumni Association is pleased to partner with Industrial-Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Company to provide you with comprehensive coverage at economical group rates.

This program has been developed with our alumni in mind, to help you provide added insurance protection for those you care about. In financial terms alone, the benefits are exceptional. It is difficult to equal the low rates to which you are entitled as part of a group if you were an individual looking for equivalent insurance coverage.

Take advantage of the benefits offered by Industrial Alliance Pacific under the OC Alumni Group Insurance Plan and give your family the financial security they deserve.

Check it out here

Library Cards

Okanagan College Library Cards are now available for OC and OUC Alumni! The $20 user fee has been waived and the cards are available complimentary for all alumni at all campuses.

To sign up for your card, please complete our online Stay in Touch form and click on the http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/Community/OCAA/Stay_in_Touch.html and check off “I would like to apply for an Alumni Library Card” on page two.

For further information please contact the Alumni Office at alumni@okanagan.bc.ca

Medical Access Insurance (MAI)

Access to a wait list is not access to healthcare. We are very pleased to announce our association with Acure Health Corp. (Acure) and Industrial-Alliance Pacific Insurance Company (IAP) to introduce to our alumni Medical Access Insurance (MAI).

Some highlights of MAI include: 

• No medical exam required 
• No deductibles or co-payments 
• Specialist consultation within 21 days 
• Qualified second opinion 
• Pre-existing conditions covered after 24 months

Check it out here