History

From humble beginnings in 1998, Ashton College has grown into a respected private post-secondary college offering leading programs in Business Administration, International Trade, Sales and Marketing, Finance, Human Resources and Business English Communication.

From early 1999, the focus at Ashton College was on negotiating academic partnerships with reputable institutes and organizations. It was felt that students wanted qualifications which were accepted by employers and enhanced their career opportunities.

By the start of 2001, several organizations were identified as having the necessary credibility. Agreements with the Forum on International Trade Training (FITT), Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA), the Canadian Institute of Management (CIM) and the American Management Association (AMA) were reached and students were now able to enroll at Ashton for reputable qualifications.

In mid-2002 Ashton embarked upon a further project – the development of a part-time studies unit which would cater to students who worked during the day but who wanted to qualify for a professional designation by studying evenings and weekends. The first designation program opened in July 2002 in partnership with the Canadian Securities Institute. Building on the success of that program other partnerships were concluded to enable Ashton to offer the finest part-time studies programs in Financial Planning and Insurance. Today, Ashton has over 16 different partners and offers 10 different professional designations.

Ashton's faculty has also grown over the years. Starting with a small number of instructors, the college now has an extensive full-time and part-time faculty who are not only experienced instructors but also seasoned practitioners.

Program development is at the centre of the college's activities and new partnerships are regularly being explored.