OC Student Numbers Up 13%

By Corey Fischer

Sep 25, 2018 | 4:20 PM

Enrolment continues to grow at Okanagan College.

Student numbers at the four campuses this fall have increased 13 per cent over a year ago

It works out to close to 9,570 students, with 1,088 of those at the Vernon campus (was 970 last fall) and 6,126 in Kelowna (5,330 last fall).

The Salmon Arm campus has increased from 692 to 721, while Penticton is up to 1,025 from 940.

President Jim Hamilton says the numbers show they are helping more students pursue higher education

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“The latest BC labour market projections show that by 2028, there will be 903,000 job openings that need to be filled in BC. Eighty per cent of those jobs will require some form of higher education. That’s where we come in.”

While international student numbers have grown at the College (1,393 this fall, compared to 876 last fall), so too have domestic student enrolments: there are 590 more students from Canada this fall than in the fall of 2017.

Hamilton says the figures suggest the institution will likely exceed 2018-19 government enrolment targets, which would be the 14th year that Okanagan College has done so – the best record among BC’s Colleges.

Due to the College having programs that start at various times of the year, the student numbers won’t be finalized until the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2019.

Pictured: Jim Hamilton, Okanagan College President

by Corey Fischer