Engineering a new path

Civil Engineering Technology student, Frankie Colombe is completing his final semester at Mohawk College before moving to Queen’s University to complete his Engineering degree. 

Civil Engineering Technology student among first to take advantage of a new precedent- setting pathway between Mohawk College and Queen’s University 

For some students, their post-secondary journey is direct and simple. For others, it’s more of a journey and may involve multiple layers of study and credentials, perhaps even at different institutions. 

Pathways recognize, simplify, and enhance that winding road. 

Mohawk College has over 30 articulation agreements with Ontario institutions and more than 200 pathways overall, which allow students to transfer into programs at other post-secondary institutions – both domestic and international – and receive credit for courses completed at the College. 

Most programs offered at Mohawk College also have Internal Pathways, which show how the program can lead to future credential choices, including graduate and professional studies, without having to repeat prior learning. 

A total of 148 Mohawk College students utilized external pathways during the 2022-23 academic year, including Frankie Colombe, who is one of the first students taking advantage of a new precedent-setting diploma-to-degree pathway with Queen’s University. 

The new pathway, Engineering Bridge, sees graduates of Mohawk College’s Civil Engineering Technology program heading to Queen’s University, in the Department of Civil Engineering at Smith Engineering. The Kingston-based university’s engineering program is considered one of the best in Canada. 

“The concept around engineering technology diploma transfer to accredited engineering degrees has never been explored from a pathways perspective in Ontario, so this is ground-breaking,” says Janet Shuh, Dean, Continuing Education and Academic Development. She oversees the pathways portfolio and articulation agreements at the College. 

The bridge is open to Engineering Technology graduates or students who have completed three or more semesters of their program. 

Developing this multi-institution pathway not only involved much collaboration between Mohawk College, Queen’s University, and other provincial colleges, but also required the review and approval of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) who accredit professional engineering degrees in Canada.

Colombe is in the midst of completing his last semester of Civil Engineering Technology at Mohawk College, along with his second transition course through Queen’s, to get him ready for full-time degree studies. 

Once he’s finished in April, he will move to Kingston to start a full-course load in the summer on his way to a Queen’s degree. Altogether, he will earn an advanced diploma and a degree in five years. 

Colombe says when he learned about the types of jobs available to him in his field, he decided he wanted to expand his learning to advance his career options. His program coordinator, Rocco Carbone, suggested the bridge option. 

This pathway is attractive, says Colombe, because it will get him into a job faster. 

Colombe isn’t sure what he wants to do after graduation but he’s leaning towards infrastructure work at the government level. He hopes his degree from Queen’s will differentiate him as a job candidate. 

“The benefit to students is really huge, because they're entering into not only a highly reputable engineering school, but also a path to securing a professionally accredited degree,” says Shuh. “Then they can write their professional engineering exams after they've completed their studies and secured the professional experience necessary.” 

Part of Queen’s motivation in developing this pathway with Mohawk College is to provide increased access to underrepresented groups, including, but not limited to, Indigenous, mature, and first-generation post-secondary students, says Shuh. 

The development of this pathway was funded by the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) and Shuh says other colleges and universities are exploring engineering pathway agreements. 

“There are a lot of economies of scale and a lot more positive impacts on students, if it's happening at a sector-level versus one-off institutional agreements. ONCAT would like a future state where these pathways are available to all colleges and universities with specific programs to make that bridge province wide. So that's why this particular engineering pathways project has received quite a bit of funding from ONCAT, to facilitate that objective and open opportunities to more students.”

Smoothing the path 

Pathway agreements allow for a much smoother transition than if students were directly applying to a university for advanced standing themselves, says Pathways Coordinator Natasha Moledina. 

“Instead of having to collect course outlines, learning outcomes, and all their other information to then go to the university where they must assess every single credit transfer, with an established agreement, all of that is already sorted out. It’s already laid out how courses at Mohawk College will be applied toward their degree program.” 

In most cases, a pathway requires a minimum program average and some universities require a letter of recommendation for an applicant. 

Educational pathways allow students to complete a diploma and then degree in a condensed timeframe. In the case of two-plus-two agreements, students complete a Mohawk College diploma in two years and then enter the third year of a four-year degree program at a pathway partner institution. That saves money and lets students move to employment or further education in a faster timeframe. 

“It also allows students to get the best of both worlds—a college education and a university education. Specifically, students get the benefits of hands-on learning, placement or co-ops, and smaller class sizes before they head off to university,” says Shuh. 

The College continues to build new pathways, and has new ones in place with McMaster University, Laurier University, Brock University, and Queen’s University. 

It’s all governed by the Pathways & Credit Transfer department, which helps students understand the options available as they discover new interests and aspirations through their educational journey into, within, and beyond Mohawk College. 

The Pathways office also supports academic and program areas in developing pathways and participates in provincial-level transfer projects and initiatives to enhance student mobility between, and within, colleges and universities in Ontario, nationally, and abroad. 

In some cases, says Moledina, institutions approach Mohawk College with a proposed pathway and in others, the College pursues arrangements in highly sought-after programs or where there is an existing partnership with a university. 

“There's a real connectivity within the community of post-secondary institutions in Canada, I would say, particularly in Ontario, where there's lots of partnership opportunities and program opportunities for collaborations,” says Shuh. 

“We also work very collaboratively with Mohawk College International, where we are working with an international post-secondary partner.” 

Establishing pathways is an exacting, collaborative, and complex process that has to be aligned to the protocols and policies of both the sending and receiving institutions. Every course in the program has to be evaluated to confirm how they line up to the degree requirements of the university.

Students explore booths at Mohawk College's Educational Pathways Fair.

Educational Pathways Fair showcases breadth of options 

Each year in mid-January, Mohawk College hosts the Educational Pathways Fair, which features more than 35 institutions, from Ontario, elsewhere in Canada, and abroad. Students are able to get their questions answered regarding credit transfer, admissions, and deadlines. This year, more than 400 students attended. 

This annual pathways event is an important recruitment and marketing tool for various programs at Mohawk College as well as other post-secondary institutions, says Shuh. 

“Definitely students should take advantage of the Fair because they can make connections with many different institutions at one time. Further, students can access recruitment and pathway specialists who are prepared to answer questions they may have around program admissibility and admission.”

More than 400 students attended the fair which featured 35 different institutions.

Other pathway options

Other newer pathways include a bridge between Mohawk College’s Business Administration – Accounting or Business – Accounting programs and the accredited accounting program at Brock University. It was formally established in 2022. A student leaving Mohawk College with a two-year diploma is granted credit for one full year or two semesters at Brock, and a student leaving with a three-year diploma is granted one and a half years or three semesters. 

The accounting pathway allows students to choose a co-op option on their way to earning the credential necessary for a chartered professional accountant (CPA) designation. 

Another innovative pathway is that between Mohawk College, Laurier University and McMaster University that sees two-year General Arts and Science students advance to the third year of an Indigenous Studies degree at McMaster or Laurier. 

One of the longest standing pathways is the Mohawk College to McMaster University Bachelor of Technology partnership. The degree completion program provides an opportunity for students who have completed an advanced three-year Technology diploma with a minimum cumulative GPA of 75 per cent to then complete a degree in business management.

Degree completion requires finishing 24 courses, including seven management courses. All courses are offered during evenings and Saturdays at McMaster University or online.

There are also pathways that lead from the Biotechnology Advanced Diploma program at Mohawk College to enrollment in year three of the four-year Bachelor of Technology – Biotechnology program at McMaster, and from Mohawk College’s Child and Youth Care program (CYC) to advanced standing in the Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Studies program at Brock University.

Certain pathways also see Mohawk College acting as the receiving institution. For instance, Communications Studies students at Brock University can come to Mohawk College for its post-graduate certificate in Public Relations during their third year. Brock recognizes that year as part of a three-year degree.

“As the College expands our own degree offerings, then we'll want to be looking at new pathways, both internally and from other institutions into our degrees,” says Shuh.