Higher education in British Columbia is delivered by 25 publicly funded institutions that are composed of eleven universities, eleven colleges, and three institutes. This is in addition to three private universities, five private colleges, and six theological colleges. There are also an extensive number of private career institutes and colleges.Listings available via the Private Career Training Institutions Agency (PCTIA) or the BC Career Colleges Association . Over 297,000 students were enrolled in post-secondary institutions in British Columbia in the 2019-2020 academic year.
Each of the province's post-secondary institutions sets its own admission requirements. Generally, successful graduation from high school, with the required academic prerequisites, is needed for admission to programs. Special consideration may be given to mature applicants, Aboriginal peoples, and people with disabilities. Information about admissions and prerequisites is available from the registrar's office of each institution. ApplyBC.ca (formerly PASBC) was a system-wide application portal (developed by BCcampus, a publicly funded organization whose role is to support higher education by providing leadership in the use of Information and Communications Technology, that allows people to apply for admission.
In 2015, the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training (AEST) initiated a dialogue with the public post-secondary sector to explore a common online application platform for students applying to public post-secondary education in B.C., similar to those used in other jurisdictions. EducationPlannerBC has replaced ApplyBC.ca as the new common online application portal for Universities in British Columbia.
History
Establishment and the first university in BC (1890 – 1929) Higher education in British Columbia started in 1890 with the first attempt by the British Columbia government to establish a provincial university, An Act Respecting the University of British Columbia that established the first convocation of the "one university for the whole of British Columbia for the purpose of raising the standard of higher education in the Province, and of enabling all denominations and classes to obtain academical degrees."Dunae, P.A. (Ed.). (2003). 100 Years of Advanced Education, 1901-2001: Higher Education and Advanced Teacher Training in British Columbia. Retrieved June 1, 2008, from http://records.viu.ca/homeroom/content/postsec/postsec.htm In the same year, Whetham College opened as a small, independent institute located in downtown Vancouver that was intent of preparing "its students not only for the Army, Navy and Civil Service examinations and for Matriculation Examinations in any university or college, but also for first and second year examinations in Arts leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts in any university;" unfortunately, it closed only three years due to financial difficulties. A second independent post-secondary institution opened in 1892 known as the Columbian Methodist College. It was opened by the Methodist Church of Canada in New Westminster, and it was affiliated with Victoria College of the University of Toronto and offered courses towards Arts & Theology degrees.
McGill University affiliated with a second British Columbian high school in 1903, Victoria High School which was renamed Victoria College later to become the University of Victoria. In 1904 & 1905 McGill University received permission to improve and expand the university's course offerings in British Columbia. Two acts were passed to enable this; An Act Respecting McGill University, which gave McGill University permission to establish a University College in British Columbia for the higher education of men and women, and An Act to Incorporate the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning of British Columbia, which established the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning of British Columbia. This institution would undertake the responsibility of establishing a college anywhere in British Columbia. Vancouver College in 1906 was formalized as McGill University College of British Columbia; then it began offering first and second year courses in Arts and Applied Sciences.
Victoria College was brought under the direction of the Royal Institution in 1908, and it offered first and second year Arts courses. In this same year, the provincial government made a second attempt to establish a provincial university. They succeeded with An Act to Establish and Incorporate a University for the Province of British Columbia on March 7, 1908. It would be called the University of British Columbia, and it would be located in the western part of Point Grey. However, plans to start construction on the campus for the new university had to be postponed due to lack of funding. Meanwhile, McGill University agreed to continue providing higher education through Victoria College.
The provincial government made amendments to the Public School Act in 1894 and 1896 to allow any Canadian university to affiliate with any of the high schools in British Columbia. The high schools could then be incorporated as colleges of these institutions. McGill University was the first to take advantage of this new amendment. By 1898, an affiliation between McGill University and Vancouver High School was established. The high school curriculum was extended to include the first two years of Arts and part of the school become Vancouver College in 1899. McGill University controlled the curriculum, set and marked exams, and approved the hiring of instructors. Students were required to travel to McGill to complete their studies. The provincial government granted a lease for land at Point Grey to the Royal Institution. Construction started in 1911. In 1913, the provincial government appointed Frank Wesbrook as the university's first president, in anticipation of it opening in the near future. However, in 1914, the onset of World War I halted the construction at Point Grey. There would be no more construction for almost a decade.
In 1915, McGill University closed McGill University College. The provincial government changed the provincial university's name to the University of British Columbia and it opened to classes at the Fairview facilities recently vacated by McGill University on September 30, 1915. With the opening of UBC, Victoria College closed. A second Provincial Normal School was also opened in Victoria in 1915. President Wesbrook died in 1918, and Leonard Klinck became UBC's second president. UBC added the Nursing degree program in 1919. This was the first such program in the British Empire. In 1920, the Anglican Theological College opened in downtown Vancouver.
On October 28, 1922, almost 1,200 students with floats, bands and banners marched through downtown Vancouver to the Point Grey campus. This was known as "The Great Trek". The students protested the inferior conditions and overcrowding of buildings at the Fairview campus. It also protested the still uncompleted construction at Point Grey. The student protest and media attention spurred the government to provide funding to finish the construction and move UBC from Fairview to Point Grey. The new Ryerson College took over the theological training curriculum at Columbian College in 1923. Columbian College continued to operate as a residential secondary school and general arts institution. On September 22, 1925 the University of British Columbia opened its first classes at the new Point Grey campus. This same year the Vancouver School of Art opened. In 1927 Ryerson College (Methodists), Westminster Hall (Presbyterians) and the Congregationalists amalgamated to form the United Church seminary, named Union College.
Mid 20th century (1930 – 1961) The Great Depression put a halt to any further plans for higher education. UBC came close to being shut down due to government cutbacks, but Professor Henry Angus helped prevent this. In 1936, Columbian College was closed, yet in the same year; the Nanaimo Vocational School opens and starts providing vocational education. The Extension Department (later called Continuing Studies) at UBC is established, enabling UBC to bring higher education to all parts of the province.
With the start of World War II in 1939, UBC's faculty, staff, and students dedicated themselves to the cause. In 1940, the Government of Canada established a military college in Victoria, Royal Roads Military College to train officers for the Canada's armed forces.
After World War II, UBC's President Norman MacKenzie declared any returning veteran was guaranteed a space at UBC. As a result, student numbers tripled to over 9,000 by 1947 and UBC experienced a crunch in classroom space and a lack of faculty to teach the extra classes that were needed. In 1949, the Vancouver Vocational Institute opened. By 1956, a new provincial Teacher Training Program was established at UBC, and the Victoria and Vancouver Normal Schools were closed. In 1960, the British Columbia Vocational School opened under direct management of the provincial government.
MacDonald report and expansion of the public post-secondary system (1962 – 1988) In 1962, John B. MacDonald recommended changes in the post-secondary system in British Columbia. A recommendation of the MacDonald report was the establishment of two-year community colleges offering programs in four fields of education: academic (university transfer); career/technical, to train students for specific employment with programs ranging in duration from a few weeks to two or more years; vocational, offering short applied programs of a year or less; and adult basic education to prepare those without high school graduation for other post-secondary programs or for employment. The report marked the development of British Columbia's Post Secondary School System. In the same year, King Edward Continuing Education Centre and the private Christian evangelical college, Trinity Junior College both open their doors.
In 1963, the provincial legislature passed an act to establish Simon Fraser University. The University of Victoria was established in 1963 and moved to the Gordon Head campus. Also, the legislature charted Notre Dame University College of Nelson as a private, Catholic university. The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) opened in 1964. Simon Fraser University opened in 1965. This same year saw the opening of the first college recommended by the MacDonald report; Vancouver City College. Vancouver City College was the first autonomous community college in BC, formed by amalgamating Vancouver Vocational Institute, Vancouver School of Art, and King Edward Continuing Education Centre.
Community colleges around the province started opening between 1966 and 1975: Selkirk College opened in 1966 followed by Capilano College, College of New Caledonia, Okanagan Regional College, and Malaspina College in 1968. Cariboo College and Douglas College were opened in 1970 followed by Camosun College in 1971, and East Kootenay Community College, North Island College, Northern Lights College, and Coast Mountain College all opened in 1975.