Okanagan College Media Release - Sept. 23, 2008

For the third year in a row, enrolment at Okanagan College has grown with 5,229 students arriving to take programs at the College’s campuses this month.

That’s an increase of 3.4 per cent from the previous September.

“These numbers point toward another good year for the College,” said Okanagan College president Jim Hamilton. “We have exceeded our own and government’s expectation for the past three years and this snapshot of our fall enrolment suggests that we will once again meet and exceed government targets.”

The September enrolment picture tells just part of the story at the College. There are programs and courses that start throughout the year and the calculation of how many students are served by the institution isn’t made until after the end of the fiscal year (March 31).

For the 2007-08 fiscal year, for instance, the College educated the equivalent of 7,166 full-time students (including 473 international students). That was 103 per cent of the provincial government target. The year prior, it had educated the equivalent of 5,826 full-time students, 112 per cent of the provincial target.

“Those numbers are significant but not nearly as important as the students we’re serving and the obvious demand for our programs and services,” said Hamilton.

One of the program areas that has grown significantly since the new Okanagan College opened its doors in 2005 is the university transfer arts program. Students can take the first two years of their undergraduate degree in arts or sciences at Okanagan College and then transfer to a university to complete their degree. They can also now choose to transfer to Okanagan College’s business administration degree program.

In 2005, there were 790 students taking the associate of arts degree program, which is offered at each of the four campuses. This year, there are 1,055 students registered in the program: an increase of 33.5 per cent over three years. As well, Okanagan College has introduced new arts diploma programs in Writing and Publishing, Media and Cultural Studies and Criminal and Social Justice: 87 students are registered in those three programs this year.

September’s enrolment growth was largest at the Kelowna campus. Student numbers there grew by 179 – or about five per cent over last year. Penticton grew by about 1.5 per cent to 475 students, while Salmon Arm grew by 2.4 per cent to 339 students. Vernon’s student headcount remained steady compared to last year, with 646 students, but the number of course registrations grew by almost 12 per cent.

The breakdowns for campuses and course registrations are below (2007 figures are indicated in brackets):

There are 92 students enrolled in distance education, taking a total of 584 courses.

The numbers cited above include 468 international students, which is an increase of more than 24 per cent above last September’s enrolment of 376.