Region : British Columbia
City : Surrey
Web site : www.kpu.ca
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (commonly abbreviated to KPU) is a public degree-granting undergraduate polytechnic university in British Columbia with campuses located in Surrey, Richmond, Cloverdale, and Langley. KPU is one of the largest institutions by enrollment in British Columbia with a total of 20,000 students and 1,600 faculty members across its four locations encompassing the Metro Vancouver district. KPU operates as the only English-language polytechnic university in Canada (Montréal's Polytechnique School offering programs in French) and provides undergraduate and vocational education including bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificates, apprenticeships and citations in more than 200 diverse programs. The school operates largely as an undergraduate polytechnic university but also functions as a vocational and technical school, offering apprenticeships for the skilled trades and diplomas in vocational education for skilled technicians and workers in support roles in professions such as engineering, accountancy, business administration, nursing, medicine, architecture, and law.
Prior to being granted authority as a University college, Kwantlen Polytechnic University was founded as Kwantlen College as a response to the growing need for expanded vocational training across the Fraser Valley. In 2008, the provincial government announced its intention to amend the University Act to appoint Kwantlen University College a polytechnic university. The legislation renaming the University College to University received royal assent on May 29, 2008 and KPU began operation as Kwantlen Polytechnic University on September 1, 2008.
KPU became a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) on October 24, 2008.Also in affiliation with KPU include: the International Association of Universities (IAU), the Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), and the Canadian University Press (CUP).
The Globe and Mail Canadian University Report ranked KPU among the top post-secondary institution relative to enrollment across Canada, earning numerous grades in the "A to B Range" in categories such as quality of teaching and learning, career preparation, student satisfaction and information technology.
KPU has over 120 different programs across seven distinct faculties — Academic and Career Advancement, Arts, Business, Design, Health, Science and Horticulture, and Trades and Technology — where students can pursue a degree, diploma, certificate, citation, or work towards completing an apprenticeship.
As of Fall 2011, Faculty and staff employees number over 1,600 (129 Administrators, 515 Staff, and 1,026 Faculty). While some faculty are also involved in research, their primary role is undergraduate education. In 2011, for the fifth time in a row, Kwantlen Polytechnic University was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, as published in Maclean's magazine. In addition, KPU was named a BC Top 50 employer for the seventh consecutive year in 2013.
KPU offers cooperative education in several degree programs including Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Technology as well as diploma programs.Such programs include dedicated work-placement semesters that match their field of study, in addition to regular studies.
KPU offers many transferable courses to other educational institutions, which often lead to direct transfers into second-year or third-year studies at other post secondary institutions. To aid in this, KPU is a part of the BC Transfer Guide Website, an online resource for planning and understanding transfer in the BC post-secondary education system.
Additional major and minor programs and specialized courses are currently under development. KPU will also be the first public, post-secondary institution in British Columbia to offer studies in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Sources : Wikipedia, www.kpu.ca
