College of the Rockies number one in Canada with international students

College of the Rockies international students (L - R) Hanaka Yamada, In Hee (Kiera) Lee, Nickson Tindi, Abdulaziz Alsaifi, Cesar Velez Del Hierro, Maanga Mwanamwambwa, and Elizabeth Gichimu.

College of the Rockies had reason to celebrate on Thursday, April 18. The College received high honours in a 2012 survey of international students with an overall rating of number one in Canada and number two in the world.

Conducted by the International Graduate Insight Group (i-graduate) the Student Barometer is the largest annual survey of international students in the world. It covers four benchmarks — arrival experience, learning, living and support. Feedback was gathered from students from 15 countries worldwide, including 25 universities and colleges from Canada. Seventy-five per cent of College of the Rockies’ international students responded to the survey.

Rachel Worley, i-graduate marketing manager said, “193 institutions took part in the 2012 autumn wave of the International Student Barometer — the world's largest survey of student satisfaction, with feedback from over 1.5 million students since the survey was first carried out in 2005. We're delighted to have a number of new institutions on board, including College of the Rockies.”

College of the Rockies’ executive director, International Affairs and dean of instruction Patricia Bowron said, “This is an incredible honour for the college, to come out as first in Canada and second in the world for overall student satisfaction in arrival, support, learning and living. It was great to be able to see how our results fared against some of the most well-regarded post-secondary institutions in Canada and abroad. We are really pleased that our students regard us so positively.”

College of the Rockies rated first in Canada and internationally in arrival experience, with registration and accommodations both garnering top honours. Program content and organization also came in at number one while class sizes and the career advice international students received were rated number one in Canada and number two worldwide.

Support was another area in which the college was highly ranked with the Financial Aid office coming in at the top and the International Education department, Student Services and IT support all ranking number one in Canada and second globally.

College of the Rockies welcomed students from 30 different countries in the 2012/2013 academic year. Over the past five years, international student numbers have increased by approximately 50 per cent. The countries of origin for these students have also increased by fifty percent over the same time frame.

“Our success is a team effort and we were glad to be able to hold a small celebration on April 18 with college faculty, staff, management, students and host families to thank them for all they do to help make College of the Rockies a great place to be,” Bowron said.

For more information visit the College of the Rockies website.