News Feature

For Immediate Release: January 17, 2001

Students Look at Present and Future through Opening Doors

What college or university should I attend? What program should I take? How much will it cost? What are the chances I'll end up getting the job I want?

These kinds of questions are very much on the minds of secondary and post-secondary students as they prepare for their education, training and working careers. Answers can be found in the updated version of Opening Doors - the most comprehensive database of post-secondary information in B.C.

Opening Doors (http://www.openingdoorsbc.com/), funded by the Ministry of Advanced Education, Training and Technology, is now available on the Internet and CD ROM at schools, libraries, career agencies and government agent offices throughout the province. Students can compare programs, costs, admission requirements and much more from all 28 B.C. public colleges, institutes and universities. It's like having program information from all their calendars at your fingertips.

With this year's inclusion of basic graduate program information, 1,700 individual B.C. educational programs are described in detail. Job prospects and salary expectations for college and institute grads are also included to help students decide what paths to take. All program information comes directly from the post-secondary institutions, while labour market information is extracted from extensive former student surveys conducted annually by the Centre for Education Information.

Here are some brief samples from the Opening Doors Web site:

• Programs
  Fourteen transportation programs are available in B.C. For example, the commercial aviation diploma at Okanagan University College provides students with academic experience and aviation training required by Transport Canada for careers in aviation.
• Finances
  Average monthly living costs for single student: Shelter (shared accommodation) $432; food $176; miscellaneous (entertainment, health care, clothing, household cleaning, communications) $176; local public transportation $56. Total monthly cost $840.
• Jobs
  The average former B.C. student in health professions and related sciences (e.g. dental related, health care administration) required two months to find employment after completing their studies. They work on average 32 hours per week, earning an average income of approximately $33,864 per year. Eighty-six per cent of these former students are working in a job that is very or somewhat related to their health training.

The Web site also contains a financial guide, community and student housing facts, international student information, and a list of student services such as public transit, child care and food services. Many links to other useful Web pages and to all public post-secondary institutions are included.

After determining what programs interest them, students can also apply online. The Post-secondary Application Service of BC (PASBC), another free service provided by the Centre for Education Information, accepts online applications at www.pas.bc.ca on behalf of 19 public institutions.

"The updated Opening Doors coincides with an expanded BC Opportunities program, which will focus on parents as well as students across the province in providing information to make successful choices of education, training and career opportunities," said Advanced Education, Training and Technology Minister Cathy McGregor.

BC Opportunities youth teams, which met with students at 65 secondary schools throughout the province last fall, are now meeting with parents across B.C. to ensure they too, are aware of current education and career trends, and are familiar with all the planning tools

The Centre for Education Information manages Opening Doors, the online Post-secondary Application Service of B.C., and Educational Outcomes surveys. The centre, funded by the Ministry of Advanced Education, delivers quality and timely information and independent research to students, teachers, parents, counsellors, educators, administrators and the government.

For more information, visit http://www.ceiss.org/ or call (250) 413-4400.

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Information: http://www.openingdoorsbc.com/ , http://www.pas.bc.ca/ and http://www.bcopportunities.com/ (online tours by request)