TAV College


TAV College is a bilingual, private college located in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough of Montreal. It was founded in 1989 by distinguished Concordia University mathematics professor Abraham Boyarsky as an affiliate of Champlain College - Saint Lambert. TAV's annual enrollment gradually grew and as a result, in 2010, the College filed for independent status and became a private college, which is part of the CEGEP network of Quebec's higher education system. Furthermore, in 2013, the College expanded its original campus with the construction of 65,000 square foot building, which annexes the original building.
TAV is a multicultural institution with over 1,000 students and offers more than 15 AEC and/or DEC programs. Learners from diverse backgrounds make TAV a unique and culturally-enriched educational experience. The mission statement of the college is to help individuals realize their full potential, academically and personally, while conserving their cultural and ethnic values. A broader goal is to establish the college as a community resource centre for lifelong learning. TAV emphasizes excellence in teaching and academic standards and encourages the interaction between faculty and students through smaller, more focused classrooms.
The college plans to open a third campus building by 2021 which would allow for more classrooms, study and social spaces, as well as more programs and students.

History

Overview

TAV was founded over 30 years ago from a strong desire to provide the chassidic Montreal-Jewish community with secular education and training, which can lead to better job opportunities. It began as an affiliate of Champlain College and is now a private college, recognized and accredited for subsidies from the Quebec Ministry of Education. Today, TAV has developed into a distinct Montreal private college, offering courses to a large multi-ethnic body of students.
In 2013, the College built a modern 65,000 square foot building, which annexes the original campus-building at 6333 Decarie Boulevard. The "A" building features four science laboratories, a private gym, two media labs, a private cafe and a mock-daycare laboratory.
The TAV College administration announced in 2018 that it will be expanding its campus with the construction of a third building. The plans for this modern building place a heavy focus on accessibility and transterior design, and will dedicate the entire lower-level floor to a massive student lounge center. The other levels of the building will be dedicated to large classroom spaces, a rooftop garden lounge and exterior study zones. The new building will be located at 5995 Decarie Boulevard. Construction began in December 2019 and the building is set to open its door in January 2021.

Historical TimelineHand-Gregory, J. (2019). TAV Turned 30 In 2019. The TAV Times news journal. https://thetavtimes.tav.ca/2019/10/11/tav-turned-30-in-2019/

YearNameMilestone
1989 Torah and TechnologyTAV was located at 6767 Côte-Des-Neiges street, suite #204, and was established as a school to allow men of the chassidic Montreal-Jewish community to gain a secular education, which can lead them to jobs or higher education. At this time, TAV only offered two programs of study: religious studies and computer science.
1992 Torah and TechnologyTAV became the first academic institution in the world to offer a seminary-computer program for Jewish women.
1996 Torah and VocationalTAV expanded its options for study programs and began offering six study options, of varying topics. In addition, it offered special courses for Jewish women and language courses for immigrants.
2010 Technology and VocationalTAV relocated to a larger building at 6333 Decarie Boulevard, Montreal, Quebec and applied for independent status. The college was granted independent status in 2010 and was allowed to operate as a private CEGEP in Montreal.
2013 Technology and VocationalTAV more than doubled in size with the construction of a modern, six-storey building, which annexes its original building. After years of focusing on assisting the adult sector with achieving their academic goals, TAV shifted its focus to increasing its younger student population and enhancing its DEC programs. Between the years of 2013 and 2019, the college began to offer over fifteen new programs of study.
2019+ Technology and VocationalTAV continues to expand with the construction of a third building located at 5995 Decarie Boulevard

Programs

TAV College offers two types of programs: pre-university and career/technical. Pre-university programs are unique to the Quebec higher education system and take two to three years to complete. The subject matter of these programs roughly corresponds to the additional year of high school, given elsewhere in Canada, as well as university-level introductory courses that prepare students for their chosen field in university. Technical programs vary in length from one to three years and allow graduates to immediately enter the workforce, or to be specialized in a specific field.

DEC">Quebec Diploma of College Studies">DEC (Pre-University) programs

In 2018, TAV developed extracurricular activities as a way for students to have a more enjoyable experience throughout their studies, as well as an option to independently immerse themselves in non-assigned social settings.

TAV College Students' Association

The TAV College Students' Association is a team of TAV College student representatives that represent the TAV College student body and advocate for change based on the needs and demands of their members. The TCSA is responsible for managing all student life affairs, which includes: student clubs, events, special projects, competitions and awards.

Student clubs

As of Fall 2019, the TCSA reported on their website that there were four active student clubs at the college: robotic-engineering, journalism, chess, art, and music.

The TAV Times

The TAV Times is the college's official news source, which is published both online and in print. Established in the fall of 2018, the TAV Times is produced by a staff of TAV College students who write, edit and design content for the publication, which is then published and distributed twice per semester—four times per year.

Competitions and awards

The TCSA hosts various competitions throughout the year, which allows students to win prizes and awards. In previous years the college has hosted a foosball competition, a ping-pong competition, a chess competition, Instagram photo contests and event ticket raffles.

Art

The College commissioned two art murals for their main entrance lobby in 2019. 27 Ways to Say Welcome is a 12 x 4' vinyl mural commissioned by the college to demonstrate its pride in the multiculturalism of its student body. The mural was designed and illustrated by Justin Hand-Gregory and repeats the word "welcome" in twenty-seven different languages. My Diverse Education, My Diverse City is a 15 x 10' vinyl mural designed and illustrated by Montreal artist Max Douglas. The mural depicts various Montreal landmarks, Montreal universities, as well as people of different ethnicities and all of these element surround an illustration of the TAV College building, which overlooks Decarie Boulevard.

Notable staff

  • Dr. Abraham Boyarsky, PhD – Professor of mathematics and statistics, Concordia University. Aside from teaching, Boyarsky is also a novelist and has authored, or co-authored, more than 190 research articles.
  • Dr. Nima Nateghi, PhD – Professor of physics, Concordia University. Research interests include growth and characterizations of thin films and nano-structures; hybrid 2D/Semiconductor systems.