Certificate in Administrative Assistant

at Okanagan College - Kelowna Campus Canada

The Office Management certificate provides graduates of applied business technology and administrative assistant programs with a broad business base that emphasizes managerial aspects of secretarial work. Students will be prepared to write the proficiency exams leading to the Certified Professional Secretary designation. Courses leading to this credential will be offered during the day and evening. Some courses are available by distance education.

The Diploma in Communications, Culture, and Journalism Studies (CCJS) is a two-year interdisciplinary diploma that foregrounds a critical analysis of the mass media as contemporary society's most pervasive agent of political and cultural transformation. Students will explore the social, political, and economic functions of news and communications media, the history of journalism, and cultural policy & theory. Particular attention will be paid to questions of social justice, as well as of identity and constructions of gender, race, class, sexuality, and nationality.                               

Housed in the Department of Communications, CCJS offers students foundational courses in media theory, writing-intensive courses in Communications and English, and a selection of elective breadth courses from a range of departments --including Anthropology, History, Philosophy, Geography, Political Science, Sociology, and Women's Studies.

While students may proceed directly to potential entry-level careers in communications, journalism, public relations, marketing, advertising, research, writing, publishing, consulting or new media, especially in small markets and independent digital environments, completion of this program is intended primarily to provide students with the liberal arts education necessary for further study.

The civil engineering technologist is involved in the design and construction of buildings, bridges, highways, streets, parks, subdivisions, dams, drainage and irrigation systems, water supply and sewer systems, and plants. Aspects of civil engineering and urbanization in Canada are studied throughout this program. A diverse and stimulating program, Civil Engineering Technology incorporates field trips to reinforce theoretical background, and to develop appropriate methods of approach and solution. Graduates will possess the following knowledge and skills:

• A knowledge of mathematics, applied science, surveying principles, graphical language and oral and written communication techniques;
• A grounding in applied civil engineering technology as related to highway surveying, road design and construction, municipal construction, bridge construction, municipal water and sewage works, irrigation and drainage, and heavy construction;
• Skills in drafting, detailing, computing, surveying, laboratory testing (soil mechanics, concrete and asphalt paving), construction inspection, writing technical reports and correspondence, preparation of specifications and costs, basic structural design in steel, reinforced concrete, design of water distribution and sewage collection systems, heating and air conditioning and other building services, and engineering law.

The Associate of Science degree is a provincial credential offered by many institutions in the BC Transfer System. The associate degree provides an educational experience that prepares students for life as an educated person, and lays a solid foundation for further study. The associate degree curriculum consists of two years of university-level study in a variety of academic areas. Students are required to complete a broad range of course offerings balanced with in-depth study in specific disciplines. Since many students will continue their studies, the requirements are sufficiently flexible to enable students to complete the required prerequisites for upper-level course work in their intended major. Students will be exposed to a program of study that seeks to develop:

• An interest in and curiosity about the world around them
• An understanding of the global context in which they live and work
• An appreciation of intellectual thought and human creativity
• An openness to a variety of viewpoints
• A capacity for and interest in self-directed life-long learning
• An acceptance of the social responsibilities that come with the benefits of advanced learning.

The Criminal and Social Justice program, based at Okanagan College's Penticton campus, will provide students with an Arts-based criminal and social justice education. It is a two-year, four-semester program in which students will take a variety of criminal and social justice related courses in Sociology, Psychology, Political Science and Criminology, as well as elective Arts courses of personal interest. Some fields of inquiry may include indigenous studies, gender studies, race and ethnicity, globalization and poverty.

Students will graduate from this two-year program with a Diploma in Criminal and Social Justice and transfer into degree opportunities at other institutions in British Columbia and elsewhere, or they can move directly into the workforce, as there is growing labour demand in the field of criminal and social justice.Students exit the program with a solid, practical understanding of criminal and social justice issues in Canada and the world, as well as the academic skills of analytical reasoning, critical thinking, communication, and information retrieval that will be applied to their future profession and academic pursuits.

Okanagan College is offering direct entry in the third year of business administration program. You will learn about the world of business in a Canadian and international context.

Specialization: Accounting, Financial Services, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Human Resources Management, Management, and Marketing

More than simply theory, our business program is based on students applying what they learn in a practical use setting. Your professors have real-life expertise and will design projects that allow you to use your growing knowledge in a hands-on manner, often connecting you directly to local business owners for authentic results.

This 30-week (900 hour) program has been designed to take learners with little or no previous experience in the automotive collision repair trade and supply them with the necessary skills to seek employment in this industry. Instruction in all subject matters relating to Level 1 technical training for Motor Vehicle Body Repairer (Automotive Collision Repair Technician) apprenticeship is included.

Graduates of this program will receive Industry Training Authority (ITA) credit for Level 1 technical training and 625 work-based hours towards their apprenticeship for Motor Vehicle Body Repairer.

Okanagan College offers a four-year Applied Bachelor of Arts degree, located at the Kelowna campus with limited course offerings at Salmon Arm, Vernon and Penticton campuses. This baccalaureate degree provides graduates with employable skills in applied research and an understanding of how the social sciences and liberal arts actively contribute to a culturally diverse sustainable society. Developed for the context of the southern interior of B.C., this program includes studies of regional indigenous cultures and prepares graduates for direct contributions to local and regional issues. Through contextualized learning, the goal of the degree is to provide applied research skills within a context of liberal arts studies and applied social science, emphasizing an empirical orientation to understanding, to application of knowledge, and to intervention. Characterized by the strengths of a terminal degree that produces employable skills, this degree can also prepare students for admission to selective graduate studies programs. All graduates of this applied degree program will be ready for today's job market through mastery of higher-order analytical skills and techniques for applied research. Practical related field experience is a central component of the applied degree education.

This degree enables students to develop competencies in academic and professional writing, qualitative and quantitative analysis, critical thinking skills, ethics, applied research, program evaluation, multi-disciplinary world views, and languages other than English (including regional First Nations' languages). Students will complete field experience (a practicum, field placement or co-operative education program in the fourth year) as well as a capstone project that will tie academic studies to relevant local and regional issues. The degree program develops and maintains scholastic strengths in students, requiring a minimum of 55% in each course counting toward the degree and a minimum cumulative grade average of 60% for all courses taken while in the program. For students seeking direct entry into the Master of Social Work Foundational Two-Year Track graduate studies program at UBC Okanagan, in addition to these degree requirements a minimum grade average of 76% in the upper level courses counting toward the degree is required.

Community Research and Evaluation
A community research focus of the Applied Bachelor of Arts degree provides students with pathways to applied social service work or potential for transition to graduate studies at UBC Okanagan. Students will be granted an Applied Bachelor of Arts: Community Research and Evaluation (ABA-CRE) degree upon completion of the following:

The Bachelor of Computer Information Systems degree is a four-year program which includes a broad selection of computing, mathematics, business, and communications courses so graduates can function successfully in a variety of roles in the Information Technology field.

The courses are grouped into required courses (which all students take), courses from one or more options (an option is a collection of courses dealing with a specific area of computing), and elective courses. This structure allows students to concentrate on areas of computing (Software Design and Development, Database Systems and General Studies) which interest them, while ensuring all graduates have a broad knowledge of computing. With further independent study, graduates may earn industrial certification from companies such as Oracle, IBM, Cisco or Microsoft.

The BCIS degree is available as a co-op program. Taking co-op work terms may lengthen the program by one year or more.

Students who have completed Okanagan College's Computer Information Systems diploma or the Network and Telecommunications Engineering Technology diploma, or a similar program of studies may enter at year three. Other students enter at year one.

This 4 semester 2 year diploma program (76 weeks) is offered in partnership with Northern Lights College (NLC) in Dawson Creek, B.C. The first 3 semesters (55 weeks) of training take place at Okanagan College Aerospace Campus in Vernon B.C. The final semester (18 weeks) takes place at Northern Lights College in Dawson Creek. The diploma is conferred by Northern Lights College. All curriculum and entrance requirements at Okanagan College align with the AMT program at Northern Lights College.

The program is designed to take a student with little or no previous experience in the aircraft maintenance trade and supply him/her with the necessary skills to seek employment in that industry as an apprentice Aircraft Maintenance Engineer. The curriculum follows Transport Canada's guidelines and upon successful completion of the program, Transport Canada will grant graduates 18 months of experience credits toward the 48-month experience requirement for an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer license. Graduates also receive a diploma for Aircraft Maintenance Technician from Northern Lights College.

Apprenticeship technical training credit for Levels One through Four will be granted upon successful completion of this program. Apprenticeship practical training credit may also be granted by the employer as a result of prior practical experience.Training provided is applicable to both rotary wing aircraft (helicopters) and fixed wing aircraft, covering a wide range of subjects with emphasis on practical training. Some of the major subjects taught include aviation law, theory of flight, powerplants (turbine and piston), airframe structures and systems, hydraulics, electrical and avionics systems.