Thompson Rivers University and School District No. 73 Kamloops/Thompson signed a Partnership Charter formalizing an alliance that has steadily grown between the two organizations in recent years.

TRU and SD No. 73 collaborate on more than two dozen initiatives already, and the signing of the Partnership Charter on January 25th  officially reiterated that both parties are committed to the development and implementation of initiatives to enhance the learning opportunities and successful transitions of school district students to the university.

During the brief ceremony in the SD No. 73 offices Dr. Roger Barnsley, TRU President and Vice-Chancellor (Interim) noted that as TRU approaches it’s 40th anniversary, the university’s success and growth could be directly attributed to the close relationship between the two institutions. “TRU’s very beginnings were because the School District trustees saw the need for adult education in our region. We can all be proud of the school trustees, past and present that have worked hard to build the partnerships that has brought us here today.”

“Fifty six per cent of all students that transition directly to TRU from high school come from the Thompson Rivers region,” said Peter Hilton TRU Vice-Provost Students. “We are committed to working with the SD No. 73 to focus on the areas of  accessibility, student engagement, enrolment trends and institutional responsiveness, diversity, and educational advocacy and communication.”

Two programs in particular have been successful for SD No. 73 students accessing post-secondary education while still competing their prerequisites to graduate from high school. With the TRU Start program high school students can take one or two university course(s) tuition-free and get a taste of university life. For Trades Transition Training students, they graduate with a Grade 12 academic (Dogwood) Diploma plus up to one year of Post-Secondary training in more than a dozen different trade programs including horticulture and culinary arts.

Dr. Terry Sullivan noted that there are more than 24 agreements between TRU and SD No. 73 that encompasses everything from teacher leadership programs, international education programs and dual credit agreements.