Great Plains College

Great Plains College provides certificates, diplomas, undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as safety training, adult basic education and English-language education in six locations in western Saskatchewan. The programs include business, early childhood education, practical nursing, welding and power engineering. For safety education, Great Plains offers the only indoor fall protection and rig rescue tower in the province. Its six-week heavy equipment operator program allows students to learn through field projects and training on state-of-the-art Cat simulators.

Campuses are located in Swift Current, Kindersley, Warman, Biggar, Maple Creek and Martensville. At the Swift Current campus, students can take the first year of almost any University of Regina or University of Saskatchewan degree, and are also able to complete a full social work degree.

The college is home to the SunDogs volleyball squad, the only competitive athletics program in Saskatchewan’s regional college system. Since 2006, the SunDogs have won four provincial championships, six coach-of-the-year awards, and have celebrated 19 provincial all-star athletes.

Great Plains is one of seven regional colleges in Saskatchewan that broker courses created by other schools in the province and across Canada.

Tuition

• Diploma: $5,000-$7,000

• Certificate: $5,000-$6,200

Popular Programs

• Continuing Care Assistant

• Practical Nursing

• Business

• Welding

• Heavy Equipment Operator

School Size

Small

Residence Offerings

No

Cool Options

• Master of Business Administration in Community Economic Development: Areas of specialization include strategic leadership, First Nations economic development and public policy. The program is offered on weekends so students can continue to work during the week.

• Welding: Students learn to perform welding operations. The program also hosts an annual fundraiser called Carhartts and Caviar; students research, design and build pieces of metal art to be auctioned off.

• Heavy Equipment Operator: Students learn in a state-of-the-art simulator lab and then use the machines on real work sites.