Heritage College

Located in Gatineau, Heritage College is located 15 minutes from downtown Ottawa, in the heart of the National Capital Region. The school began as a campus of Cégep de l’Outaouais with seven students, but became autonomous in 1988, with 900 students. Heritage offers pre-university and technical programs, both of which lead to a college diploma and entry into the labour force. The school also offers preparatory programs and workshops that students can take before entering a diploma program, such as backyard beekeeping. Formerly the only public and tuition-free English-language college in western Quebec, the school is now phasing in French classes for all complementary courses, due to new ministerial requirements.

The Centre for Continuing Education offers one-year programs that lead to attestations of college studies and recognition of acquired competencies (which provide academic credit for skills and knowledge gained through practical experience), evening and weekend courses and workshops. Technical programs include nursing, computer science, electronics engineering technology, special education techniques, accounting and management technology and more. Pre-university courses include liberal arts, science, social science and visual arts. Heritage has men’s and women’s teams in basketball and soccer, and women’s rugby, mixed cross-country team, women’s hockey team and volleyball teams. The college recently completed a major outdoor sports facility renovation, and there are more than 20 student clubs.