Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Health Analytics

at Okanagan College - Kelowna Campus Canada

The Business Studies Certificate allows students to focus on specific disciplines. These programs will be of interest to mature students who are already employed. The series will be available in the evening on a two- or three-year rotation depending on the discipline. Some courses are also available by distance education.

This two-year diploma program focuses upon the courses needed as prerequisites to enter into the CPA Professional Education Program. The program contains the 19 courses required as prerequisites to the CPA Professional Education program and 1 elective.

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 two-year Animation diploma program focuses on drawing, design and the principles and techniques of traditional and digital character animation. There is an optional Co-op work term offered between year 1 and year 2 of the program.

Features include a state of the art classroom in the new Innovation Centre in downtown Kelowna, the latest technology in the field of digital animation, and comprehensive drawing classes taught by industry professionals to develop artistic skills, technical dexterity and creative thinking. Industry standard production scenarios and professional practices mimic the production pipeline. Core courses include 2D, digital 2D and 3D animation, life drawing, character design, storyboard and layout design. Animation history, communications and an introduction to business functions are also studied.

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 curriculum for the Diploma in Human Service Work reflects the expanding responsibilities and evolving practice standards for graduates from non-degree social service programs. It has been developed with extensive community consultation and learning objectives are guided by provincially identified practice competencies.

The Human Service Work Diploma is a full-time and demanding endeavour. Students are in class approximately 18 hours/week and are expected to read and complete assignments outside of class on a daily basis. Students take responsibility for their own learning as well as being active participants in the classroom. Students graduating from this program will be working with people who are vulnerable and disadvantaged in some way. This generally requires graduates from this program to be client-centered, able to explore and challenge themselves (thoughts, feelings, behaviours) and to be open to change. Students entering into this program must be emotionally, physically, cognitively, and psychologically healthy.

This 33-week (990 hour) program takes students with little or no previous experience in the automotive repair trade and supplies them with the necessary skills to seek employment in this industry as an apprentice technician. The courses introduce the students to many aspects of servicing and repair in the automotive repair trade with a focus on developing practical skills. Graduates of this program will receive 450 hours towards Automotive Service Technician Year 1 (AST 1) certification and the opportunity to write the AST 1 Certificate of Qualification exam. The AST 1 Certificate of Qualification and 1590 workplace hours are required to proceed into AST 2. 

The Commercial Aviation Diploma (CAD) program is for individuals who are interested in pursuing a career in commercial aviation. The program provides students with university-­level business competencies as well as Transport Canada commercial aviation licensing requirements. Graduates are qualified to be employed as pilots with charter companies, regional carriers and private corporations, and upon attaining sufficient flying hours, will also have job opportunities with major airline companies. Graduates may also find employment in other aviation-related careers.

The Commercial Aviation diploma program consists of two distinct and separate areas of study - aviation and flight training courses, and university-level academic courses. The flight training is taught at the Southern Interior Flight Centre facility located at the Kelowna International Airport and consists of Transport Canada-prescribed flight training, simulator training, aviation theory and exams. The academic portion of the program is completed at Okanagan College and consists of eight 3-credit courses taken as part of this program.

The Commercial Aviation program is made available through a co-operative partnership between Okanagan College and the Southern Interior Flight Centre (1993) Ltd. The academic portion offered by Okanagan College is subject to normal Okanagan College regulations and tuition fees. The aviation and flight training portion is offered by Southern Interior Flight Centre and is not subject to Okanagan College control and regulations, although all tuition fees for academic courses and flight training are paid to Okanagan College. Okanagan College will maintain records of the student's flight training achievements as provided by Southern Interior Flight Centre on the official Okanagan College transcript.

The mechanical engineering technologist is involved in the design, manufacture, testing, installation, operation and maintenance of a wide variety of machines and mechanical equipment. Through the Mechanical Engineering Technology program at Okanagan College, students are trained in fundamental engineering principles and practice. Students will gain a working knowledge in the fundamentals of materials, structures, fluids, power, machine design, manufacturing, thermodynamics, HVAC, quality, and instrumentation and control. The use of current computer software is emphasized throughout the program. A diverse and stimulating program, Mechanical Engineering Technology incorporates labs and field trips to reinforce theoretical background, and to develop appropriate methods of approach and solution of engineering problems.

Graduates may be employed by a very broad range of industrial organizations. Opportunities include product design, specification, installation and maintenance of equipment, cost estimating, technical sales, quality management, inspection, production planning, automation, CAD/CAM, robotics, and research and development. Mechanical engineering technologists are in demand due to the tremendous diversity of the discipline.

Okanagan College is offering direct entry in the third year of Bachelor of Computer Information. This program 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.

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.