Douglas College

{{Infobox university

| logo = Douglas College logo.svg

| name = Douglas College

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| image = Douglas College COA.png

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| established = {{start date and age|1970}}

| type = Public college

| endowment = $72,075,744{{cite web|url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/post-secondary-education/institution-resources-administration/financial-reporting/audited-financial-statements |title=Audited Financial Statements - Post-secondary Institutions - Province of British Columbia }}

| chair = Adel Gamar{{cite web|url=https://www.douglascollege.ca/about-douglas/governance/college-board/approved-minutes |title=Approved minutes | Douglas College }}

| academic_staff = 960

| administrative_staff =

| president = Kathy Denton{{cite web|title=Senior Management Team (SMT) – Douglas College|url=https://www.douglascollege.ca/about-douglas/governance/biography|website=douglascollege.ca}}

| provost = Thor Borgford{{cite web|url=https://www.douglascollege.ca/about-douglas/governance/presidents-office/senior-management-team-smt|title=Senior Management Team (SMT)|work=douglascollege.ca|access-date=7 February 2015}}

| principal =

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| students = 7,842 {{abbr|FTE|full-time equivalent}} 2022–23{{cite web|url=https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/full-time-equivalent-enrolments-at-b-c-public-post-secondary-institutions |title=Data Catalogue }}

| undergrad =

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| city = New Westminster and Coquitlam

| province = British Columbia

| country = Canada

| coordinates =

| campus = Urban (New Westminster)
Suburban (Coquitlam)

| free_label =

| free =

| colours = {{color box|#3a3321}}{{color box|#a3af07}}{{color box|#C0C0C0}} Black, green, silver

| athletics_affiliations = PACWEST, CCAA, NWAACC

| mascot = Roary

| sports_nickname = Royals

| academic_affiliations = CICan, CBIE, CUP

| website = {{URL|https://www.douglascollege.ca/}}

}}

Image:Douglascollege-coq.jpg

Douglas College is the largest college in British Columbia, Canada{{Cite web |title=About Douglas {{!}} Douglas College |url=https://www.douglascollege.ca/about-douglas |access-date=2024-10-24 |website=www.douglascollege.ca}} with 7,958 full-time equivalent students in 2023-24.{{Cite web |title=Data Catalogue |url=https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/full-time-equivalent-enrolments-at-b-c-public-post-secondary-institutions/resource/5ccc8108-855c-4802-b60d-cb9da4b96fbf |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca}} Douglas College offers bachelor's degrees and general university arts and science courses, as well as career programs in health care, human services, business and the creative arts.{{cite web|title=About Douglas College – Douglas College|url=https://www.douglascollege.ca/about-douglas|website=douglascollege.ca}}

History

Founded in 1970, the college is named after the former Governor of British Columbia, Sir James Douglas. In 1981, Kwantlen College split off from Douglas College.{{cite web|url=https://www.kpu.ca/about/facts|title=KPU Facts|website=Kwantlen Polytechnic University|access-date=18 July 2022}}

= Coat of arms =

Douglas College's coat of arms was revealed to the public on January 21, 2020. The emblem was designed by Coast Salish artist Carrielynn Victor for the college's 50th anniversary. The emblem was the first to be completely designed by an Indigenous artist in Canada's history.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} The crowned heart in the middle of the emblem is a feature of coats of arms of the Douglas family, including the College's namesake Sir James Douglas, and a reference to the college's motto, "Do what you love". The crown on top of it is made of cedar, a wood material that is local to the area. There is a raven on top of the crest, meant to signify cleverness as the bird represents. There are also two Douglas fir trees surrounding the raven which are meant to signify a relation to the college's name. In the Coast Salish language, below the shield, are the words "Excellence, Knowledge, Passion". The reference to the Indigenous language is a recognition that the college operates on a First Nations territory.{{Cite web|url=https://www.douglascollege.ca/about-douglas/coat-of-arms|title=Coat of Arms - Douglas College|website=www.douglascollege.ca|access-date=2020-04-15}}

=Campuses=

The college has two major campuses in Metro Vancouver – one in New Westminster (Royal Avenue and Anvil Tower) and one in Coquitlam. The college also has a smaller Training Centre campus in Surrey.

Programs

Douglas offers bachelor's degrees, associated degrees, and various programs, certifications and diplomas.

{{cite web|url=https://www.douglascollege.ca/future-students/explore-douglas/ways-study|title=Ways to Study|website=Douglas College|access-date=18 July 2022}}

=International education=

Each year, more than 4,000 international students from 92 countries take for-credit courses at Douglas College, accounting for roughly 18 percent of the student population.[https://www.douglascollege.ca/about-douglas]

=Media=

The Other Press was formerly the Douglas College's student newspaper from 1976 to 2021.{{Cite web |title=ABOUT & RESOURCES – The Other Press |url=https://theotherpress.ca/about/ |access-date=2024-10-24 |language=en-US}} It was a member of Canadian University Press.

The college also publishes Event, a literary magazine published three times per year.

=Athletics=

Varsity sports teams at Douglas College are known as the Royals and the mascot is a lion named Roary. The Royals compete in men's and women's basketball, curling, golf, soccer and volleyball as well as men's baseball and women's softball. The Royals are members of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) and the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).

Controversy

In January 2012, Global's 16x9 news magazine aired a story alleging large scale fraud at Douglas College's Chinese partner campuses. Some faculty members complained that some Chinese students were unable to speak basic English upon graduation.{{cite web |title=Global News - Latest & Current News - Weather, Sports & Health News |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/202680/dubious-degree/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617234336/http://www.globalnews.ca/dubious+degree/6442565081/story.html |archive-date=17 June 2012 |access-date=7 February 2015 |work=globalnews.ca}} They alleged mass-scale fraud whereby students were guaranteed to pass their courses through various methods such as black market answer sheets, progressively easier make-up exams, and grade tampering. Robert Buller, a former Dean of Commerce and Business alleged Douglas College President Scott McAlpine said "he needed plausible deniability and he wanted to see and hear nothing" when approached about the issue. Since then, Douglas College and the British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education completed an independent review of the situation and issued a report.[http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/01/28/douglas-college-orders-review-of-china-programs/ Douglas College orders review of China programs | Vancouver Sun] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202105153/http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/01/28/douglas-college-orders-review-of-china-programs/ |date=February 2, 2012 }}. Blogs.vancouversun.com. Retrieved on 2014-04-12. Although the report found "no evidence of academic dishonesty or fraud in the conduct of Douglas College", it noted specific areas of concerns including in lack of oversight in the use of challenge exams.{{cite web |url=https://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/degree-authorization/documents/Douglas-College-Programs-in-China.pdf |title=Degree Authorization |access-date=4 November 2012 |archive-date=15 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515070546/https://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/degree-authorization/documents/Douglas-College-Programs-in-China.pdf}} The report stated that "Douglas College would have benefitted from speedier and more thoroughly considered responses" to issues previously identified.