Algonquin College
The Algonquin College Coat of Arms
MottoYour goals, your career, your college
TypePublic
Established1967
PresidentClaude Brulé
Administrative staff
1,151 full time
Students19,000 full-time; 37,000 part-time (2020: 18,412 FTEs)[1]
Address
1385 Woodroffe Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K2G 1V8

45°20′48.97″N 75°45′33.79″W / 45.3469361°N 75.7593861°W / 45.3469361; -75.7593861
CampusUrban
ColoursGreen and white    
NicknameAlgonquin Wolves
AffiliationsCCAA, ACCC, AUCC, CBIE, Polytechnics Canada
MascotThor the Wolf
Websitealgonquincollege.com

Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded English-language college located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The college has three campuses, all in Ontario: a primary campus in Ottawa, and secondary campuses in Perth and Pembroke. It offers bachelor's degrees, diplomas, and certificates. The college serves the National Capital Region and the outlying areas of Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, and Upstate New York. It has been ranked among the Top 50 Research Colleges in Canada[2] and has been recognized as one of Canada's top innovation leaders.[3] The enabling legislation is the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act.[4] It is a member of Polytechnics Canada.

History

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The college was established during the formation of Ontario's college system in 1967. Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology were established on May 21, 1965, when the Ontario system of public colleges was created. The founding institutions were the Eastern Ontario Institute of Technology (established in 1957) and the Ontario Vocational Centre Ottawa (established in 1965 at the Woodroffe Campus and known as OVC). The original 8-acre (3.2 ha) site on Woodroffe Avenue was donated to the city by Mr and Mrs Frank Ryan.[5]

The Ottawa architecture firm of Burgess, McLean & MacPhadyen designed the midcentury academic complex with open-ended blocks alternatively faced with long glass expanses in a semi-gambrel formation that make up the curtain walls and precast aggregate panels. The corporate campus or modernist academic acropolis spread across North America in the early 1960s.[5]

The first Principal of the Ontario Vocational Centre (OVC) was Kenneth G. Shoultz. Shoultz took on the leadership of OVC in 1965 after working as a technical studies teacher and then as an inspector for the Ontario Department of Education. He continued on as the first Dean of the Technical Centre after OVC was amalgamated with Algonquin College in 1967.

The college is named after the Algonquin people who were the original inhabitants of the area.

B Building

In 1964, the Rideau Campus was established. "Satellite" campuses in Pembroke, Hawkesbury, Perth, Carleton Place and Renfrew were established in the late 1960s. The Vanier School of Nursing became a part of the Woodroffe Campus when nursing programs began to be offered at the college. In 1973, the School of Prescott-Russell joined the Algonquin family and the Colonel By Campus was created through the acquisition of St. Patrick's College. With the creation of La Cité Collégiale, 1990 marked the beginning of Algonquin as an English-only college. The Hawkesbury campus was transferred to La Cité Collégiale, and the Renfrew, Colonel By, Carleton Place, and Rideau campuses were progressively closed between 1990 and 2002.

In 2025, the college announced plans to close the Perth campus and 41 programs, citing significant projected budget deficits.[6]

Programs

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Algonquin has over 19,000 full-time students in more than 180 programs, focused on arts and technology. There are over 155 Ontario college programs, 18 apprenticeship programs, 40 co-op programs, 6 collaborative degree programs and 22 bachelor's degree programs. Some of these degrees are through direct collaborative partnerships with Carleton University and University of Ottawa.[7]

Algonquin offers the following bachelor's degree programs:

  • Bachelor of Applied Science (Building Conservation) (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Business Administration (Trades Management) (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Science (Building Science) (Honours)[8]
  • Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Commerce (Strategic Human Resources Management) (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Commerce (Supply Chain Management) (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Culinary Arts and Food Science (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Digital Marketing Communication (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Early Learning and Community Development (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Engineering (Automation and Robotics)
  • Bachelor of Event, Sport, and Entertainment Management (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Resource Management)
  • Bachelor of Information Technology (Interactive Multimedia and Design)
  • Bachelor of Information Technology (Network Technology)
  • Bachelor of Information Technology (Optical Systems and Sensors)
  • Bachelor of Interior Design (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Public Relations (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Public Safety (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing
  • Bachelor of Technology (Business Systems Development) (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Technology (Digital Health) (Honours)

The college's Woodroffe Campus boasts a fully functional (though non-broadcast) television studio with an adjoining control room, for students of the Broadcasting-Television program. Notable graduates from this program include director of the TV series 24, Jon Cassar and comedian Tom Green. The college used to have a second television studio, which now houses the Theatre Arts program. The college has one fully functional, broadcast radio station run entirely by the students of the Broadcasting-Radio program: CKDJ-FM, as well as an internet station: AIR - Algonquin, that is also broadcast as AIR AM 1700 via AM band.

Floating staircase in ACCE building

The Animation program is a three-year advanced diploma with its main focus on performance-based animation whether it be in 3D or traditional animation. Also, all students learn Toonboom's Harmony software. The program is celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2009-10 and has its curriculum being taught in India, China and South Africa with negotiations with Dubai, Chile and others.

The Public Relations program is a two-year diploma in which students have raised notable amounts of money for local not-for-profit organizations including the John Howard Society, LiveWorkPlay, and Harmony House Women's Shelter. Since 1990, the Public Relations program has raised over $300,000 for charity.[9]

The Pembroke Campus is well known for its outdoor training programs which attracts students from across Canada. These programs include Outdoor Adventure, Outdoor Adventure Naturalist and Forestry Technician. In 2012, a new Waterfront Campus opened in downtown Pembroke.

International campuses

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Algonquin College has four international campuses through their international offshore partnerships:

From 2013 to 2017, the college operated a campus in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, but sold it after facing financial losses and criticism over the quality of education.[10][11]

Residence

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In August 2003, the Woodroffe Campus Residence Complex opened, providing housing for 1,050 students. Most students commute from throughout the National Capital Region by Ottawa city transit or car. Full-time students have a transit pass included in their tuition fees to facilitate off-campus living and reduce the demand for parking on campus.

The Pembroke Campus has a housing registry.

College presidents

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Date Name
1967–1969 Frederick Rosser
1969–1973 Gerald Maher
1973–1982 Laurent Isabelle
1982–1984 Brian Ash
1984–1995 Philip Killeen
1996–2012 Robert Gillett
2012–2014 Kent MacDonald
2014–2019 Cheryl Jensen
2019–Present Claude Brulé

Partnerships

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Algonquin has formed strategic partnerships with select universities to offer collaborative degrees. This includes the Bachelor of Information Technology - Interactive Multimedia and Design with Carleton University; Bachelor of Information Technology - Network Technology with Carleton University and Bachelor of Science in Nursing with the University of Ottawa. Studies take place at Algonquin College and the partnering university and collaborative degrees are conferred by the university. Algonquin has developed articulation agreements with universities to assist qualified Algonquin graduates to attain specific degrees in shorter periods. Graduates are subject to the admission requirements of the university granting the degree.

On February 16, 2017, Algonquin College announced a new partnership with The Ottawa Hospital in health research, innovation and training. The partnership, signed by Algonquin College President Cheryl Jensen and Executive Vice-President of Research at The Ottawa Hospital will be focused on digital health, clinical trials and biotherapeutics manufacturing. The partnership will stand for five years until requiring renewal.[12]

Algonquin College has a partnership with Shopify, specifically Shopify U, which has added the study of graphic design to its course list. The partnership will allow students to attend classes at the downtown Ottawa Shopify office and then practice their skills at local businesses.[13]

Internationally, the college has several partnerships with institutions in other countries to transfer expertise through technical assistance and training programs.

Scholarships

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Algonquin College joined Project Hero, a scholarship program co founded by General (Ret'd) Rick Hillier for the families of fallen Canadian Forces members.[14]

Algonquin College bursaries for Aboriginal, First Nations and Métis students include: Peter Wintonick Bursary; Ottawa Police Service's Thomas G. Flanagan Scholarship; MKI Travel and Hospitality Bursary.[15]

Military

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The Diploma in Military Arts and Sciences (DMASc) provides Non-Commissioned Members (NCMs) of the Canadian Forces an online program made possible by a partnership between OntarioLearn (Algonquin College consortium member), the RMC, and the Canadian Defence Academy. Under a RMC and Algonquin College articulation agreement, all graduates of this diploma program who apply to the RMC will be admitted into the Bachelor of Military Arts and Sciences degree program with advanced standing.[16]

In 2006, Algonquin College was approached by the Canadian Forces Support Training Group (CFSTG) to explore the feasibility of developing and delivering a program to satisfy the training requirements exclusively for Canadian Forces Geomatics Technicians. The goal was to increase the number of CF graduates produced by the School of Military Mapping. Students in the Geomatics Technician program earn a college-approved certificate in Geomatics. Algonquin also grants a provincially approved Geomatics Technician Diploma to students who successfully graduate from the Geomatics Technician Training and have completed a small number of approved additional courses.[17]

Athletics

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Algonquin is a member of the OCAA and CCAA. It fields men's and women's varsity teams in basketball, volleyball, soccer and rugby.[18] The team name is the Algonquin Wolves (renamed from Algonquin Thunder in 2021) and the school colours are green, black and white.[19]

Student publications

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The student newspaper of Algonquin College is the Algonquin Times, founded in 1986. The paper is written by students in the journalism and advertising programs and funded by the Students Association. There is also a special-interest-focused magazine called Glue. The former was printed fortnightly, and the latter semiannually, before both became digital-only publications in 2022.[20]

T Building
Minto Hall- ACCE Building Foyer

Notable alumni and faculty

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ontario College FTEs". Ontario Colleges Library Service. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Research Infosource Inc. :: 2018". researchinfosource.com. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  3. ^ "Research Infosource Inc. :: Overview". researchinfosource.com. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  4. ^ http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90m19_e.htm Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act
  5. ^ a b "All Happy On Sites of Schools". Ottawa Citizen. Aug 2, 1961. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  6. ^ Fung, Nathan (24 February 2025). "Algonquin College to cut 41 programs, close Perth campus". CBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Degree Programs". Algonquin College. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  8. ^ "PEQAB". Archived from the original on 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  9. ^ "Ottawa students launch #letsunlockchange fundraiser for John Howard Society". Ottawa Citizen. 2015-03-27. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  10. ^ Miller, Jacquie (6 October 2016). "Algonquin hands over its Saudi Arabia campus to a British company". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  11. ^ Fagan, Laurie (15 May 2017). "Algonquin College took $6.2M hit on failed Saudi campus". CBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  12. ^ Technology, Algonquin College of Applied Arts and (2017-02-16). "Algonquin College and The Ottawa Hospital form new partnership - News". News. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  13. ^ "Shopify, Algonquin College partner on graphic design course". TECHOPIA. Archived from the original on 2017-03-04. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  14. ^ "Project Hero". Algonquin College. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  15. ^ "Indigenous Bursaries Search Tool". Government of Canada. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  16. ^ "Military Arts and Sciences Diploma Program". Archived from the original on 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  17. ^ "Case Study: Canadian Forces and Algonquin Collaborate to Expand Organizational Capacity" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 16, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  18. ^ "Algonquin College Athletics". Algonquin College.
  19. ^ Sorokan, Andrew (24 November 2023). "The Wolves marketing team wants you to join the pack". Algonquin Times. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  20. ^ Laflamme, Guillaume (19 February 2023). "Algonquin Times retires its print edition to focus on digital publishing". Algonquin Times. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
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