Thompson Rivers University

I saw an ad for TRU on the bus the other day, so I decided to check them out, since they are a Canadian school which may be of interest to people on this forum.

Originally established in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, as "Cariboo College" in 1970, the name was changed to "University College of the Cariboo" in 1988 before finally being changed to "Thompson Rivers University" in 2005; that's an improvement, IMHO ... it is a public university which is granted university status by the province (BC) and also a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) which is the additional standard (like accreditation, not sure if they use that word or not) that most Canadian universities belong to. Wikipedia entry for Thompson Rivers University

They describe their open learning distance programs on their site like this:
Achieve your goals, wherever you are. Open Learning removes the barriers to quality post-secondary education by offering continuous enrolment, flexible scheduling and minimal admission requirements. Take one course or a complete degree program, and study at your own pace.

Bachelor programs offered are listed here

Admission policies via open learning:
"Applicants do not require a specific grade point average (GPA) and are not required to submit transcripts from secondary school to be admitted to TRU-OL and to register in courses." Admissions

Transfer policies:
They seem to have pretty liberal policies on transfer credit, but their website is a bit vague: Transfer credit ... so I emailed them to ask how many of the credits for their Bachelor of General Studies degree can be transferred in. The reply I received just now states:
"Residency requirements are 15 credits. Since most courses are worth 3 credits each, this means at least 5 courses need to be completed through Thompson Rivers University." So, 105 credits could be earned at other institutions. Also, through agreements with other universities in BC, online courses from certain other BC schools count towards the residency reqs at TRU. I'm not sure what the associated fees are for transferring in credits, a potential student would need to investigate that in advance.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR):
"Earn Academic Credits for Learning from Life and Work Experience: Many learners have acquired valuable training, skills and knowledge through life and work experience. PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition) provides students with the opportunity to have such learning assessed and recognized in the form of academic credit toward the requirements of a Thompson Rivers University, Open Learning program." PLAR info

Tuition cost:
Canadian students: "Average of" $101.76/credit
Discounted Canadian students (aged 65+): "Average of" $25.42/credit
International students: $311.30/credit
Of course these rates would only apply to courses taken in residence, which I imagine for most people taking this route, would be few ... Tuition fees

I can't say anything about the quality of the programs/courses/school since I have no personal connection to it, like I say, I first heard about it from bus ads. Just presenting it here as another potential option in case it's helpful for someone.

 

The name change of 2005 was the result of a merger between University College of the Cariboo and British Columbia Open Learning.

 

Their logo is pretty similar to Landmark College, near where I live.