Program

Office Administration (Diploma)

Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Department
Commerce & Business Administration
Credits
60.00
Length of Program
Four semesters
Credential Type
Diploma
Campus
Coquitlam
New Westminster
Learning Format
Full-time
Part-time
Admission Type
Limited Enrolment
Offered
Fall
Summer
Winter

Overview

Upon graduation from the Office Administration program, you’ll be fully qualified for positions such as senior secretary, executive secretary, administrative assistant, supervisor, coordinator, office manager, junior accountant, payroll administrator, and benefits administrator.  

Get certified

By selecting the appropriate courses, you can work toward attaining the professional designations of Certified Bookkeeper, through the Canadian Institute of Bookkeeping, or Qualified Administrative Assistant, through the Association of Administrative Assistants. Relevant work experience in addition to coursework is a requirement for both designations. 

Excellent job prospects

Over 10,400 jobs in office administration are expected for the next ten years in B.C.

International students are not currently eligible for this program. For more information, contact Douglas College International.

Admissions Requirements

Applicants must meet the admission requirements listed below:

  • General College Admission Requirements
  • Completion of a 30 credit Office Administration Certificate from Douglas College or other public community college. Credentials from other educational institutions will be considered and credit assigned on a course-by-course basis
  • Foundations of Math 11 or Pre-calculus 11 with a "C" or better, or MATU 0410 or MATU 0411

Cost

Calculate your tuition and see the approximate cost of taking your program at Douglas College with the tuition & fee estimator. See costs broken down into categories including tuition fees, textbooks, student activity fees, U-Pass and more. 

For more information, refer to the tuition fee charts

Program Requirements

Curriculum Framework

Graduation Requirement For Students Completing By Summer 2023:

  • Successful completion of 60 credits
  • 25% (7.5 credits) of all coursework must be completed at Douglas College
  • A minimum program GPA of 2.0
  • Time limit to complete program graduation requirements: seven (7) years

Graduation Requirement For Students Completing After Summer 2023:

  • Successful completion of 60 credits
  • 50% (30 credits) of all coursework must be completed at Douglas College
  • A minimum program GPA of 2.0
  • Time limit to complete program graduation requirements: seven (7) years

Course Requirements:

In addition to the 30 credits of coursework from the Office Administration Certificate from Douglas College or other public community college, students must complete an additional 30 credits (60 total).

 

Course Number Course Title Credits

Select one option of the following two options:

ACCT 1110 and

ACCT 1210

Principles of Accounting I

Principles of Accounting I and II

6.00

ACCT 1235 and

Elective

Principles of Accounting I and II and

Elective

6.00

Select two courses from the following ten courses:

ACCT 1222

Computer Applications for Accounting

3.00

BUSN 1200

Fundamentals of Business

3.00

BLAW 1320

Business Law I

3.00

BUSN 3310

Organizational Management Skills

3.00

BUSN 3350

Human Resource Management

3.00

BUSN 4410

Organizational Business Decision Making

3.00

CSIS 2200

Systems Analysis and Design

3.00

PHIL 1101

Critical Thinking

3.00

PHIL 1122

Business Ethics

3.00

SOSC 2140

Behaviour in Organizations

3.00

Required Courses: 

BUSN 1210

Management Essentials

3.00

CMNS 1115

Practical Writing

3.00

ECON 1150

Principles of Microeconomics

3.00

ECON 1250

Principles of Macroeconomics

3.00

FINC 1231

Commercial & Financial Mathematics

3.00

MARK 1120

Introductory Marketing

3.00

Total Credits

 

30.00

Program Guidelines

Program Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this program and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the program, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are starting in the Fall semester, your classes will start the day after the Labour Day holiday. If you are starting in the Winter semester, your classes will begin in the first or second week of January.

If you start in the Fall semester and are registered for a full course load, the program ends with a four-week practicum that begins in early May. If you start in the Winter semester and registered for a full course load, the program ends with a four-week practicum that begins in early January.

There are short breaks between the semesters. The Fall semester usually ends mid-December, and Winter semester classes don’t start until early January. The Winter semester usually ends mid-April and you won’t start Summer semester or work experience until early in May.

Full-time students must apply before the deadline, meet the English and keyboarding requirements and pay a $350 deposit. This gives full-time status students priority enrollment. When the Registrar's Office assigns registration times all full-time status students complete their registration before the part-time students begin registering. This ensures that full-time students have the opportunity to register in all of the courses that they need and allows us to guarantee full-time students that they will be able to obtain a seat in all required classes and successfully complete the program within a nine-month time period. However, part-time students in Office Administration programs may also register in up to five courses (15 credits) per semester. Therefore, part-time students can take a full course load.

If you’re taking a full-time course load, you’ll complete five four-hour classes per week. Class time is twenty hours per week. If you’re studying part-time, the hours you spend in class per week will vary depending on how many courses they have registered in.

It is generally expected that every hour of instruction will be matched with an hour of study or preparation by you. If you’re studying full-time, you can expect twenty hours of homework per week.

All classes are scheduled from Monday through Friday; there are no weekend classes. Classes are scheduled as early as 8:00 am and end as late as 4:30 pm; there are no evening classes.

All students are required to complete a four-week practicum. A three-week practicum is completed on the job site in early May or January. You will then return to the college and present either an oral or written report during the following week.

You are expected to find your own practicum placements; however, the practicum supervisor will monitor your progress and provide assistance as necessary.

This is largely determined by the conditions in the prevailing job market. Generally, between 80-90% of our graduates are working within one month of graduation. Currently, 90-100% of our graduates are using their acquired skills on the job. Many gain employment through their practicum placement.

This is also largely determined by the conditions in the prevailing job market. Currently, salaries for these job-entry positions range from $2,000-$3,000 per month.

Yes, T2202A forms are provided once per year through a secure website.

More Information

Tuition deposit

When offered a seat in this program a non-refundable, non-transferable $350 tuition deposit is required. 

Career Pathways

Career opportunities include:

  • Intake Support Clerk
  • Intake Administrator 
  • Office Manager 
  • Administrative Services Manager 
  • Project Coordinator 
  • Human Resources Administrator 
  • Program Administrator/Manager 
  • Secretary - Legal 
  • Secretary Clerk - Information, Records, Court, Finance, Integrity 
  • Special Programs Coordinator 
  • Political Aide 
  • Technician, Data Entry