University Canada West (UCW) is a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
,
for-profit university in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada. It was founded in 2005 by David F. Strong, the former president of the
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
. UCW was purchased in 2008 by the
Eminata Group
The Eminata Group is a for-profit provider of post-secondary education in Canada. The corporation, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, owns and manages a number of for-profit colleges in Canada, including Vancouver Career College, and CDI Colle ...
and in 2014 sold to
Global University Systems
Global University Systems B.V. (GUS) is a private limited company registered in the Netherlands. As a corporate group, it owns and operates several private for-profit colleges and universities in the UK, Canada, Israel and Europe, as well as oth ...
, its present owners. Based in downtown
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, the university offers
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
and
graduate programs in business and management.
History
Initial years (2005 – 2008)
University Canada West was founded as a for-profit university by David Strong, the former president of the
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
, and a group of investors. It was intended to cater to British Columbian students who had been turned away from the province's public universities as well as the Asian Pacific market and had projected an eventual enrollment of 3000 students. The establishment of the university marked the first time in British Columbia that a for-profit institution had been authorized to use the designation "university," the result of the province's recently enacted, controversial Degree Authorization Act. UCW was approved in 2004 and opened its doors in 2005 in the former Blanshard Elementary School in
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
. It initially offered undergraduate degrees in commerce, communications, geography, tourism, and economics and a master's degree in business. However, the geography, tourism, and economics programs were later dropped.
In an effort to expand its program offerings, UCW bought
Victoria College of Art in 2006. The intention was to start a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree. However, after the takeover, enrollment at the art college dropped drastically from 150 students to 12. The university subsequently withdrew its request to the British Columbia Degree Quality Assessment Board for approval for the new degree. UCW opened a second campus in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
in 2008.
Eminata Group ownership (2008 – 2014)
In 2008, the university was sold to the Eminata Group. At the time of the sale, it was reported that UCW was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and struggling to attract students. Faced with declining enrollment at its Victoria campus, the university closed the site in February 2011. At the time of its closure the Victoria campus had only 24 students enrolled in academic degree programs. The announcement of the imminent closure was made one day after the deadline for a tuition refund had passed. The students were given the option of transferring to another college or to UCW's Vancouver campus. However, some students interviewed on
CBC News
CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...
said their preferred college was unwilling to transfer their UCW course credits, and they could not afford moving to Vancouver.
In March 2012, a two-part investigative feature in the British Columbian paper ''
The Province
''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...
'' reported on student complaints at UCW and two other Canadian colleges owned by Eminata. In October of that year, the ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' published an article reporting on interviews with over 30 students, graduates, faculty and former teachers and employees of UCW who "alleged that it
asa university only in name, and that many of them were duped." The article noted that the university "vehemently" denied the allegations that the students were misled about the value of UCW degrees saying that it had many students who secured positions in industry and government, both in Canada and abroad. At the time of the article's publication, approximately 90% of UCW's students were from India. Earlier that year, when student complaints about UCW had begun to surface, India's
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University may refer to:
* Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad
* Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada
* Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Anantapur
* Jawaharlal Nehru Technolog ...
pulled out of a
Memorandum of Understanding with UCW to jointly run an MBA exchange programme.
UCW's founder David Strong had been replaced as the university's president in December 2009. He was succeeded by Verna Magee-Shepherd, a former acting president of
British Columbia Institute of Technology. Magee-Shepherd resigned in March 2012, and four months later Arthur Coren was named UCW's new president and vice-chancellor. Coren was previously the dean of
Kwantlen Polytechnic University's business school.
Global University Systems ownership (2014 – present)
Eminata sold University Canada West to the Netherlands-based company
Global University Systems
Global University Systems B.V. (GUS) is a private limited company registered in the Netherlands. As a corporate group, it owns and operates several private for-profit colleges and universities in the UK, Canada, Israel and Europe, as well as oth ...
in November 2014 at which time it had approximately 400 students enrolled in its in-person and online programs. According to a 2017 interview with Coren in ''The PIE News'' (an industry publication for the international education sector), the university's enrollment had increased since 2014 with 80% of its students coming from outside Canada. UCW had 52 graduates in the class of 2018. Of these, 23 were from India and the Far East, 10 from Canada, 7 from Africa, 4 from the Middle East, 4 from Europe, and 4 from Central and South America. The majority of the graduates were on the MBA program.
In 2019, Brock Dykeman was named new president of the University.
Campus
Earlier sited on two floors of an office building on Melville Street in downtown
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, the university relocated in 2014 to the nearby
London Building
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
where it occupies five floors. The 10-storey London Building is located at 626 West Pender Street and was originally built in 1912 for the London and British North American Company.
University Canada West is set to open a new campus, Vancouver House, in July 2020, which will house 3,400 students.
Governance
In line with the bicameral system at many other Canadian universities, the governance structure of UCW is composed of an Academic Council and a Board of Governance. The Board of Governance oversees the strategic direction of the university including its fiduciary, legal and financial responsibilities. It is composed of two members nominated by
Global University Systems
Global University Systems B.V. (GUS) is a private limited company registered in the Netherlands. As a corporate group, it owns and operates several private for-profit colleges and universities in the UK, Canada, Israel and Europe, as well as oth ...
(the university's owner), the university's president, and a minimum of four members external to both the university and its owner. As of 2018, the Board of Governance was chaired by
Alfred Morris. He also serves on the board of directors at two other institutions owned by Global University Systems,
Arden University
Arden University is a private, for-profit teaching university in the United Kingdom. It offers a variety of undergraduate and post-graduate programmes with both blended and online distance learning delivery options. Its head office is in Co ...
and
University of Law. The Academic Council oversees the university's academic programs and policies. It is composed of representatives from the university's staff, faculty, students and alumni.
Although UCW does not receive public funds, the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education requires the institution to file audited financial statements. The institution also undergoes an annual quality review by the Degree Quality Assessment Board.
Academics
The university is accredited by the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training, and carries the Education Quality Assurance (EQA) accreditation under the 2003 Degree Authorization Act. The University is also a member of the British Columbia Council on Admission & Transfer. In 2017 the university's bachelors and post-graduate business degrees received accreditation by the
Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs
The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), formerly the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, is a U.S. organization offering accreditation services to business programs focused on teaching and learni ...
(ACBSP).
As of 2019 UCW offers a Bachelor of Commerce, a Bachelor of Arts in Business Communication, and an
MBA. The mode of study for these degrees is either full-time on campus or part-time online. It also offers an
Associate of Arts
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The fi ...
degree.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Universities in British Columbia
For-profit universities and colleges in Canada
Educational institutions established in 2005
2005 establishments in Canada