Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you would be a good candidate for the program.

The ideal candidate for our program is working in the health care field and has a few years of related work experience, which includes clinical experience from gained from a Health Sciences Diploma or Degree program.

The learning activities in the program are designed to combine your work experience and current exposure to a health care work setting, with the theory, perspectives, and practices taught in the courses. Normally, individuals pursue managerial and organizational leadership roles, after establishing roots and experience at the front-line of work. Keep in mind that for the final capstone course of our programs, HLED 8280 Leadership Integrated Project, participants are expected to find a suitable project relevant to their organizational setting. You should either apply to the program, or take a few courses as an “Undeclared Major” before deciding to apply to the program. Once entering the program, in most cases, participants are expected to complete their Integrated Project within two years.

Yes, you would be a good candidate for the program. It sounds like you are planning to make a change in the direction of your career.

The ideal candidate for our program is working in the health care field and has a few years of related work experience, which includes clinical experience from gained from a Health Sciences Diploma or Degree program.

The learning activities in the program are designed to combine your work experience and current exposure to a health care work setting, with the theory, perspectives, and practices taught in the courses. Normally, individuals pursue managerial and organizational leadership roles, after establishing roots and experience at the front-line of work. If you have significant work experience in some industry sector other than health care, you will need to transfer your related skills and experience to the health care setting. Keep in mind that for the final capstone course of our programs, HLED 8280 Leadership Integrated Project, participants are expected to find a suitable project relevant to the health care organizational setting. You should either apply to the program, or take a few courses as an “Undeclared Major” before deciding to apply to the program. Once entering the program, in most cases, participants are expected to complete their Integrated Project within two years.

No, you are probably not a good candidate for the program at this time.

The ideal candidate for our program is working in the health care field and has a few years of related work experience, which includes clinical experience from gained from a Health Sciences Diploma or Degree program.

The learning activities in the program are designed to combine your work experience and current exposure to a health care work setting, with the theory, perspectives, and practices taught in the courses. It sounds like you are at the very early stages of your career, and you have not chosen an initial focus. Normally, individuals pursue managerial and organizational leadership roles, after establishing roots and experience at the front-line of work. You are recommended to take a Career Exploration course from BCIT to determine your skills and interests, and explore the BCIT website to enrol in a Diploma, Degree, Associate Certificate, or Certificate program. These are intended for front-line training and education to launch your career.

Yes, you can. Several specific courses are available for individuals who have not been admitted to the program (i.e., you will be deemed as having an “Undeclared Major”). These courses are HLED7110, HLED7120, and HLED7260. Highly qualified individuals may access other courses, by submitting a written request for special approval to enrol in the course from the Program Head.

See our contacts page. If you have questions of an administrative nature, or need clarifications of the website, you should contact Student Advising, or the Program Assistant. To get advice about your study or career plans, or to determine if our courses are right for you, you should contact the Program Head. One of the best ways to reach the Department is by visiting the link “Request an assessment?” located on the right side of the screen. The Department can then read about your educational background and work experience, and respond to you by email, by telephone, or schedule a telephone conversation with you.

You need to have completed British Columbia English 12 (B), or equivalent in Canada, or you have demonstrated equivalent level of English-language proficiency.

You will receive electronic notification from BCIT. See Admission and Registration > After you Apply.

No. Distance education students rarely come to campus, as most of them are working full-time during business hours. All the processes, services, people, and course materials you need access to, as an BCIT online student, can be obtained through the BCIT website, telephone, or email.

See the annual course schedule posted on our website.

The two main costs associated with our courses are tuition fees and reading materials. Tuition fees are shown on the BCIT website, and they change slightly from year-to-year. For details, click on any of the courses on our annual course schedule page. Textbook and other reading materials are an additional cost, averaging at about $125 per course. If you are intending to complete a program of 8 courses (24 credits), the total cost is about $7,000.

There is a different tuition fee for International students. Please see the section “Tuition fees for Part-time Studies courses” for details.

A single course requires about 9 hours per week, over a 12-week period. Courses are designed so you can complete your learning activities, including collaboration and discussion, without having to be online at any specific time. However, you have the ability to interact in “real-time” with classmates if you choose to do so, through online chat, regular telephone conversation, or teleconference. In contrast to the course activities, coursework deliverables (i.e., assignments) are due at specific times in a course. Submitting coursework late can result in marks deducted from your work. It is best to submit work on time, and if you foresee schedule conflicts, let your instructor know so the both of you can select a suitable due date.

You should complete the program within 3 years. On average, a health care professional who is working full-time and taking our courses on a part-time basis can complete 1 or 2 courses per term. Typically, you should expect to complete the program in about 2.5 years.

You need to apply for course credit through the student records office. See our registration & program completion checklist to download the appropriate form. Normally the process takes between 2 and 4 weeks until you receive notification from student records that the credit has been granted. It is also important that you provide course descriptions and your transcript in support of the application – failure to do so will significantly delay processing. To expedite processing, contact the Program Head to determine the likelihood that the course credit will be granted. Please note that BCIT policy limits the number of course credits you can transfer into a program. For more information, see BCIT Policy #5003 Section 13 Academic Residency Requirements.

It is recommended that you get in touch with the bachelor degree program(s) you are interested in, explain that you are studying Health Care Management and explain your intentions to apply transfer credits into a bachelor degree. Then, depending on your educational goals, short/term needs, your work/life schedule, and the possibility of transferring course credits, you should develop a personal educational plan that will take you towards your educational goal. You can use a similar approach if you are considering a Master’s degree.

Contact the Department for details.

See BCIT Financial Aid for Part-time Students.

Contact the IT Services helpdesk. They should be able to resolve your problem.

No. Some of our courses include final exams, but these exams are not conducted in the traditional format. In our courses, you complete exams at your own schedule. Generally, an exam is released to students at a specific date, and students have a period of time (usually a few days to one week) to complete the exam and submit it to the instructor electronically. Your exam responses are done “open-book” in essay-style, much like your assignments are to be done in the course. There is no need to arrange for a proctor, or to visit the BCIT campus. Only a few of the courses in the Health Care Management department use exams – the remainder of courses use other forms of evaluation, such as final projects, group projects, or term papers.

We do not provide printed “certificates of completion” for completion of individual courses. BCIT does provide:

• formal academic certificates (e.g., the Health Leadership, HCM Level 1 or 2 Certificate, HCQM Advanced Certificates, etc.) upon completion of a set of designated courses in a program
• informal or formal academic transcripts, that students can request electronically request through myBCIT
• BCIT official Verification Letters to acknowledge that the student is enrolled in or have completed a course (often used to obtain tuition reimbursement from employer)

Grades are normally available through myBCIT about two weeks after the end of the course.

After completing your final course in the Health Leadership Advanced Certificate program, you will need to submit an Application for Credential form to the BCIT Student Records Office and indicate on the form whether you would like to receive an invitation to attend Convocation.  If you completed your final course in the Winter term, you would be elligible to attend Convocation in June of the same calendar year. If you completed your final course in the Spring or Fall term, you would be elligible to attend Convocation in June of the following calendar year.  The format and dates of Convocation will change slightly from year to year.  For current information, see BCIT Convocation.

There a few standards for displaying a BCIT credential, depending on where it is being shown:

• Abbreviated format such as on your business card: The first letter of each word is capitalized and periods are not used. For an Advanced Certificate, the abbreviation is AC. If you achieved an honors standing, you can present it in braces, e.g., AC (Hon)
• Abbreviated and showing the area of specialization: AC (Hon) Health Leadership
• In full, such as in your resume: British Columbia Institute of Technology, Advanced Certificate (Honours) Health Leadership