History, Affiliations and Rankings
Kwantlen College was established in 1981 by splitting from Douglas College. Kwantlen was given authority to offer Baccalaureate programs through a provincial government initiative that was designed to increase access to degree programs in British Columbia in 1988. In the beginning, they offered Baccalaureate degrees under one or more provincial universities. In 1995, Kwantlen got the status of a University, and its name was changed to Kwantlen University College. As Canada's only Polytechnic University, Kwantlen today, offers hands-on skills in addition to traditional academics to more than 20,000 students annually. Kwantlen College has affiliations with the International Association of Universities (IAU), Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), and the Canadian University Press (CUP). In 2008, Kwantlen Polytechnic University became affiliated with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). AUCC standardized membership benchmarks and needs for members serve to ease a student's capacity to transfer from Bachelor's to Master’s programs across Canada and the world.
Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses
Kwantlen College has five campuses in British Columbia located in Surrey at Newton Town Centre, Cloverdale, and in the Civic Plaza, Richmond, and Langley. The University’s main campus is situated at Surrey. This campus houses a fitness center with numerous recreational amenities. At Richmond, the University has its first official campus. This campus runs courses like Fashion and Design, Arts and Business programs among others. The Langley campus is home to the University School of Horticulture. This campus provides programs in Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and has modern Geology Labs. Cloverdale is the latest campus, having facilities like Appliance and Automotive Servicing, Carpentry, Farriery, Masonry, and others. The University offers the only one of its kind diploma in Brewing in British Columbia, along with absolutely tuition-free English Language studies. Kwantlen Polytechnic University provides more than 120 courses overall. All these courses include career, vocational trades, and technology degrees and a majority of them, include a co-op or work experience component.
Accomplishments and Alumni
Kwantlen Polytechnic University is accredited by the Accreditation Council of Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), an international association that accredits Business courses at more than 1000 universities. In 2021, the University also became one among Canada’s Best Employers for Recent Graduates and British Columbia’s Top Employers. Academically, the University is known for providing one of its kind programs, including the only Brewing Diploma in BC, and it is also the first institution in Canada to offer studies in traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture. More than 2,00,000 students have graduated from Kwantlen Polytechnic till date with a registered alumni network of 60,000+ who are studying or working in all parts of the globe. The notable alumni are Kim Baird, Chief of Tsawwassen First Nation, Chris McCue, Founder and President of McCue Engineering Contractors, and Geoff Woolley, President of EcoSafe Zero Waste.
Student Diversity and Visiting Companies
The Kwantlen Polytechnic University values diversity in all its dimensions. The University has more than 20,000 student enrolments out of which 12,000 are full-time students and more than 1,400 faculty members within the premises. They have more than 6,000 international students hailing from all over the world on campus. The male to female ratio is 47:53 at Kwantlen Polytechnic University making it a fairly gender-balanced University. Kwantlen Polytechnic is committed to initiating international dialogues by offering opportunities all over the world through study abroad semesters, field schools, exchange programs, international co-ops and more. To further aid the success of students and foster social interactions on the campus, the University runs a free online monthly resource, called the KPU Campus Well. This monthly publication consists of fitness tips, study aid, recipes, financial advice and other interesting facts happening on the campus. Some of the leading recruiters at this institute are Walmart, FoodX Technologies, Google, and others.
