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.