ABOUT CENTENNIAL COLLEGE:

Whether you're interested in training for your current or future career, earning transfer credits for university studies, or just pursuing your interests, Centennial College can help you reach your goals. With 100+ full-time programs, more than 160 part-time programs and 1,000s of part-time courses, you'll find what you (and your employers) need at Centennial.

At Centennial they want you to have easy access to information about the value of the college experience, and the benefits of a Centennial College education in today's workplace and your everyday lives. They know you want to make the right choice. So, let us help you. If you are considering returning to school as a mature student, attend a free information session. You can get the facts you need to make the right choices

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION :
Centennial College has a long international tradition. As a publicly-funded college, they meet strict educational standards set by Canada's Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities for the province of Ontario. The diplomas they grant are recognized internationally.

Centennial College offer two and three-year programs and a wide range of part-time and specialized post-diploma programs to 12,000 full-time students and 30,000 part-time students each year.

Centennial emphasizes learning through experience. Well-equipped laboratories and studios, and experienced and dedicated faculty will help you gain skills that are in demand today. their goal is to educate students for career success. Their graduates hold senior positions in business, industry, education and government in Canada and around the world.

HISTORY :
Ontario's First College
The sexual revolution, equal rights and the Vietnam war were some of the hot issues of Western society in the tumultuous 1960s. Social change was creating a need for new kinds of specialists in human welfare, communications, health and recreation. In industry, new technology was changing the nature of work with breakneck speed.

In 1965, Ontario Education Minister William Davis spoke of a new kind of school to accommodate the increasing number of children entering the education system in Ontario. "In the present crisis, the need cannot be met simply by alterations or additions at the secondary school level; they must... create a new kind of institution that will provide a type of training which universities are not designed to offer."

Rather than importing the junior college concept from the U.S., Davis wanted something that would be career-oriented. It would offer a wide variety of flexible programs, on-the-job training and programming that reflected the needs of the local community. Thanks to the swift work by some Scarborough and East York residents, rallied by school trustee Reg Stackhouse, Scarborough was one of the first communities considered in the ambitious plan.

An abandoned radar instrument factory - built during the Cold War of the 1950s - was rented from the federal government to house the first community college in the province. Centennial College, named for the coming 100th birthday of Canada, opened its doors on October 17, 1966 to 514 students. Still under renovation, there were no lockers or clocks, and professors had to shout over the din of jackhammers.

Centennial was a unique experience for the students and teachers. The professors were recruited out of other schools and directly from business and industry to teach new programs in technology, public relations, journalism, business, welfare services and early childhood education.

The student newspaper, The Arsenal, appeared on campus a few months later. It featured an interview with John Haar, Centennial's first president. They are putting an emphasis on less sitting in class and more digging on your own. The basis for true education is when you, the student, start to inquire for yourself," he said of the new college experience. And Centennial started to grow:

CAMPUSES :
Centennial College has four campuses.

• Ashtonbee Campus

• Centennial HP Science and Technology Centre

• The Centre for Creative Communications

• Progress Campus

MISSION & VALUES :
Mission Statement: To educate students for career success.
Centennial College make every decision to support the career and personal development of their learners. Their curriculum, teaching and services demonstrate that they value the diverse profiles of their learners.

Strategic Directions:
1.Meet the needs of internal and external communities by:

• providing lifelong education and training that produces graduates with the skills necessary to sustain individual career success within a global economy;

• providing employers and communities with the human resources they will require for economic success and contribution to the community;

• taking a leadership position in influencing education and other related public policies; and, conducting applied research that will create the new products and services necessary for sustaining the economic health of our external communities.

2. Make Centennial College the college of choice in our target market by:

• providing high quality, innovative, and responsive education and training programs, including comprehensive education that lead toward certificates, diplomas and applied degrees;

• advancing new approaches to education, including academic centres of excellence;

• entering into alliances with industry and academic partners to enhance Centennial's education and applied research thrust;

• promoting the unique character of Centennial's campuses; and,

• providing an effective, supportive, safe, accessible and affordable learning environment, using state-of-the-art information technologies, where appropriate, to support these directions.

3. Make Centennial College the employer of choice for management, faculty and support staff by:

• promoting a proactive approach to professional development;

• ensuring that our people have the necessary support and tools to fulfill their responsibilities;

• providing an effective, supportive, safe, secure and accessible working environment; and

• nurturing continuous improvement of working relationships at all levels in the college.

4. Value and respect our multicultural diversity by:

• sustaining an operating environment that capitalizes on the unique contributions of our multicultural communities; and

• equipping our students with the skills necessary to respond to the opportunities and challenges associated with ever-changing societal demographics.

5. Ensure that sufficient financial resources are obtained in order to achieve the organization's strategic objectives.