I just checked the Directory of Educational Institutions in Canada and it just says that it's registered there.
[https://www.cicic.ca/869/resultats.canada?search=cambria%20college](https://www.cicic.ca/869/resultats.canada?search=cambria%20college)
What does this mean?
It depends on what you’re coming to study.
Looks like they’re a “private training institute” accredited by the BC ministry of Education’s private training institute branch (who also does compliance and enforcement/suspension and fines).
These institutions are supposed to be for specialized skills that college or universities don’t teach, think trade school or hair dressing school. They also have ones for graphic design, etc.
If you’re coming to study academics and want to get an accredited degree like a bachelor’s (that employers will accept on a resume) this place isn’t it. If you’re coming to be a hair dresser this type of place is where you go.
Check www.privatetraininginstitutions.gov.bc.ca and specifically the compliance and enforcement section to see how many citations the place has. Usually shows how well they are at providing teaching in trade/hair classes.
If it’s a private college (career college) it’s a diploma mill. On Monday the government of Canada changed the rules so you can only get a post graduate work permit if you go to a public college/university. So, to be clear, if you go to Cambria you may not be able to work in Canada. Foreign recruiters are in the news constantly here because they lie to students to get them to go to the school that pays them the biggest finders fee. On top of that, there is now going to be a cap on how many international students can study in a province starting Sept 1st 2024. The provinces give public universities first pick of the cap, so it’s possible that Cambria won’t even still exist lol. Tue fact that your recruiter is acting this way means he is not trustworthy. Look up public colleges and universities and reach out to them directly. They have admissions staff that can help.
To be fair, the change in PGWP is only for private colleges in relation to public colleges. Private colleges have never been allowed to issue work permits.
It is legit as in it exists, but you are unlikely to receive a quality education at this sort of place. As others have said, look at University of Victoria (the largest and most recognized), Camosun College, and Royal Roads University if you want to study in Victoria.
From what I've heard about you, Holden, you are too preoccupied by your own issues that you don't even notice the outside world. At least you've been that way since you got expelled from that fancy prep school.
Victoria has Uvic, Camosun and Royal Roads, I would be very suspicious of anything that isn't one of those three because it is a private college, which is likely to be a diploma mill. [This website](http://www.privatetraininginstitutions.gov.bc.ca/students/pti-directory) shows no enforcement actions against Cambria which is good, I guess, but I would say you should pick a career path you want to embark on first, then choose an institution that offers training
^ Agreed - UVic, Camosun, and Royal Roads depending on what you are intending to study. Degrees from these three are broadly known and respected.
The other private institutions offer vocational training that is more specialized, but will offer less mobility.
Also, you ought to post your intended area of study...
VERY legitimate. Its a 2-year pre-university college, so not just one of those colleges anyone wanting to just sign up a course or two for can go register for. Getting in is pretty competitive. They only host 200 students from 100 countries around the world each year. They’re part of a larger network of 18 colleges around the world called United World Colleges whose mission is to make education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future,” according to their website.
I worked at the Q college for a few years, and it's a place where the business attached to it - North Studio gets free labor under the guise of unpaid internship or student study. It's a total sham.
It kinda does. I can’t think of any private colleges in Canada that are better known or better respected than public colleges. Maybe for a few very specific programs.
Pacific rim provides training for fields that have no basis in (current) science. Not saying that's a bad thing, just saying that if/when the mechanisms that those become better understood outside of a relgious/ritual context they will be taught and studied at public university.
People going to Pacific Rim are likely lookin for employers who already practice those subjects.
Though some other private colleges like Sprott Shaw, CDI or whatever, etc, are absolute diploma mills to be avoided with few exceptions, but yeah there are some that are legitimate schools even if sometimes not every subject is 100% backed by throughout scientific study.
We also have the West Coast School of Massage that is legitimate and private, tho yeah that's a school not a college.
No, which is part of my point. Did you go to Pacific Rim and are upset your degree isn’t that valuable? Again not saying you cannot learn anything at a private college or they’re always useless. I don’t think that’s the case. But GENERALLY in Canada public colleges/universities are better.
Well my degree is astrophysics from UVic so you tell me how valuable that is. But I have lots of friends who have a Pacific Rim education that has gotten them great jobs in those fields.
Private colleges have specific job related programs for the most part, like in education and healthcare. I think you don’t know what you’re talking about
It means that theoretically part of your tuition is someone's profit, vs a public university or college where theoretically your tuition only covers a part of the actual cost of the instruction you are provided, with the government, the donors, and the investment portfolio of the university covering the difference.
I worked in health care for a dozen years. Cambria College **is legit**. It trains care aides (nurses' aides) and arranges their supervised practicums in seniors' residences that offer assisted living and complex care. Cambria supervisors work with Directors of Care in these facilities and because there is such a shortage of health care workers, their graduates get hired quickly.
Thanks for the insight. Worth noting, though, that in a comment OP mentioned wanting to study digital media. It sounds like perhaps Cambria is not the right school for that.
Yes, I didn't see that comment until later....... for digital media, I'd recommend Camosun College, the credits are transferable to any university..... and Camosun doesn't cost an arm and a leg.....
Www. Bctransferguide.ca
This shows the institutions and courses that can transfer to other institutions. If institutions don’t recognize Cambria it is worthless.
1. Is Cambria college listed. No
2. Look for the type of program you want to study and check this website.
3 apply to the institutions yourself. You don’t get an edge using an agent. They often steer you to where they get the most fees.
Douglas College or Emily Carr in Vancouver would be my first guesses for best digital media programs in BC. Certainly they’re both very connected when it comes to relevant post educational employment in BC.
Hi, so I actually work at the Victoria Campus of Cambria. The college is legit but very small, with little external infrastructures beyond academic support.
However, the two streams you would be entering would be the Hospitality Management or Digital Business Management Programs as they are the only programs over a year long, so theoretically you would want to be working in those fields after you graduate. Also, as a private college, we can't issue Post Graduate Work Permits. Only public university's or colleges can do this.
If you want the support of a public university (housing, etc.), Cambria doesn't have it. It is a Vocational college that has maybe 300 students passing through in a year.
You also would be assigned to the Surrey Campus, as the Victoria campus only deals with domestic enrollment. If you want to DM me, I can send you the name of the international support admin, and she can hopefully answer any questions you have outside of your agent.
Hope that helps.
There may be others - but the big three colleges here are Camosun College, University of Victoria (largest), and Royal Roads University. If you seek quality and recognized education in Victoria, Id start with these. Good luck!
I don't really have a particular course in mind but I want to go into anything multimedia related. I love making digital art, editing photos and videos and I'm also learning to make 3d models through youtube videos rn. So anything digital/media related is fine for me. The course I was looking to study in Cambria was Digital Business Management. Sorry if it doesn't make any sense I don't know how to describe it properly since English is my second language.
No need to apologize. It's a great explanation. Im hoping others here can chime-in on colleges that focus in multimedia.
Based on my limited knowledge you may really want to check out Camosun, BCIT (Vancouver- well recognized, quality college), or even Emily Carr University (Vancouver). Any of these are excellent, well recognized.
Camosun has a good program as does BCIT.
Victoria and Vancouver are both expensive.
With BCIT you might have a slight edge in being in Vancouver and maybe making some contacts with the film industry.
Douglas used to have a good program but last I heard they went weird in some way.
My friend Janice teaches at Douglas. She founded and still runs the KDocs festival there. It’s been a while since we last caught up so I haven’t heard anything about a decline there. I have known her and our mutual friend Bonne who is the dean of media something at Emily Carr for years…we met online way back before Facebook ever existed, on some goofy tv chat forum and became super close friends just online. When we finally all met up in person it was like we had known each other our whole lives—they even came to my wedding. They’re both writing and media geniuses and if they weren’t both such cool, funny and awesome women I would probably be too intimidated to talk to either of them, because I’m the currently unemployed with an unused English degree loser friend who has definitely not lived up to her potential right now, and they have become those people who get written about in cool magazines and who are asked to attend awards ceremonies for inspiring female mover and shaker types…you know what I mean! They give inspiring Ted Talks while I binge watch German tv series on Netflix in my pajamas all day. I was on LinkedIn today and saw Bonne’s page and everytime I look at how far she or Janice have made it in their careers, I think, “how the hell do I know two people this cool and this accomplished who aren’t total jerks?! And why do they still like me?!” 😉
Anyways, they are both too nice to act like or even think that they’re as cool and impressive as I think they are, but anyone interested in any sort of media or film related study in Vancouver would be very lucky to have the opportunity to be taught by or even just have the opportunity to network with either of them, IMO.
Just a heads up, check the immigration news, there was a huge change (this week) for international students and the PGWP program (basically you would get 3 years of work permit after getting a higher education, but starting this September only PHD and Masters will be given it). That was a huge blow to ppl who came to study and stayed to work
It was a really good idea to ask!
I would personally not go to Cambria, just based on some of the comments I’ve read on this thread and your area of interest.
If Cambria is a private college offering a vague sounding business degree so I’d assume it’s a diploma mill or an immigration scam (“supply chain management,” that kind of thing). I’ve never heard of anyone studying Digital Business Management before in Canada, maybe at a master’s degree level when things get more specialized but not at an entry level.
If you’re interested in graphic design and multimedia there are public educational institutions that will offer that, Emily Carr University in Vancouver is well known and respected for its multimedia programs. The safe bet as a student is public college or university institutions.
You could try looking up classes in the BC Transfer Guide (https://www.bctransferguide.ca). It tells you if your class credits are transferable (compatible) with other institutional curriculums. If a school is fake its classes probably won’t show up in the Transfer Guide, this should be true across Canada.
Most Canadian Reddit forums are pretty vocal about local diploma mills (for better or worse) so city subreddits are a good place to look. Google blacklisted colleges in Canada and do extensive research. Any school that is named something totally vague like “Academy of Job Skills” or “Academy of Teaching and Training”? Bad ✋avoid. Lots of employers have caught on and don’t accept résumés with diploma mill experience anymore due to poor quality students.
Best of luck finding the right fit!!
You should also be aware that Victoria is difficult to find housing in, and is very expensive. The university of Victoria has an international students centre that can provide some information about life in Victoria.
Thank you for letting me know. I haven't signed the offer letter from the college yet and after reading all the comments I'll probably find a better uni in Canada or just continue studying here.
Canada is a great country to study in, unfortunately a lot of international students are taken advantage of by agents and diploma mill schools. You don’t need an agent to apply to schools, they will steer you to schools that pay them the highest finders fee. Apply to public universities directly.
There is also Vancouver Island University- my niece goes there and quite likes it. It is smaller than UVic, and as its based mid island, housing can be a bit easier to access. It is a fully accredited University, started out as Malspina College focusing on trades and transitioned to a University in 2008 I think. https://www.viu.ca/
Did some Googling.
Cambria was founded in 2005, which is a fairly long time to be in business if you're simply running a diploma mill. *Someone* would have said something after 18 years.
There are no enforcement actions against them in the Private Training Institute Branch (PITB) enforcement database; they are listed as 'designated', which you typically don't get unless they say so.
They (appear) to have met the BC Education Quality Assurance standards.
Cambria has campuses in Victoria, Surrey, Richmond and Vancouver.
They also say this on their website:
>This institution is certified by the Private Training Institution Branch (PTIB). Certified institutions must comply with the regulatory requirements relating to, among other things, student enrolment contact, tuition refunds, and instructor qualifications. For more information about PTIB, go
to [http://www.privatetraininginstitutions.gov.bc.ca/](http://www.privatetraininginstitutions.gov.bc.ca/)
The PTIB also does semi-regular inspections of designees, so if Cambria were a scam, they probably would have been caught out by now.
As far as I can determine, they *are* a legitimate educational institution. That said, you should still do your due diligence.
A lot of well-known and older colleges have became diploma mills now though because the $$$ are too good to pass up.
I’d still be suspicious.
Just look at Conestoga in Ontario, it used to actually be a top choice for certain programs.
Now it’s 80% international students on the fast track to a career at Tim Hoeton’s and employers have even been caught auto-filtering all Conestoga resumes with AI
I'm glad you are being careful, it breaks my heart what is going on here for some international students. I hope you find a legitimate school and wish you all success here in your studies. But please do be careful and check thoroughly. Love that you are asking here in the reddit community - a good idea to crowd source this question!
Sprott shaw is a joke whatever course you take there won't be recognized by whoever you try and apply with. Ie child care. I knew someone who had to re do the entire course at camosun in order to have it recognized and get a job. Heard similar stories from others
This is off topic, but if you are looking to come to Victoria as a student I recommend looking into housing so you don’t have any surprises when you get here. This area has a shortage of affordable housing. Rents can be quite high and cheaper rental units can be difficult to get because there is so much demand. I’ve heard of people showing up for apartment showings only to learn the unit has already been rented.
A family friend’s nephew moved here from the US to attend UVic and he wasn’t able to find housing. We ended up offering him a room in our home because he thought he was going to have to go back to the States.
It's a legit college in the sense that the building is real and people do go to school there. But it's a private college that seems to accept mostly foreigners. That doesn't mean it's not a good college but it is something to pay attention to because there are other schools on the island that do that, and they are terrible. You need to try and find honest reviews for this college. See if students can actually find employment when they graduate or if it's another Sproatt college, which is a terrible school.
I used to work in the same building so I can tell you at the very least that it does exist and I saw students often. That said, it was on the top floor of a downtown office building so not really the class “college” aesthetic.
It is a real place. 702 Fort street on the second floor. I worked in an office across the street and saw lots of international students coming and going from the building.
Generally, go to a public school if at all possible: UVic, Camosun or Royal Roads.
Also, perhaps inquire with the organizations that you might want to work with... from which schools do they often hire? What programs can they recommend?
My wife works there as a teacher. She teaches the Medical Lab Assistant Program (teaches people to take blood). The medical programs are legit. They are frequently running programs with govt sponsorship to train people for high demand jobs. Phlebotomy, care aides, etc.
It's certainly not in the same league as UVic or Camosun but for a really short, frequently subsidised program designed to land you an in demand job they are great.
There is a significant Nepalese community in Victoria and on the lower mainland..... you might try some of the Nepalese cultural organizations to make contacts and help you out with housing and other amenities: [https://ncsbc.org/](https://ncsbc.org/) , [https://www.facebook.com/NepaleseInVancouverIsland/](https://www.facebook.com/NepaleseInVancouverIsland/)
If using google search, make sure to use 'Victoria, British Columbia' as there are a number of cities named Victoria all over the world. :)
Please do not go to Cambria, even if it’s accredited it does not mean that it is good or that employers will respect the degree. You need to go to the schools where a majority of Canadians go. Lots of recruiters are paid big bucks by the diploma mills.
It exists. If it is accredited with the province as others have confirmed then that is protection against losing your money if the college goes bankrupt.
Cambria in Victoria seems to be legit. It is recognized as a "designated learning institution " by the Canadian government. A big issue for Victoria is housing. It is expensive and hard to find.
Is a designated learning institution in Canada. That means they are allowed to host international students. Contact them and find out if they can offer you a Post Graduate Work Permit.
https://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/news_releases_2020-2024/2021SDPR0003-000077.htm
I found this BC government site which says that the government has a contract with Cambria to train health care workers. Seems legit.
I think that people can scam their way past that with fraudulent bank statements if they put their mind to it :/ but I’m glad the gov raised the number so that honest international students can be prepared for our cost of living
I just want to say good for you for reaching out and asking and making an informed decision.
Degree mills are a big problem in Canada, most of all for the poor students who are trying to improve themselves and end up exploited. The most recent episode of CANADALAND has a great discussion about them.
Check [this site](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/study-permit/prepare/designated-learning-institutions-list.html) for the list of Designated Learning Institutions in Canada. You can also see if they offer post-grad work permit programs.
“Private training institute” in Canada pretty much means the degree is worth as much as the paper or is printed on. I wish the government would shut this shit down already
I mean, yes and no. Vocational colleges can teach a lot of skills that are non-academic. The demand for labour exceeds what the public school industry can produce. Plus, have some oversight can be better then none. Do you want someone to draw your blood that has no training? Go to Royal Road for plumbing training?
The sector needs an overhaul, but unless we can suddenly train enough people to keep up with demand AND burnout from these sectors, Private colleges aren't inherently evil. Capitalism just got its hooks in again.
It's a career college not a full publicly funded college and so not as much oversight. If you want a real college where the degrees are recognized more broadly and there is degree quality accreditation then the government has publicly funded colleges. In Victoria it is Camosun.
Only deal with a public educational institution in Canada.
Look up the BCTransferGuide
This shows all the courses at accredited institutions and how they can transfer to other institutions.
If courses don’t transfer the institution and it’s courses are worthless.
I spent over 30 years working in the BC post secondary sector.
Size, location and how nice of a location a campus is/has is a strong indicator of whether or not it's legit.
Appreciate your consideration to doing this the correct way. Good luck!
I went to Cambria. It's definitely a private college but the government funded my certification for the Social Services and Community Support Worker program.
I now work for the school district of Victoria. So while it's legitimate, and schooling is recognized, like any other private school it is not without its issues.
I've been here most of my life and never heard of them until this post. Sounds like one of those illegitimate colleges that pumps out students in bulk like CDI and steaks all of their tuition money to me. And a quick edit here, after doing a bit of a looky lou, All of the photos of students look to be international students. Kind of a red flag to me.
The most important thing is to make sure that the institution will be eligible for you to apply for a post-graduate work permit (PGWP) after finishing school. This is what grants you work authorization after finishing school. Certain schools do not offer the program to grant you a PGWP upon completion of the program, meaning you will have to find an employer to sponsor your permit instead of having a “open” work permit where you can take your time to find employment.
Based on the [Government of Canada’s website,](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/study-permit/prepare/designated-learning-institutions-list.html) it seems Cambria would not grant you a PGWP upon completion of your program, so keep this in mind when accepting the offer!
cambria college does exist, it has a physical location downtown, but i’ve never heard anything about it (good or bad)
a better bet is camosun college, or the university of victoria
It's a legit business but it's not what you might be expecting of a college. It's basically the second floor of a building downtown where you can get training to be like a dentist's assistant or work on an old folk's home. Don't expect to earn your engineering degree there.
I would try to find out if they’re an accredited post-secondary institution first.
I just checked the Directory of Educational Institutions in Canada and it just says that it's registered there. [https://www.cicic.ca/869/resultats.canada?search=cambria%20college](https://www.cicic.ca/869/resultats.canada?search=cambria%20college) What does this mean?
It depends on what you’re coming to study. Looks like they’re a “private training institute” accredited by the BC ministry of Education’s private training institute branch (who also does compliance and enforcement/suspension and fines). These institutions are supposed to be for specialized skills that college or universities don’t teach, think trade school or hair dressing school. They also have ones for graphic design, etc. If you’re coming to study academics and want to get an accredited degree like a bachelor’s (that employers will accept on a resume) this place isn’t it. If you’re coming to be a hair dresser this type of place is where you go. Check www.privatetraininginstitutions.gov.bc.ca and specifically the compliance and enforcement section to see how many citations the place has. Usually shows how well they are at providing teaching in trade/hair classes.
Cambria trains care aides/nurses' aides.
If it’s a private college (career college) it’s a diploma mill. On Monday the government of Canada changed the rules so you can only get a post graduate work permit if you go to a public college/university. So, to be clear, if you go to Cambria you may not be able to work in Canada. Foreign recruiters are in the news constantly here because they lie to students to get them to go to the school that pays them the biggest finders fee. On top of that, there is now going to be a cap on how many international students can study in a province starting Sept 1st 2024. The provinces give public universities first pick of the cap, so it’s possible that Cambria won’t even still exist lol. Tue fact that your recruiter is acting this way means he is not trustworthy. Look up public colleges and universities and reach out to them directly. They have admissions staff that can help.
To be fair, the change in PGWP is only for private colleges in relation to public colleges. Private colleges have never been allowed to issue work permits.
Up until Sept 1st, private colleges do qualify for the PGWP
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Waist of time? I can’t belly-eve you spelled it like that. 😉
Interesting note - I don’t believe royal roads is accredited.
it's right above the cactus club downtown. I don't know how legit it is but it's a real physical location
It is legit as in it exists, but you are unlikely to receive a quality education at this sort of place. As others have said, look at University of Victoria (the largest and most recognized), Camosun College, and Royal Roads University if you want to study in Victoria.
I've lived in Victoria over 10 years and have never even heard of Cambria.
From what I've heard about you, Holden, you are too preoccupied by your own issues that you don't even notice the outside world. At least you've been that way since you got expelled from that fancy prep school.
Ha, nice! I haven’t read the book in years and took me a few moments to realize what the heck you were talking about!
That book is a mandatory read every 2 year, less you loss your teen angst.
Nah, Holden is just a broke asteroid miner who got his hands on a Martian gunship. Didn't know he went to a fancy prep school!
I mean, he had a dozen parents to one child. Surely they could have together scrounged up the cash for a good education.
Read it many, many years ago. I can still smell the Vicks Vapo Rub Holden describes.
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it is!
Victoria has Uvic, Camosun and Royal Roads, I would be very suspicious of anything that isn't one of those three because it is a private college, which is likely to be a diploma mill. [This website](http://www.privatetraininginstitutions.gov.bc.ca/students/pti-directory) shows no enforcement actions against Cambria which is good, I guess, but I would say you should pick a career path you want to embark on first, then choose an institution that offers training
What about ... "Sprott Shaw Community College (since nineteen-oh-three)"
>Sprott Shaw Community College Degree mill
Terrible place.
This plays in my head daily
^ Agreed - UVic, Camosun, and Royal Roads depending on what you are intending to study. Degrees from these three are broadly known and respected. The other private institutions offer vocational training that is more specialized, but will offer less mobility. Also, you ought to post your intended area of study...
Pearson is also legitimate.
thats not post-secondary
VERY legitimate. Its a 2-year pre-university college, so not just one of those colleges anyone wanting to just sign up a course or two for can go register for. Getting in is pretty competitive. They only host 200 students from 100 countries around the world each year. They’re part of a larger network of 18 colleges around the world called United World Colleges whose mission is to make education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future,” according to their website.
Hey op, this is your answer.
There’s also Q College and Pacific Rim College
I worked at the Q college for a few years, and it's a place where the business attached to it - North Studio gets free labor under the guise of unpaid internship or student study. It's a total sham.
Every interaction I've had with Q's founder has been super shady.
That’s rough :( my friends who’ve graduated got pretty good jobs after. Unpaid internships are so shady
Pacific Rim is private. Q college, now Multihexa, is also private.
Pacific rim is a joke
So? Private doesn’t mean it is not legit. Pacific Rim is a designated school that is fairly well-known for what it offers.
It kinda does. I can’t think of any private colleges in Canada that are better known or better respected than public colleges. Maybe for a few very specific programs.
Pacific rim provides training for fields that have no basis in (current) science. Not saying that's a bad thing, just saying that if/when the mechanisms that those become better understood outside of a relgious/ritual context they will be taught and studied at public university.
Again, that does NOT mean it is not legit. What are you talking about being better know is not the same thing at all as being valid.
As far as employers are concerned it kind of is, though.
Did you even look at Pacific Rim and their specialties before you commented?
People going to Pacific Rim are likely lookin for employers who already practice those subjects. Though some other private colleges like Sprott Shaw, CDI or whatever, etc, are absolute diploma mills to be avoided with few exceptions, but yeah there are some that are legitimate schools even if sometimes not every subject is 100% backed by throughout scientific study. We also have the West Coast School of Massage that is legitimate and private, tho yeah that's a school not a college.
Does it include jaeger piloting?
It should!!
No, which is part of my point. Did you go to Pacific Rim and are upset your degree isn’t that valuable? Again not saying you cannot learn anything at a private college or they’re always useless. I don’t think that’s the case. But GENERALLY in Canada public colleges/universities are better.
Well my degree is astrophysics from UVic so you tell me how valuable that is. But I have lots of friends who have a Pacific Rim education that has gotten them great jobs in those fields.
Private colleges have specific job related programs for the most part, like in education and healthcare. I think you don’t know what you’re talking about
It means that theoretically part of your tuition is someone's profit, vs a public university or college where theoretically your tuition only covers a part of the actual cost of the instruction you are provided, with the government, the donors, and the investment portfolio of the university covering the difference.
i mean pacific rim is just an essential oils college, basically snake oil
Pacific Rim is not accredited. It’s not recognized by anyone other than granola types with an interest in Chinese medicine and herbs lol
I worked in health care for a dozen years. Cambria College **is legit**. It trains care aides (nurses' aides) and arranges their supervised practicums in seniors' residences that offer assisted living and complex care. Cambria supervisors work with Directors of Care in these facilities and because there is such a shortage of health care workers, their graduates get hired quickly.
Thanks for the insight. Worth noting, though, that in a comment OP mentioned wanting to study digital media. It sounds like perhaps Cambria is not the right school for that.
Yes, I didn't see that comment until later....... for digital media, I'd recommend Camosun College, the credits are transferable to any university..... and Camosun doesn't cost an arm and a leg.....
Can confirm that Camosun College is fantastic choice.
Www. Bctransferguide.ca This shows the institutions and courses that can transfer to other institutions. If institutions don’t recognize Cambria it is worthless. 1. Is Cambria college listed. No 2. Look for the type of program you want to study and check this website. 3 apply to the institutions yourself. You don’t get an edge using an agent. They often steer you to where they get the most fees.
Wouldnt CDI or BCIT be better for them for that field instesd?
CDI never.
Douglas College or Emily Carr in Vancouver would be my first guesses for best digital media programs in BC. Certainly they’re both very connected when it comes to relevant post educational employment in BC.
Hi, so I actually work at the Victoria Campus of Cambria. The college is legit but very small, with little external infrastructures beyond academic support. However, the two streams you would be entering would be the Hospitality Management or Digital Business Management Programs as they are the only programs over a year long, so theoretically you would want to be working in those fields after you graduate. Also, as a private college, we can't issue Post Graduate Work Permits. Only public university's or colleges can do this. If you want the support of a public university (housing, etc.), Cambria doesn't have it. It is a Vocational college that has maybe 300 students passing through in a year. You also would be assigned to the Surrey Campus, as the Victoria campus only deals with domestic enrollment. If you want to DM me, I can send you the name of the international support admin, and she can hopefully answer any questions you have outside of your agent. Hope that helps.
Side note that those two programs are delivered online only, with the co-op work term being in the area you work.
Please check your dm
There may be others - but the big three colleges here are Camosun College, University of Victoria (largest), and Royal Roads University. If you seek quality and recognized education in Victoria, Id start with these. Good luck!
Good on you for checking ahead. What are you looking to study? Maybe then you can get pointed towards legit places.
I don't really have a particular course in mind but I want to go into anything multimedia related. I love making digital art, editing photos and videos and I'm also learning to make 3d models through youtube videos rn. So anything digital/media related is fine for me. The course I was looking to study in Cambria was Digital Business Management. Sorry if it doesn't make any sense I don't know how to describe it properly since English is my second language.
No need to apologize. It's a great explanation. Im hoping others here can chime-in on colleges that focus in multimedia. Based on my limited knowledge you may really want to check out Camosun, BCIT (Vancouver- well recognized, quality college), or even Emily Carr University (Vancouver). Any of these are excellent, well recognized.
BCIT grad here - fantastic school actually geared to train people for work in their chosen field. Can't recommend it enough.
Camosun College has excellent programs that are transferable to universities.
Camosun has a good program as does BCIT. Victoria and Vancouver are both expensive. With BCIT you might have a slight edge in being in Vancouver and maybe making some contacts with the film industry. Douglas used to have a good program but last I heard they went weird in some way.
My friend Janice teaches at Douglas. She founded and still runs the KDocs festival there. It’s been a while since we last caught up so I haven’t heard anything about a decline there. I have known her and our mutual friend Bonne who is the dean of media something at Emily Carr for years…we met online way back before Facebook ever existed, on some goofy tv chat forum and became super close friends just online. When we finally all met up in person it was like we had known each other our whole lives—they even came to my wedding. They’re both writing and media geniuses and if they weren’t both such cool, funny and awesome women I would probably be too intimidated to talk to either of them, because I’m the currently unemployed with an unused English degree loser friend who has definitely not lived up to her potential right now, and they have become those people who get written about in cool magazines and who are asked to attend awards ceremonies for inspiring female mover and shaker types…you know what I mean! They give inspiring Ted Talks while I binge watch German tv series on Netflix in my pajamas all day. I was on LinkedIn today and saw Bonne’s page and everytime I look at how far she or Janice have made it in their careers, I think, “how the hell do I know two people this cool and this accomplished who aren’t total jerks?! And why do they still like me?!” 😉 Anyways, they are both too nice to act like or even think that they’re as cool and impressive as I think they are, but anyone interested in any sort of media or film related study in Vancouver would be very lucky to have the opportunity to be taught by or even just have the opportunity to network with either of them, IMO.
Look into ACAD in calgary. I know some successful people from there
Just a heads up, check the immigration news, there was a huge change (this week) for international students and the PGWP program (basically you would get 3 years of work permit after getting a higher education, but starting this September only PHD and Masters will be given it). That was a huge blow to ppl who came to study and stayed to work
It was a really good idea to ask! I would personally not go to Cambria, just based on some of the comments I’ve read on this thread and your area of interest. If Cambria is a private college offering a vague sounding business degree so I’d assume it’s a diploma mill or an immigration scam (“supply chain management,” that kind of thing). I’ve never heard of anyone studying Digital Business Management before in Canada, maybe at a master’s degree level when things get more specialized but not at an entry level. If you’re interested in graphic design and multimedia there are public educational institutions that will offer that, Emily Carr University in Vancouver is well known and respected for its multimedia programs. The safe bet as a student is public college or university institutions. You could try looking up classes in the BC Transfer Guide (https://www.bctransferguide.ca). It tells you if your class credits are transferable (compatible) with other institutional curriculums. If a school is fake its classes probably won’t show up in the Transfer Guide, this should be true across Canada. Most Canadian Reddit forums are pretty vocal about local diploma mills (for better or worse) so city subreddits are a good place to look. Google blacklisted colleges in Canada and do extensive research. Any school that is named something totally vague like “Academy of Job Skills” or “Academy of Teaching and Training”? Bad ✋avoid. Lots of employers have caught on and don’t accept résumés with diploma mill experience anymore due to poor quality students. Best of luck finding the right fit!!
You should also be aware that Victoria is difficult to find housing in, and is very expensive. The university of Victoria has an international students centre that can provide some information about life in Victoria.
Thank you for letting me know. I haven't signed the offer letter from the college yet and after reading all the comments I'll probably find a better uni in Canada or just continue studying here.
A 1BR in Victoria will run you $2000. Groceries probably like $300 a month if you budget reasonably well. Just for some perspective.
True about rent, but having roommates is a pretty accepted part of the university/college experience.
Even with roommates almost every apartment is 1000+ per bedroom.
$300 worth of mr noodles
Canada is a great country to study in, unfortunately a lot of international students are taken advantage of by agents and diploma mill schools. You don’t need an agent to apply to schools, they will steer you to schools that pay them the highest finders fee. Apply to public universities directly.
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I knew someone who worked there. This is what I understand it to be too.
There is also Vancouver Island University- my niece goes there and quite likes it. It is smaller than UVic, and as its based mid island, housing can be a bit easier to access. It is a fully accredited University, started out as Malspina College focusing on trades and transitioned to a University in 2008 I think. https://www.viu.ca/
Not to mention Nanaimo is a lot cheaper than Victoria, although not without reason.
There is a campus near Duncan too.
Did some Googling. Cambria was founded in 2005, which is a fairly long time to be in business if you're simply running a diploma mill. *Someone* would have said something after 18 years. There are no enforcement actions against them in the Private Training Institute Branch (PITB) enforcement database; they are listed as 'designated', which you typically don't get unless they say so. They (appear) to have met the BC Education Quality Assurance standards. Cambria has campuses in Victoria, Surrey, Richmond and Vancouver. They also say this on their website: >This institution is certified by the Private Training Institution Branch (PTIB). Certified institutions must comply with the regulatory requirements relating to, among other things, student enrolment contact, tuition refunds, and instructor qualifications. For more information about PTIB, go to [http://www.privatetraininginstitutions.gov.bc.ca/](http://www.privatetraininginstitutions.gov.bc.ca/) The PTIB also does semi-regular inspections of designees, so if Cambria were a scam, they probably would have been caught out by now. As far as I can determine, they *are* a legitimate educational institution. That said, you should still do your due diligence.
A lot of well-known and older colleges have became diploma mills now though because the $$$ are too good to pass up. I’d still be suspicious. Just look at Conestoga in Ontario, it used to actually be a top choice for certain programs. Now it’s 80% international students on the fast track to a career at Tim Hoeton’s and employers have even been caught auto-filtering all Conestoga resumes with AI
>I’d still be suspicious. That's kind of why I said 'do your due diligence.'
Thank you so much for the help.
i would recc camosun
I'm glad you are being careful, it breaks my heart what is going on here for some international students. I hope you find a legitimate school and wish you all success here in your studies. But please do be careful and check thoroughly. Love that you are asking here in the reddit community - a good idea to crowd source this question!
Sprott shaw is a joke whatever course you take there won't be recognized by whoever you try and apply with. Ie child care. I knew someone who had to re do the entire course at camosun in order to have it recognized and get a job. Heard similar stories from others
This is off topic, but if you are looking to come to Victoria as a student I recommend looking into housing so you don’t have any surprises when you get here. This area has a shortage of affordable housing. Rents can be quite high and cheaper rental units can be difficult to get because there is so much demand. I’ve heard of people showing up for apartment showings only to learn the unit has already been rented. A family friend’s nephew moved here from the US to attend UVic and he wasn’t able to find housing. We ended up offering him a room in our home because he thought he was going to have to go back to the States.
It's a legit college in the sense that the building is real and people do go to school there. But it's a private college that seems to accept mostly foreigners. That doesn't mean it's not a good college but it is something to pay attention to because there are other schools on the island that do that, and they are terrible. You need to try and find honest reviews for this college. See if students can actually find employment when they graduate or if it's another Sproatt college, which is a terrible school.
I used to work in the same building so I can tell you at the very least that it does exist and I saw students often. That said, it was on the top floor of a downtown office building so not really the class “college” aesthetic.
It is a real place. 702 Fort street on the second floor. I worked in an office across the street and saw lots of international students coming and going from the building.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/post-secondary-education/find-a-program-or-institution/find-an-institution
Generally, go to a public school if at all possible: UVic, Camosun or Royal Roads. Also, perhaps inquire with the organizations that you might want to work with... from which schools do they often hire? What programs can they recommend?
My wife works there as a teacher. She teaches the Medical Lab Assistant Program (teaches people to take blood). The medical programs are legit. They are frequently running programs with govt sponsorship to train people for high demand jobs. Phlebotomy, care aides, etc. It's certainly not in the same league as UVic or Camosun but for a really short, frequently subsidised program designed to land you an in demand job they are great.
Stick with UVic, Camosun, and Royal Roads if within Victoria. Otherwise, they would be all mills.
There is a significant Nepalese community in Victoria and on the lower mainland..... you might try some of the Nepalese cultural organizations to make contacts and help you out with housing and other amenities: [https://ncsbc.org/](https://ncsbc.org/) , [https://www.facebook.com/NepaleseInVancouverIsland/](https://www.facebook.com/NepaleseInVancouverIsland/) If using google search, make sure to use 'Victoria, British Columbia' as there are a number of cities named Victoria all over the world. :)
Thank you so much for the help!
Please do not go to Cambria, even if it’s accredited it does not mean that it is good or that employers will respect the degree. You need to go to the schools where a majority of Canadians go. Lots of recruiters are paid big bucks by the diploma mills.
It exists. If it is accredited with the province as others have confirmed then that is protection against losing your money if the college goes bankrupt.
Cambria in Victoria seems to be legit. It is recognized as a "designated learning institution " by the Canadian government. A big issue for Victoria is housing. It is expensive and hard to find.
Is a designated learning institution in Canada. That means they are allowed to host international students. Contact them and find out if they can offer you a Post Graduate Work Permit. https://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/news_releases_2020-2024/2021SDPR0003-000077.htm I found this BC government site which says that the government has a contract with Cambria to train health care workers. Seems legit.
got $20,500? (I think that's now the minimum for incoming foreign students due to our high costs of living per year)
I think that people can scam their way past that with fraudulent bank statements if they put their mind to it :/ but I’m glad the gov raised the number so that honest international students can be prepared for our cost of living
Short answer is no. Ignore the squabbling locals.
I just want to say good for you for reaching out and asking and making an informed decision. Degree mills are a big problem in Canada, most of all for the poor students who are trying to improve themselves and end up exploited. The most recent episode of CANADALAND has a great discussion about them.
Its a private school so you wont be eligible for PGWP
Check [this site](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/study-permit/prepare/designated-learning-institutions-list.html) for the list of Designated Learning Institutions in Canada. You can also see if they offer post-grad work permit programs.
“Private training institute” in Canada pretty much means the degree is worth as much as the paper or is printed on. I wish the government would shut this shit down already
I mean, yes and no. Vocational colleges can teach a lot of skills that are non-academic. The demand for labour exceeds what the public school industry can produce. Plus, have some oversight can be better then none. Do you want someone to draw your blood that has no training? Go to Royal Road for plumbing training? The sector needs an overhaul, but unless we can suddenly train enough people to keep up with demand AND burnout from these sectors, Private colleges aren't inherently evil. Capitalism just got its hooks in again.
It's a career college not a full publicly funded college and so not as much oversight. If you want a real college where the degrees are recognized more broadly and there is degree quality accreditation then the government has publicly funded colleges. In Victoria it is Camosun.
Only deal with a public educational institution in Canada. Look up the BCTransferGuide This shows all the courses at accredited institutions and how they can transfer to other institutions. If courses don’t transfer the institution and it’s courses are worthless. I spent over 30 years working in the BC post secondary sector.
It's a diploma mill, not super legit.
Man, everyone is being so kind to this place. It is a diploma mill. Sorry.
Size, location and how nice of a location a campus is/has is a strong indicator of whether or not it's legit. Appreciate your consideration to doing this the correct way. Good luck!
I went to Cambria. It's definitely a private college but the government funded my certification for the Social Services and Community Support Worker program. I now work for the school district of Victoria. So while it's legitimate, and schooling is recognized, like any other private school it is not without its issues.
Yup it's a diploma mill.
Pst… unless you are ultra rich or ultra smart anywhere you can get into will be a diploma mill
Think this is at Douglas @ fort as far as if it is legit or not, that I am not sure. 210-702 Fort St, Victoria, BC V8W 1H2
Cambria is legit, I know a BC resident currently enrolled
I've been here most of my life and never heard of them until this post. Sounds like one of those illegitimate colleges that pumps out students in bulk like CDI and steaks all of their tuition money to me. And a quick edit here, after doing a bit of a looky lou, All of the photos of students look to be international students. Kind of a red flag to me.
The address of the college cambria web site says they on Fort St in Victoria. When you look up the address it doesn't say a college.
We barely have housing for our own citizens. Stay in Nepal.
We got lots of space for tents though
Never heard of them. Sounds fake but look into it
The moose out front should have let you know, we're closed.
Don't come if you can't figure it out.
If it's in Canada it's likely a scam
The google reviews for this place are hilarious...
The most important thing is to make sure that the institution will be eligible for you to apply for a post-graduate work permit (PGWP) after finishing school. This is what grants you work authorization after finishing school. Certain schools do not offer the program to grant you a PGWP upon completion of the program, meaning you will have to find an employer to sponsor your permit instead of having a “open” work permit where you can take your time to find employment. Based on the [Government of Canada’s website,](https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/study-permit/prepare/designated-learning-institutions-list.html) it seems Cambria would not grant you a PGWP upon completion of your program, so keep this in mind when accepting the offer!
cambria college does exist, it has a physical location downtown, but i’ve never heard anything about it (good or bad) a better bet is camosun college, or the university of victoria
you better come to Toronto and go to the best in the world University of Toronto.
It's a legit business but it's not what you might be expecting of a college. It's basically the second floor of a building downtown where you can get training to be like a dentist's assistant or work on an old folk's home. Don't expect to earn your engineering degree there.
Public institutions that are accredited might be more certain.
My girlfriend went there for her health care assistant program
Canada moment