Office Administration (Diploma)
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
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 |
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: |
||
Computer Applications for Accounting |
3.00 |
|
Fundamentals of Business |
3.00 |
|
BLAW 1320 |
Business Law I |
3.00 |
Organizational Management Skills |
3.00 |
|
Human Resource Management |
3.00 |
|
Organizational Business Decision Making |
3.00 |
|
Systems Analysis and Design |
3.00 |
|
Critical Thinking |
3.00 |
|
Business Ethics |
3.00 |
|
Behaviour in Organizations |
3.00 |
|
Required Courses: |
||
Management Essentials |
3.00 |
|
Practical Writing |
3.00 |
|
Principles of Microeconomics |
3.00 |
|
Principles of Macroeconomics |
3.00 |
|
Commercial & Financial Mathematics |
3.00 |
|
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
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