New milestone for COTR

The College of the Rockies is expanding opportunities for students

Dean of Instruction Dr. Marilyn Petersen (left) and articulation officer Karen Langan were instrumental in working toward College of the Rockies becoming a ‘receiving’ institution.

On January 20 the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer granted College of the Rockies designation as a "receiving" institution in addition to its former designation as a "sending" institution.

What this means is that COTR is able to expand its transfer pathways for students to and from the college.

When the BC Transfer system was set up in the late 1960s, it was built on a traditional model in which students would complete two years at a college and then transfer to a research university to complete a four-year degree. In B.C., close to 5,000 students per year follow this transfer route and COTR, through the work of its articulation officer, Karen Langan, has worked hard to facilitate the seamless transfer of students from COTR to other institutions through course and block transfer agreements.

However, the B.C. post-secondary system has changed dramatically in the last decade with the expansion of degree-granting authority to colleges and the creation of teaching universities. Recent research into student mobility indicates that students are moving in large numbers and in all directions within the B.C. post-secondary system.

Dean of Articulation at COTR Dr. Marilyn Petersen reports that “student movement in multiple directions is a result of the impact of changes to the college mandate in recent years, particularly the ability for institutions such as College of the Rockies to grant their own degrees.”

In 2010, COTR was granted approval to confer its own bachelor degree—the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Sustainable Business Practices. Providing COTR with a receiving designation gives students from across B.C. and Alberta the ability to smoothly transfer their existing courses and credentials into COTR’s BBA degree.

Other degrees offered at COTR include the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Education delivered in partnership with the University of Victoria. Langan will work closely with BCCAT, COTR faculty, student advisors and transfer credit clerks throughout the province to evaluate transfer credit on behalf of incoming students.

Becoming a receiving institution provides students with more accessible information in order to assist with their decision to complete diplomas or degrees at COTR. Course-by-course or block transfers into COTR degrees will be published on the BC Transfer Guide website, which is exclusively online and easily accessible for students and institutions at: www.bctransferguide.com