It’s been 10 years since the doors of Quest University opened to a new kind of educational experience. During that decade, enrollment swelled from 74 to 700 students and the cutting-edge post-secondary institution faced a steep learning curve.
Quest, which is registered as a charitable organization, has not been immune to fiscal challenges. Although the operation had an annual revenue stream of more than $24 million between 2015 and 2016, its expenses exceeded $28 million.
At the moment, the campus is in the grips of a pair of nasty legal battles. Peter Englert, the former president, is suing the school for breach of contract. Another lawsuit, this one filed by Quest, alleges the District of Squamish unfairly backed out of an agreement to waive development cost charges for the university.
Looking beyond those recent litigious storm clouds, in 2012 Quest earned top marks in the National Survey of Student Engagement. An even more in-depth assessment was offered in a series of reviews conducted by niche.com, a U.S.-based organization that publishes comprehensive post-secondary institution rankings.
Of 120 student respondents surveyed, 65.5 per cent reported their experience at Quest was either “excellent” or “very good,” 22.5 per cent said it was “average,” seven per cent felt it was “poor”, while five per cent classified it as “terrible.”
A fourth-year student said the majority of professors were “amazing,” “super knowledgeable” and “caring.” Another graduating student reported that Quest “is incredibly supportive about the things I want to do with my education.” One second-year student noted that, “Quest works really hard to try to get students the financial aid they need.”
But not all appraisals were as positive. A third-year student said, “I had one professor who didn’t seem to care and another who gave vague confusing instructions… The course quality is hit and miss.”
All in all, it appears some tough lessons have been learned at Quest and, optimistically, those experiences will help shape the university’s future.
