Quest University Canada, due to open in the Garibaldi Highlands in under 10 months' time, has passed two important milestones this past week.
The private, not-for-profit university has received degree-granting consent from the Province of British Columbia through the degree quality assessment process established under the Degree Authorization Act (DAA) following a review by the Degree Quality Assessment Board (DQAB). this month.
In a letterfrom Murray Coell, Minister of Advanced Education, Quest received consent to grant or confer a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree and provide a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree program. This designation is critical in allowing the university to administer financial aid and loans with the provincial system administered by the BC Student Assistance Program.Quest is now considered a "designated school" in the program.
The announcementalso paves the way for approval at the federal level to administer Canada Student loans and provincial financial aid from other provinces and territories across the country.
"The DQAB consent for our degree program is essentially the gold standard for credibility as an institution of higher learning in the province and has positive implications for the university's standing at a national and international level," said Mark Campbell, Dean of Enrollment Management.
Campbell called the approval "a big psychological boost for the faculty and staff of the University. There's a lot of work involved in going through the process and to finally say that 'we did it' is a tremendous accomplishment".
And Quest's firstPreview Day was held on Saturday (Nov. 11), with 60 curious potential students and their parents, visiting the site of the university, and listening topresentations from faculty and staff. Following aRemembrance Day ceremony, a few "sample classes" were put on toshow how Quest's unique integrated learning model works in practice.
"The feedback we received from our guests was extraordinarily positive about the sense of team, community, and enthusiasm we have created," said Campbell."We heard many positive comments: 'You can feel the energy here', 'It's contagious', 'What an impressive group of people', ...and more."
Given these hurdles have been passed, what is next for Quest?"Our primary tasks right now are continuing with our student recruitment efforts and curriculum development. There's a lot of work to do to open a university, from developing the library and student services to finishing the classrooms. Now we can concentrate on that," said Campbell. "And we're really pleased with the community support for the university and the positive feedback we've been receiving."
