Conestoga College


Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a public college located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1967, Conestoga serves approximately 23,000 registered students through campuses and training centres in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Stratford, Ingersoll and Brantford with an enrolment of 11,000 full-time students, 30,000 part-time students, and 3,300 apprenticeship students.

History

The College was founded in 1967 as the Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology, one of many such institutions established in that time by the Ontario government to grant diplomas and certificates in career-related, skills-oriented programs. It was renamed in 2002 when the government extended the school's reach, namely to grant degrees in technology-based fields.
Over the years, it has added programs such as the Master of Business Administration program, in cooperation with the University of Windsor. In addition, the College offers a new nursing curriculum leading to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Students accepted to Conestoga's Nursing Program take all four years of study at the Doon Campus in Kitchener. Graduates of the program will receive a degree from McMaster University.
Beginning in August 2003, two new programs began which would be the first to award a degree to students entirely through the college. The two programs are the program, a fully accredited engineering program by Engineers Canada and the . In 2007 a third B.A. Tech in , degree program was added targeting embedded system hardware and software design and manufacture. All three programs award graduates a Bachelor of Applied Technology degree. Beginning of 2005 a new ; was started in the School of Health Sciences, Community Services, and Biotechnology.
In 2006, the college purchased the former University Heights Secondary School in Waterloo for nearly $6,000,000, into which its Waterloo campus relocated later that year. The property is significantly larger than its former Waterloo campus, which the college will sell to cover the cost of the purchase.

Academic program

Conestoga has one, two, three, or four-year programs; as well as apprenticeship training programs. There are also many options available to students including four-year degrees in Mechanical Systems Engineering, Integrated Telecommunications and Computer Technology, Architecture, Health Informatics or the International Business Management degree which started in the fall of 2006. Conestoga also has several agreements with Ontario universities including Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Windsor, and McMaster University, as well as several other Canadian and international institutions.

Trades & Apprenticeship

The College operates trades programs at the campuses in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph; training facilities are operated in Brantford and Ingersoll. The School's programs include Construction, Motive Power, Industrial and Service sectors, as well as Traditional Apprenticeship and, most recently, Pre-apprenticeship, offered in partnership with private enterprise companies. The College's president revealed a plan in late 2019 to consolidate all of the trades programs at one location in future but the date of the move was not disclosed at that time.

Campuses

Doon Campus is the main campus for Conestoga College. It is located at the south end of Kitchener and houses the central administration offices as well as the majority of courses offered by the college. Regional campuses have select programs.
Doon Campus - Main Campus, 299 Doon Valley Drive, Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 4M4
Kitchener Downtown Campus, 25 Frederick Street, Kitchener, Ontario, N2H 6M8
Waterloo Campus, 108 University Avenue East, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 2W2
Cambridge Campus, 850 Fountain Street South, Cambridge, Ontario N3H 0A8
Guelph Campus, 460 Speedvale Avenue West, Guelph, Ontario N1H 6N6
Stratford Campus, 130 Youngs Street, Stratford, Ontario N5A 1J7
Brantford Campus, 50 Wellington Street, Brantford, Ontario N3T 2L6
Cambridge Downtown - Academic Upgrading, Suite 402, 150 Main Street, Cambridge, Ontario N1R 6P9
Ingersoll Skills Training Centre, 420 Thomas Street, Ingersoll, Ontario N5C 3J7

Planned Milton Campus

The town of Milton, Ontario and Wilfrid Laurier University had been working together since 2008 to develop the 150-acre campus in Milton within the planned Milton Education Village on 150 acres of land donated by the town. The university subsequently partnered with Conestoga College which would also add a satellite campus at that location.
In April 2018, the Province announced a funding plan of $90 million for the project. Construction of the 150-acre campus was expected to conclude in Q3 of 2021; in the meantime, the College would offer courses in rented premises, commencing in September 2019.
In October 2018, however, the new provincial government withdrew the funding before any construction had begun, citing a greater than expected provincial deficit. This effectively cancelled the plans for the joint project with Laurier. Mayor Gord Krantz said the town would explore alternatives for funding the Milton Education Village campus. A news release issued by the college said that it would continue working with Laurier, "the government, industry and community partners to develop a revised model for the cost-effective delivery of post-secondary education... in Milton..."

Planned Cambridge expansion

The College decided to purchase 42 acres of land in this city in 2019, to relocate all of the trades programs to Cambridge at a future date. Specifics were not immediately provided at the time of the announcement in late 2019.

Planned Guelph expansion

The College has operated a small campus in Guelph for some years but in late 2019, it advised the news media that a major expansion was planned after the trades program was relocated to Cambridge. "Within five or six years, we will have at least 5,000 students there... full-service programming," said College President John Tibbits. At the time, the Guelph campus had approximately 1,000 students.

Other buildings

Future

The School of Engineering and Information Technology was relocated, in 2011, to a new expansion of the Doon campus opposite the current facility across Highway 401. This City of Cambridge site will eventually hold of space.
Phase one of the new Cambridge Campus was finished and open for the start of the fall 2011 semester. This first 260,000 square-foot building is home to the School of Engineering and Information Technology, as well as to the Institute for Food Processing Technology. The Engineering facility has programs with a focus on advanced manufacturing, robotics, renewable energy, telecommunications, and information technology. The food processing industry is continuing to grow and this expansion will help fill a need for current and future skilled workers in this sector. The expansion has increased capacity by 2,350 additional full-time spaces and allowed for an additional 800 new spaces for apprentices.
In May 2019, a new downtown campus for the International Business program was announced to be opening at Kitchener's Market Square in January 2020. It will host 1,000 students to start.

Student Life Centre

Student media

Conestoga College student sports teams are named 'Condor'. They compete against varsity level teams. There are also intramural and extramural programs.

Notable alumni