Helping Canadians get back to work.

Columbia College

802 Manning Rd NE, Calgary AB

Possible funding to those who qualify*

  • Alberta Student Aid Program
  • Loans
  • Grants
  • Bursaries
  • Scholarships

Programs

Programs offered at each campus may vary, so be sure to check other campus offerings for the course you are most interested in.

Human & Social Services, CSW Programs

  • Employment Opportunities

    Graduates from the Human Services Professional Diploma Program may be successfully employed in a variety of settings such as public and private educational settings, social and community service agencies such as group homes and halfway houses, correctional facilities, community health centres, and in programs addressing alcoholism, drug abuse, family violence, and aging. Human Service workers offer assistance to individuals requiring physical and cognitive rehabilitation and lifestyle maintenance – including leisure integrative programs, children and youth at risk, settlement services, and supporting individuals requiring social work assistant intervention. Education Assistants may work in any number of educational facilities such as public and private schools with students having all types of needs. Many students with disabilities require daily assistance. The starting salary for Human Services workers can be up to $63,000 per year.

    Employment possibilities may include but are not limited to:

    • Social Work Assistant
    • Child and Youth Care Worker
    • Education Assistant
    • Settlement Worker
    • Respite Specialist Worker
    • Community Support Worker
    • Child and Family Support Worker
    • Disability Services Worker
    • Immigrant Aid Support Worker
    • Outreach Worker
    • College and University Admissions Advisor

    Graduation/Employment Success

    Columbia College has been successfully preparing Human Services workers since 2006.
    2018 – 2019: 96% Graduation Rate


    Introduction

    Why choose Columbia College’s Human Services Diploma Program?

    • Columbia College has been educating human services workers since 1996. We have the experience to know what you need to become a professional in this area and secure employment.
    • Our one year accelerated Human Services diploma program gives you the opportunity to build a solid foundation in the helping profession by completing two years of study in one year. Complete fifty-weeks and you are finished, ready for work.
    • Not only to you build this foundation, but you can concentrate on a specialization area of your choice – General or Education Assistant.
    • We prepare you to be employment ready. You engage in practicums, start networking in the profession, resume writing, interviewing strategies, attend practicum workshops, and get a certificate in Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Training.
    • This program is licensed by the Private Vocational Training Branch of the Alberta Government.

    Employers of Graduates

    The following is a list of organizations that have hired graduates of this program:

    • Woods Homes
    • Society for Treatment of Autism
    • Independent Counselling Enterprise
    • Boys and Girls Club of Calgary
    • Little Treasures Inc.
    • Foothills School Division
    • Kids U West 85th
    • Calgary Drop In Centre
    • Bright Beginners Children Centre Ltd.
    • Evergreen College
    • Calgary Progressive Lifestyle Foundation
    • Community Living Alternative Services
    • Mosaic Montessori Academy
    • Alberta Human Services
    • Heartland Agency
    • Bow Valley Child Care Centre

Healthcare, Wellness, Pharma Programs

  • Employment Opportunities

    As a Dental Assistant, you will have the opportunity to work directly with dentists treating patients. You may also provide support to the dental office by working as a receptionist or a sterilization assistant. The average salary for Dental Assistant Professionals in Alberta is $28 per hour. When you become a Registered Dental Assistant, you will unlock doors to careers in many different areas, including:
    • Public Health Dental Assistant
    • Dental Specialty Assistant
    • Dental Assistant Educator
    • Denturist Assistant
    • Clinical Float Assistant
    • Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Clerk (sterilization)
    • Continuing Care Coordinator
    • Dental Administrator/Receptionist
    • Financial Coordinator
    • Treatment Coordinator
    • Dental Hygiene Coordinator
    • Public Educator in Oral Health Prevention
    • Dental Lab Assistant
    • Dental Sales Representative
    • Dental Benefits Representative – Insurance Company

    Ortho Module

    Columbia College Dental Assistant Professional Diploma Program is excited to offer the theory portion of the Ortho Module to students in the DAPP who are in good academic standing in each Semester. Additional Ortho tutorials are offered to the students while in the program, and the clinical portion of the Ortho Module is offered once they have successfully written the NDAEB exam and become a Registered Dental Assistant.

    Graduation/Employment Success

    Compare these outcomes with other institutions: 2018 – 2019: 95% Graduation Rate 2018 – 2019: 92% Employment Rate Among the BEST College in Canada Columbia College is proud of the fact that its Dental Assistant Professional Program graduates, as a whole, have consistently scored higher than other colleges in Canada in their passing score on the National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) exam. We believe this independent assessment of our graduates is a testament to the quality of our faculty and staff, learning environment, students, and program. Columbia College is excited to announce that on the most recent NDAEB exam in December 2019, 97% of Columbia’s Dental Graduates passed the national exam! We are very proud of our faculty and our graduates. Typically our students are hired by their practicum office employer and begin to work as soon as they graduate.

    Introduction

    The Dental Assistant Professional Diploma Program is designed to provide you with the skills, technical knowledge, and clinical experience that are essential for you to become an effective member of the dental healthcare profession. The curriculum provides the education needed by dental assistants who, as members of the dental health team, can assume responsibility for providing patient care in collaboration with other healthcare providers and in accordance with provincial regulations within the scope of practice of dental assistants in their province of registration and employment. Columbia’s Dental Assistant Program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada.

    Employers of Graduates

    The following is a list of organizations that have hired graduates of this program:
    • Group Calgary Orthodontics
    • Renew Dental
    • Millenium Dental
    • R Giles Professional Corporation
    • Summit Dental
    • Emergency Dental YYC
    • Outdoor Dental
    • All North Dental
    • Southpointe Dental
    • Family Braces
    • Sierra Centre for Dental Wellness
    • Welcome Smile Dental
    • Innisfail Dental Centre
    • Evanston Dental
    • Dr. David Chan Dental Clinic
    • Crowsnest Dental
    • Northern Hills Dental
    • Sundre Dental
    • Nose Creek Dental
    • Small to Tall Pediatrics
    • Birchland Dental Clinic
    • South Family Dental
    • West Airdrie Dental
    • Vista Landing Dental Clinic
    • Essential Dentistry
    • IDental
    • McCall Dental
    • Sylvan Lake Dental Centre
    • Urban Oasis Dental Studio
    • Signal Hill Dental
    • Alpine Dental
    • Alpen Dental
    • Core Dental Edmonton
    • Okotoks Orthodontics
    • Aurora Dental Group
    • North Calgary Pediatric Dentistry
    • Arbour Estates Dental Health
    • Railway Avenue Dental
    • InLine Orthodontics
    • Dr. Harry Penner and Dr. Bradley Low
    • Richmond Dental Clinic
    • Millrise Dental Clinic
    • Sorenson Dental Clinic
    • 16th Avenue Dental
  • Introduction

    Practical Nurses perform nursing assessments, provide nursing care and implement prescribed medical treatments. You will participate in classroom instruction, skills development in the lab, and practicum experience in continuing care and acute care settings. Upon successful completion of the program and the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Exam (CPNRE), you are eligible for licensure with the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta (CLPNA). This is a Nationally Accredited program. When you graduate from our program, you will be eligible to be licensed in any province in Canada. Columbia College’s Practical Nurse Professional Program is licensed through Alberta Government Private Vocational Training Branch and is approved by the College of Licensed Practical Nurses (CLPNA) through its Education Standards Advisory Committee (ESAC) which is the licensing body for practical nursing in the province of Alberta. Learn more about becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse in Canada by viewing the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta’s document: Becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse in Canada – Requisite Skills and Abilities.

    Employment Success

    2018-2019: 95% Employment Rate 2018-2019: 98% Graduation Rate

    Faculty

    Click Here to see a list of Faculty Members for this program.

    Employers of Graduates

    The following is a list of organizations that have hired graduates of this program:
    • Alberta Health Services
    • Foothills Medical Centre
    • Alberta Children’s Hospital
    • Rockyview General Hospital
    • Peter Lougheed Hospital
    • Carewest
    • Revera
    • Bayshore
    • Wing Kei Centre
    • Intercare
    • Bethany
    • Brylu Staffing
    • Nurse Next Door
    • The Brenda Strafford Trust
    • Primary Care Network

    Program Description

    Columbia’s Practical Nurse Professional Program students have consistently achieved some of the best results in Canada. Our reputation for graduating highly competent professionals is something we are very proud of. This program is one of the few in North America that follows a Mastery Learning Model.
    • This is a full-time, 2 year diploma program that is completed in 80 weeks (approximately 20 months).
    • Classes are normally scheduled to run between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. During the program, students should be prepared to attend classes that may be scheduled in the evenings and on weekends.
    • Designed to give students Practical Nursing theory and clinical experience in continuing care and acute care
    • Practicums (clinical) will be scheduled according to the co-operating health care employer’s availability of clinical practicum placements. This means that the 722 hours of practical experience may be scheduled during the day, evening, night and/or weekends.
    • Clinical placements will need to be scheduled in alternative locations. The College may be required to delay the date of completion until a clinical placement can be arranged.
    • In the lab, the facilitator to student ratio is 1:12. In the practicum, the facilitator to student ratio is 1:8. In the classroom, the class sizes may be up to 27 students.

    Mastery Learning in the Practical Nurse Program

    Columbia’s Practical Nurse Diploma Program students have consistently achieved some of the best results in Canada. Our reputation for graduating highly competent professionals is something we are very proud of. This program is the only one we have found in Canada that follows a Mastery Learning Model. Columbia’s Mastery Learning Model provides students with up to 500 additional hours of free Mastery Learning tutorials over the course of the 20 month program. The tutorials provide learners with support from faculty, who work with them on strengthening competencies and skills and working towards mastery. Our free tutorials have proven to be an excellent resource for the students.

Calgary Campus

ABOUT COLUMBIA

Introduction
Founder Dropped out of School, Then…
Columbia’s founder was so frustrated with his education that he dropped out of high school, then later realized that if he wanted to achieve any meaningful purpose in life that he had to return to school.

His previous frustration with education became his passion to create a more learner-centered environment based on leading edge research from around the world.

Dr. Snell’s relentless commitment to excellence has created a unique college of dedicated faculty and staff whose students are achieving amazing results.


Greater Meaning and Purpose
Welcome to a new experience in education and learning. You are about to embark on a journey that will help shape who you are as an individual. Regardless of what program you enroll in, we want to help you adopt the professional behaviour employers are looking for. At Columbia College, we care about each student, treat them with respect, and help them change their lives by finding greater meaning and purpose in a new career. We are different and very proud of it.

Individual Success
As you will see, this is not a traditional college. It was founded to help each adult acquire not only the knowledge and skills they require in their education but also the professional behaviours they need to become highly successful members in their future occupation.

Completion Rates and National Exams
Over the last 30+ years, this private non-profit College has educated over 40,000 adult learners. Put simply, we are a student-centered institution. By this we mean that all decisions are made in our students’ long-term best interest. We are proud to say that we have achieved among the highest student program completion rates in Alberta (over 80%) and our students have achieved higher than average college marks on academic national exams.

Satisfied Employers
Columbia’s unique approach to adult education is designed to help ensure that employers are able to hire individuals who are not only able to perform their duties and responsibilities, but are better able to solve work-related problems, communicate more effectively, make important workplace decisions, interact more effectively as team members, and work more collaboratively with other professionals in the best interest of their internal customers (fellow employees) and external customers (patients, clients, students, and colleagues). Employers have given our professional program practicum students higher employer satisfaction ratings than a national study commissioned by the Conference Board of Canada.

Professional Behaviour
Our highly educated faculty and skilled staff treat each student with respect, care, and understanding, and interact with them as professionals, both inside and outside the classroom. Students are coached on their professional conduct and encouraged to adopt professional behaviours that will assist them in becoming more successful in their future, not only in the workplace, but also in the community. Most of our faculty, in our career-focused programs, are still working in the workplace. This allows them to bring a wealth of current knowledge and experiences to share with students.

Active Engagement in Class
Our students are not lectured to; instead their classroom activities are based on a review of assigned textbook readings and other homework. Each student in our career-focused programs will normally receive feedback on how they are progressing during each class. These students are encouraged to actively and collaboratively interact with one another in a respectful manner during each class where workplace problems or cases are normally discussed. Our faculty facilitate student interaction much more and lecture to students much less than most faculty in other institutions. This more hands-on experience in the classroom, as well as, a student’s individual practicum (work experience) in the workplace, gives these students a greater opportunity to experience and prepare for their future career.

Employment Support
To top it off, our career advising staff assist students who need help, to find related and relevant employment in their fields of training.

Columbia is Unique
As a result of Columbia’s unique approach to education and our method of engaging learners in our more stimulating, student-centered environment, our students achieve some of the most outstanding results in Canada. We are definitely different and proud of it!
Welcome to Columbia College.

MASTERY LEARNING IN THE PRACTICAL NURSE PROGRAM

Columbia's Practical Nurse Diploma Program students have consistently achieved some of the best results in Canada. Our reputation for graduating highly competent professionals is something we are very proud of. This program is the only one we have found in Canada that follows a Mastery Learning Model.Columbia's Mastery Learning Model provides students with up to 500 additional hours of free Mastery Learning tutorials over the course of the 20 month program. The tutorials provide learners with support from faculty, who work with them on strengthening competencies and skills and working towards mastery. Our free tutorials have proven to be an excellent resource for the students.

Practical Nurse Olympic Games

Columbia College follows an Olympic Games approach in the delivery of 4 hour Gamification sessions once a week. The sessions are delivered using a fun-based approach to support student learning, by using a series of nursing-related activities to build and consolodate the knowledge and skills they have acquired in their regular courses throughout the preceding week.The Olympic Games sessions were added to the nursing program to help ensure that students moving into field-based practicums are able to recall information learned earlier in the program. This strategy and delivery is aimed to greatly increase their confidence, ability to perform in a nursing role, and successfully complete the program.


*All student funding, whether made available privately or through various government branches, is only approved to those who qualify, by the original source of funding. There are many criteria that each candidate must meet to be approved. Schools can only inform you of what may be available.