A Richmond campus of a hotel management college has opened up at a former anchor store at Lansdowne Centre.
Vancouver Premier College (VPC) partnered with Trinity Western University (TWU) to share space at the north-west corner of the mall.
VPC, a private college with a main focus on hotel management, decided to expand into the city after it realized most of its enrolment consisted of international students who were living in Richmond.
“Opening a branch in Richmond brings us closer to our students,” said Terry Lum, director of operations at VPC, adding that students now have a choice of studying closer to their home.
Ninety per cent of the school’s enrolment consists of international students from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Lum told the Richmond News that they’ve consistently noticed their students transferring to TWU after finishing their diplomas at VPC.
“We send hundreds of students every year to TWU and when the opportunity came about to lease the space (in Lansdowne), we thought why not,” said Lum.
The college also offers courses in business management and hopes to expand more into arts and sciences moving forward.
Other schools that VPC work with include: Capilano University, British Columbia Institute of Technology and Vancouver Community College.
