In Vancouver, private education company ILAC has received approval from the British Columbia ministry of advanced education’s PTIB division to deliver a custom pathway program in affiliation with Thompson Rivers University that enables students to transition on to universities and colleges in the BC system.
The IELTS entry level is set at 5.5 for the program, which comprises “intensive language training and university year 1 courses” which are delivered by TRU’s online learning division, Open Learning.
“This program is unique in Canada and only available through ILAC”
“The ILAC-TRU International Year One program is a signature 2019 program,” commented Jonathan Kolber, co-founder of the Canadian education company.
“We have created opportunities for international students to transition more easily into the BC University and college system. This program is unique in Canada and only available through ILAC.”
At TRU World, the international-facing TRU university operation, director of international recruitment and marketing ZiPing Feng explained that international students will “be able to benefit from taking both intensive language training and well-selected university year 1 courses at the same time and location”.
He added, “It will be a challenging and exciting journey for the learners, but after completion, the learners’ advantages are obvious, too.”
According to the program partners, the credits earned with the TRU OL courses are transferable to most universities in BC and Canada.
While pathway programs are certainly not unique, and a highly professionalised program area, the delivery of university year 1 courses via online classes facilitated by in-class instructors is the innovation here, according to ILAC.
“The custom-designed joint program reflects the strong pathway partnership between language schools and a post-secondary institutions by allowing students to take university courses on the ILAC campus,” emphasised Diana Mockute, director, strategic pathways and partnerships at ILAC.
