British Columbia's private college system is in good shape despite the recent closure of three institutions, according to owners and operators.

Kim Beharrell, president and co-owner of Canadian Tourism College, said closures are not a common thing.

"From time to time a school will close, but the industry is strong," she said. "There are always cycles."

Earlier this summer, Ascent Career College and Corporate Communications Training College of Vancouver closed their doors.

Bayne Stanley, Business Edge
Kim Beharrell, president and co-owner of Canadian Tourism College, says the industry has rallied to assist the affected students.

Several months ago, The Computer Master Institute of Technology in Victoria shut down.

Jim Wright, registrar of the Private Career Training Institutions Agency that oversees private career colleges, said despite the closures - which he described as an anomaly - the industry is a dynamic one.

"Also the closures have to be put into perspective," said Beharrell. "Consider that there are a lot of private colleges, at least 600 in British Columbia, and about 80,000 to 90,000 students attend them.

"And whenever there are closures, the industry helps out the affected students.

"We did just that a couple of years ago when a school closed by taking care of their students," she said.

Closures have a double impact, said Wright.

"They raise concerns and at the same time, awareness. The positive thing for B.C. is that when we see these closures, the rest of the industry steps up to the plate and offers them to finish their courses at other institutions."

He said about 150 students were affected by the closure of Ascent and Corporate Communications.

"The majority of those students have taken their classes at other places. We gave them a list of where they could do that. Those that haven't done so are still deciding."

The colleges work on a system of "an unearned balance," he said. If the student's tuition is $12,000 a year and he has taken six months worth of courses, he or she is entitled to a refund of $6,000 or to continue with courses at another college.

The private college system is uniform. Anyone wanting to open a college has to meet government regulations and pay one per cent of their total tuition fees to a fund administered by the Training Institutions Agency.

A second step involves being accredited. This "is a fairly extensive quality assessment of your operations in the program and educational area," said Wright.

"As well, you have to have been in business for a minimum of one year."

Jindra Repa, founder and principal of the business-focused Arbutus College, said: "The closures in such a short period of time was very disheartening news. We were all taken aback in the private college system, as the public would have been.

"The silver lining was that students get a tuition refund or can complete their studies at other colleges."

He said Arbutus College, established in 2003, today has 70 students and has shown steady growth. The private college system in B.C. is strong in terms of the number of colleges that are operating and the quality of education the students are getting, he added.

Tuition fees in private colleges run anywhere from $800 to $10,000.

"It's unfortunate that three colleges closed," said Sue Singer, founder of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Art. "It doesn't shed a good light."

But there is a difference between her operation, which invested $3 million for its 13,000-sq.-ft. operation to teach students from around the world how to become chefs, compared to some operations that rent office space with a bunch of computers, she said.

"Our business has a lot invested in it and we are taken seriously. We have heard nothing negative from our students who come in to see us."

The private college system is always facing challenges and has to react to the environment, said Beharrell. "We have to innovate and adapt to changing circumstances. The closure of these three schools is an anomaly."

She also noted that the regulations governing private colleges have developed and evolved over the years.

Now, if a college closes, students can be placed in other colleges within a week or two.

Before the new legislation governing the private college system came into place last November, colleges had to post a bond and that could take two years to resolve.

"The new system is much more efficient," she said. "One per cent of tuition fees goes to a fund designed to assist students if a college closes.

This is a better system for the students."

Monica Lust, executive director of the B.C. Careers Colleges Association, said she believes the college closures are not a trend.

Without fully knowing the health of the association's 120 members, she said all the indications point to a healthy industry.

"This year membership is up by 15 per cent, when compared with 2004. This is a pretty good indicator as to the state of the health of the industry. When colleges aren't doing well, the first thing they cut is discretionary spending such as a membership in an association. The association fees are based on a sliding scale and revenues. Also, my members don't come to me saying they are not doing well."

The association is charged with the promotion and protection of the industry.

She also said that Corporate Communications was not a member of her association.

She said she heard the two closures in Vancouver were based on problems with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

The legislation passed last year is much better than what was there previously, she said.

"Companies had to post a surety bond and that was really tough especially after 9/11. The rates went up substantially.

"The new legislation is much better for the operators and the students."

The new legislation is a lot better for the students because under the surety bond system, it could take as much as two years to get a settlement, she added.

(George Froehlich can be reached at george@businessedge)