The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) is a public, post-secondary institute incorporated by a special Act of the British Columbia (Canada) Legislature in 1964. The mission of BCIT is to provide "world-class job-ready skills for career success." BCIT's programs are fully accredited by the Ministry of Advanced Education of the Province of British Columbia, Canada.

Unlike many colleges and universities, BCIT prides itself on providing learners with skills that allow them to enter the job market directly, without any further on-site training.

More than 14,000 learners enroll annually in BCIT's full-time technical and vocational programs while more than 24,000 learners enroll in part-time programs. Of these, approximately 2,500 learners from all over the world study by distance education via the Internet. The Web Technologies Certificate Programs account for approximately 250 (10%) of these online learners. BCIT has 1,445 full-time faculty and staff and 566 part-time faculty and staff. Most of the instructors, especially those in the part-time programs such as the Web Technologies Certificate Programs, are drawn from people who work directly in industry.

BCIT offers programs with a variety of levels of certification including certificates, diplomas and degrees. Many programs lead to professional certification and some provide course exemptions that allow graduates to write qualifying exams to meet professional designations.

BCIT graduates are highly sought after in industry because they bring with them all of the skills that the employer requires.

Web Technologies Certificate Programs

It was in the December of 1998 that the idea of Broadcast Media at BCIT offering online courses was first discussed. In the Spring Term, 1999, the first course -- MDIA 1205 -- was offered to test the market. It had an enrollment of 12 learners. This term that course has an enrollment of 101 learners.

In the second term MDIA 1205 was offered the enrollment doubled, and a decision was made to develop an entire series of online courses leading to an Associate Certificate in Web Technologies. An intensive period of development work (which is, perhaps, the most difficult part of delivering online courses) soon saw the present list of 14 courses being offered, including the development of a full certificate program.

This term, more than 250 learners are enrolled in these courses from as far from Vancouver, BC as Japan, Holland, Italy, the US, and most provinces of Canada. We even count a member of Team Canada (living in Rotterdam) among our learners.

Approximately one-third of the learners who enroll in our courses are being sponsored by the companies for which they work, in an attempt to bring the design and maintenance of their corporate website in-house. A second third of our learners are taking these courses in order to develop their own Web design businesses. The final third of our learners are seeking a qualification that will allow them to enter the field of Web design and production.

All courses in the Web Technologies Certificate Programs are offered entirely online. The courses in BCIT's Web Technologies Certificate Programs map to the World Organization of Webmasters and the Association of Web Professionals skill-sets.

The Web Technologies Certificate Program is designed as part-time learning experiences for people who work full time. However, it is possible to take more than one course concurrently if the learner has the time to devote to them. Individual courses in the programs may be taken if you have the necessary background.

The Web Technologies Certificate Programs consist of two components, the Web Technologies Associate Certificate Program (21 credits) and the Web Technologies Full Certificate Program (45 credits). The latter program is still under development, but most of the courses are currently available.

Associate Certificate in Web Technologies (21 credits)

Because the courses in this program are designed as a sequence of learning experiences, with one course building upon another, they are best taken in the course number sequence. However, after successfully completing MDIA 1205 and 2205 the remaining courses may be taken in any order the learner wishes and even concurrently. MDIA 4205 and 4206 are designed to be taken together and should be the last courses the learner completes in the Associate Certificate Program since they provide the culmination of all the previous learning experiences.

Learners should not expect to complete the Associate Certificate program in fewer than 4 terms. All of the courses are offered in the Fall, Winter and Spring terms, but not in the Summer semester.

Full Certificate in Web Technologies (45 credits)

NOTE: Twenty-one of the 45 credits for the Full Certificate Program are acquired through the Associate Certificate Program.

The Full Certificate Program adds courses in XML/XHTML, Advanced Flash, Java, ASP, PHP and ColdFusion. There are two additional courses for the full certificate under development. Courses in the Full Certificate Program may be taken in any order provided that you have the necessary background. Individual courses may be taken if you do not wish to explore the complete program.

Go to the BCIT website.