Editing Community college (section)

==Canada==
{{main|College (Canada)}}
In [[Canada]], colleges are adult educational institutions that provide [[higher education]] and [[tertiary education]], and  grant [[Academic certificate|certificates]] and [[diploma]]s. Alternatively, Canadian colleges are often called "institutes" or "polytechnic institutes". As well, in Ontario, the 24 colleges of applied arts and technology have been mandated to offer their own stand-alone degrees as well as to offer joint degrees with universities through "articulation agreements" that often result in students emerging with both a diploma and a degree. Thus, for example, the University of Guelph "twins" with Humber College and York University does the same with Seneca College. More recently, however, colleges have been offering a variety of their own degrees, often in business, technology, science, and other technical fields. Each province has its own educational system, as prescribed by the [[Canadian federalism]] model of governance. In the mid-1960s and early 1970s, most Canadian colleges began to provide practical education and training for the emerging and booming generation, and for immigrants from around the world who were entering Canada in increasing numbers at that time. A formative trend was the merging of the then separate vocational training and adult education (night school) institutions.

Canadian colleges are either publicly funded or private post-secondary institutions (run for profit).

In terms of academic pathways, Canadian colleges and universities collaborate with each other with the purpose of providing college students the opportunity to academically upgrade their education. Students can transfer their diplomas and earn transfer credits through their completed college credits towards undergraduate university degrees.

The term [[Associate degree#Canada|associate degree]] is used in [[Western Canada]] to refer to a two-year college arts or science degree, similar to how the term is used in the United States. In other parts of Canada, the term [[academic degree|advanced degree]] is used to indicate a three- or four-year college program.

In [[Quebec]], three years is the norm for a university degree because a year of credit is earned in the CÉGEP (college) system. Even when speaking in English, people often refer to all colleges as<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/employment/comparative-evaluation/education-system.html|website=Quebec Government|access-date=11 June 2014|title=Immigration, Diversité et Inclusion Québec – Working in Québec|archive-date=21 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621055047/http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/employment/comparative-evaluation/education-system.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[CEGEP|Cégeps]]; however, the term is an acronym more correctly applied specifically to the French-language public system: Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP); in English: College of General and Vocational Education. The word "college" can also refer to a private high school in Quebec.

; Canadian community college systems
* [[List of colleges in Canada]]
* Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collegesinstitutes.ca|title=Perioperative Nursing/LPN – Colleges and Institutes Canada}}</ref> – publicly funded educational institutions; formerly the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC)
* National Association of Career Colleges<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nacc.ca/|title=NACC – National Association of Career Colleges}}</ref> – privately funded educational institutions; formerly the Association of Canadian Career Colleges