Columbia College

Paradigm Shift in Government Budgeting

laurie — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:37:12 +0000

Each year governments around the world are challenged to balance their budgets, and it seems each year they look at the same two solutions – either increasing taxes or reducing government spending by reducing services. Yet, there is a third alternative, and that is to find more creative and innovative ways of delivering programs and services.

The following paragraphs describe six related activities that will create a cultural paradigm shift.

Introduce such new tools as Social Impact Bonds and expand the use of current tools such as public-private partnerships, pilot projects, and demonstration projects. Each of these should be used to introduce and explore new innovative and creative ways to deliver current programs and services. They should also approach this in a more efficient and effective manner that clearly realizes actual financial savings to the overall government budget.

Challenge all public and private programs and service providers (including health care, education, higher education, and social services) to propose more innovative and creative ways of providing current services that ensure the level and quality of service, yet clearly reduces the actual cost. The first step in this regard is to have each department conduct a basic analysis of all programs and services delivered on its behalf to determine unit costs. For example, what does it cost to replace a knee or deliver a year of education. This basic analysis will help make providers, department personnel, elected officials, and the public more aware of what the actual cost is for each program and service. It will also help to determine where they are getting the best bang of the taxpayer’s buck.

Ensure that the public is able to make more informed and objective decisions of where to obtain government sponsored programs and services in health, education, social sciences, etc. by establishing a public website for each department. Each website will provide comparative and objective information about each provider. This will further increase accountability and make government more transparent.

Move away from an essentially singular provider of programs and services, such as in education and health care to one where the public has many choices of public and private providers. Establish a policy stating that where the public goes, so does the government’s financial support. This change will create a competitive environment that focuses service providers’ attention more on quality of service and customer satisfaction.

Challenge all individuals who are responsible for either monitoring or delivering programs and services to strengthen their leadership, management, and innovative skills.

Celebrate and reward government department personnel as well as specific organizations and individuals who clearly contribute to the creation of this new culture.

It is firmly believed that by taking the above action, the government will create a new paradigm shift in how service providers approach budgets and deliver service.

Online Course Celebrated!

laurie — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:47:03 +0000

Online Course Celebrated

Recently the Alberta Solicitor General’s Department started requiring anyone who wished to be employed as a Security Guard, Loss Prevention Officer, Body Guard, In-House Security Personnel, Dog Patroller, or Alarm Responder to complete its new Alberta Basic Security Training (ABST) course and then pass a new provincial exam. Although individuals who are already employed in this industry are not affected, all new personnel are required to complete this training and exam. There are some 10,000 people working in this field in Alberta.

An individual who needs this training can attend classes at a number of locations throughout Alberta including Fort McMurray, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Calgary. However each town and city does not have a training provider. So the Alberta Solicitor General decided to also approve Columbia College in Calgary to deliver the course over the internet. And even though completion rates and pass rates tend to be low in this form of education, it seems Columbia is having great success. Since it started providing online education on June 1, 86% of its students have passed the provincial exam. What is also interesting is that Columbia College is offering this internet based course for free and it receives no government funding. All students need to pay is $99 to write the provincial exam. Other providers are charging as much as 600 dollars.

Gazmend Begaj who passed his provincial Alberta Basic Security Training this summer was relieved when he got his results. This meant he could work in the field of security while completing his two year diploma in Criminal Justice at Columbia. “It means I can start working in the field and get some real life experience,” said Gazmend. “It also means getting some extra bucks to pay the never ending bills I face”. He went on to say “probably the greatest benefit will be to start connecting with employers. This will allow me to start networking in this industry. I hope if I do a good enough job, I will get a reference for future employment.”

Laura Trettwer, the Program Coordinator at Columbia College said, “you know we really worked hard to get it all just right when the program was being designed. We kept on changing this feature and that feature trying to make it even better. It was sure worth it in the end when we got an overall success rate of 86% on the provincial exam. We are ecstatic” she said.

“We wanted to produce a high quality educational product for free and that’s exactly what we did” said Dr. J.T. (Tom) Snell, President of Columbia College. It may not be a perfect course, but, WOW, it certainly has got the results that are among the best in the industry.”

Dr. Snell went on to say that this is the first of many free web-based educational products that Columbia College is developing.

Is the Premier a Socialist?

laurie — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:20:53 +0000

It has become clear to me that some of the media in this province seem to consider the new Premier a left-leaning Liberal or worse. In fact, they had me believing a lot of their rhetoric until I took the time to visit her website (AlisonRedford.ca). Although my personal interest is in one policy arena, I decided to read every section and every word on her site. What I learned really impressed me. She not only shared broad views and visions but went on to make specific policy statements such as:

Put an end to the system of social passing in public schools
Extending home care to provide more, less expensive and higher quality care in peoples’ own homes
Restoring community participation and input into the health care system by expanding the Advisory Councils
Replacing the physician as the first contact in the health care system with a Registered Nurse, who may then refer you to an appropriate specialist

Of course, if this were all you received a report on, you would think that Alison Redford was only focused on social issues. However, if you went on to read the many other policy statements on her website, you would develop a different perception.

For example, she wants a citizen-centered government (customer focused – wow, that would be neat) that is much more transparent and accountable. She wants to reduce duplication and improve service efficiency (therefore reduce spending). To be more specific, she goes on to state that she wants to:

Move to outcome-based performance measures (great idea, let’s focus on results)

Establish Social Impact Bonds designed to attract investment and spur efficiency gains in social services (don’t just provide a services, make a real lasting difference)
Require detailed program reviews in each department and demonstrate why programs and services cannot be delivered by community-based organizations or the private sector
Create a $300 million community leadership transition fund to support pilot projects aimed at fostering change and reduce budget expenditures
Increase access to post-secondary education (Alberta is in last place in Canada. We need to replace an aging workforce with a pool of highly educated and skilled labour)

The new Premier is committed to the new pipeline to the west coast and to make business and job growth her highest priority. Of course it is a matter of perception but I believe she will be a leader that keeps an effective balance between our province’s social needs and our fiscal future. This doesn’t sound like a socialist to me.

Dr. J.T. (Tom) Snell

President

Columbia College

toms@columbia.ab.ca

ACCA Recognizes the Business Management Program

laurie — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:16:41 +0000

Prestigious International Accounting Body Recognizes Columbia College’s Business Management Program

Columbia College today announced that the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has completed a formal review of its Diploma in Business Management Program and granted it accreditation. This prestigious body was founded over 100 years ago under a Royal Charter in the United Kingdom. It is the largest and fastest-growing international accountancy body in the world with 424,000 students and 147,000 members in over 170 countries. It offers premium qualifications to people around the world who seek a rewarding career in accounting, finance and management. It works to achieve and promote the highest professional, ethical and governance standards and advance the public interest.

“We take this recognition by the ACCA – a well-renowned and respected international accounting body – with immense pride,” commented Dr. J.T. (Tom) Snell, president of Columbia College. He adds, “It provides yet another convincing demonstration of the quality of our education programs and the high-calibre of our faculty and staff. As we work toward achieving degree-granting status, we will continue to improve our program with a goal of achieving additional exemptions from the ACCA.” Ben Ontuca, Assistant Chair of the Business Management Department, went on to say, “The ACCA is an excellent alternative for students who want to obtain a recognized professional accounting designation at a reasonable cost. This is definitely a positive development for the program and for our students and graduates, and we could not be more pleased.”

The ACCA Qualification is recognized by thousands of well-established employers world-wide. In Canada, employers who have recruited or are actively recruiting ACCA-trained accountants and graduates include: American Express, Bank of Montreal, CIBC, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft Corporation, Procter and Gamble Company, Shell Canada, and the Standard Life Insurance Company. Canadian public-sector employers (such as the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency and the Ministry of Finance) as well as renowned international accounting and auditing firms (such as Ernst and Young, KPMG, Deloitte, and PricewaterhouseCoopers) have also hired ACCA-trained accountants.

Many universities and colleges throughout the world have courses recognized by the ACCA. In Canada, post-secondary educational institutions where course exemption accreditation with the ACCA may be available include the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge, Athabasca University, Grant McEwan University, University of Toronto, Queen’s University, Royal Roads University, and University of Victoria. As well, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CA) recognize ACCA as having the Canadian equivalence of a bachelor’s degree (4 years) in Accounting.

The ACCA and the Certified General Accountants of Canada (CGA) have a current Mutual Recognition Agreement which provides a mechanism through which members of one association can be recognized by the other and vice versa. The ACCA also has similar agreements with other national accounting bodies in various countries throughout the world including Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

Columbia College Scores Top Marks in North America

laurie — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:32:38 +0000

Calgary college performs above average in all key measures

Columbia College today announced the results of an important international study that looked at the degree students are engaged in their education. The Community College Survey of Student Engagement, conducted annually by the University of Texas includes most two year public and private colleges in the United States as well as a number of colleges in Canada. Columbia College performed above average on all five measures of student engagement. In addition, Columbia scored in the top ten per cent of colleges in North America in two critical areas of student engagement; they are academic challenge and active collaborative learning.

“We are immensely proud of these results,” commented Dr. J.T. (Tom) Snell, President, Columbia College. “They provide clear evidence of the quality of our education and the high calibre of our faculty and staff. Being in the top ten percent of colleges in North America in two of the five critical measures is gratifying and we will continue to improve our programs with a goal of achieving the top ten percent in all five measures.” Dr. Snell went on to say, “Our results are clearly above average in North America and we could not be more pleased”

The Community College Survey of Student Engagement is considered to be one of the most comprehensive annual analyses of higher education in North America. The study is recognized by lawmakers across the United States with a growing number of state governments now requiring public and private colleges who receive state funding to participate. Canadian colleges are not required to participate in this survey. However, Humber College (Ontario) conducted a study to assess the validity of the survey. Their results found that this tool is valid in Ontario as well as Canada (Mandarino et al 2010). Their study further indicated that two of the five indicators were the most critical factors related to student success. These were the same two factors that Columbia College received the highest scores (Academic Challenge and Active and Collaborative Learning).

“We encourage all Canadian colleges and universities to participate in this study,” continued Dr. Snell. “By opening each institution to independent scrutiny, we are better able to identify areas needing improvement. This will then lead to increasing the quality of education provided in our post-secondary institutions and as a result, increase the competency of graduates. In addition, these annual results should be made available to the public. This would further improve the student’s ability to make a more informed and objective decision of which institution to apply to.”

Rather than counting the number of recent articles published by faculty members, as some studies do, this study focuses on the quality of education students receive in and outside the classroom. It does this by having students complete an in-depth survey that takes about 45 minutes to complete. It includes critical questions such as how many text books are required to be read, how much homework is assigned, how intellectually challenging are the courses, how rigorous are the examinations, and what relationship do students have with faculty, staff and other students that relates to their education.

The study questioned students in five critical areas related to their higher education. These areas are academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, student effort, and support for learners. And Columbia College came through in spades.

CSSD – CET Level 2 Accreditation

laurie — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:14:34 +0000

Columbia College is proud to recognize the Community Support Services Department (CSSD) for achieving the CET Level 2 Accreditation. This accreditation was presented during the CSSD Open House.

This program is for adults with developmental disabilities and enables all students to participate in the community in either work, volunteer, and/or recreational settings.

Enjoy!

CSSD – Access Program

laurie — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:43:20 +0000

Manuel Rumbaoa, Service Coordinator for Columbia College Access program talks about what the program entails. The Access program is part of the Community Support Services Department which works with adults with developmental disabilities.

Also included in the video is some of our students talking about what they think about the program.

Enjoy!

Business Management

laurie — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:30:55 +0000

Ben Ontuca, the Assistant Chair of the Business Management Program at Columbia College, has taken a few moments to talk about the program we offer at Columbia College.

Columbia College offers an accelerated 6 month certificate or 12 month diploma program for Business Management.

In the Diploma program, students can choose to continue with a General Management diploma or complete a concentration in Accounting.

Graduates have been employed in many different areas including – Marketing Coordinators, Accounting Technicians, Business Managers/Owners, Bookkeepers, Office Administrators, Financial Planners, Sales Agents/Supervisors, Inventory Control Specialists, and Operation Managers to name a few. For more information about the Business Management Program, click here.

Enjoy!

OH Idol!

laurie — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:45:41 +0000

Each Dental Assistant Professional program class must create a community presentation about oral hygiene. This highly entertaining and fun presentation was created by one such group. Be sure to watch both parts!

Enjoy!

Kristina

laurie — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:32:58 +0000

Kristina is a student at Columbia College.

We would like to take a moment to congratulate her. Kristina has been recognized as the 2010 Female Athlete of the Year by Special Olympics Alberta.

Kristina competes in many sports and is the perfect Ambassador for Special Olympics. Check out her video where she talks about sports and winning this award.