Sea-to-Sky corridor universities make education more accessible
Justin Scott // Managing Editor
Quest University and Capilano University have signed an agreement that will make it easier for Quest students enrolled in their own Bachelor of Arts with a major in Liberal Studies to transfer to the same program offered at CapU starting at the beginning of September. With both schools located in the Sea-to-Sky corridor, collaboration makes sense. “It stems from us operating in the same corridor, so I think it’s a real fit for us being able to work together,” said CapU’s acting president, Toran Savjord.
Students who have completed the first two years of the degree at Quest, and who have completed the mandatory prerequisites, will have the option to transfer to CapU for their third and fourth years. Quest is still a relatively small post-secondary Liberal Arts and Sciences institution located in Squamish with just 700 students. According to Savjord, the agreement between CapU and Quest aims to make education more accessible to students living in the Sea-to-Sky corridor. “It’s important to strengthen our relationship with Quest to provide more opportunities for students in our region,” he included in a Jan. 18 press release.
In addition to being neighbours geographically, CapU and Quest also find themselves aligned on their educational mentalities. “Cap is a fairly progressive place and has the same student-first mentality, from my perspective, as Quest has. So, I think it’s just a natural fit as we’re in the same corridor and have the same attitude toward student success,” Savjord added.
As exciting as this new relationship is, it’s potentially the first of many educational opportunities for collaboration CapU may embark on. “Where we see an opportunity for partnership – whether it be with a college in the interior of BC or a university in Australia – we will be looking to make and formalize new connections,” Savjord included in the press release. Presently, CapU has a hundred agreements with institutions province-wide, nationally and internationally they are reviewing and renewing.
For now however, the program between CapU and Quest will be a good introduction of the multi-school program model for those students involved.