CALGARY - The privately owned DeVry Institute of Technology says it will shut down its campus operations in Calgary at the end of this school year.

It says students will only have the option of studying online under the DeVry University banner as of July.

“We are proud of our strong roots in this community, and of the thousands of graduates who have found success through our degree programs,” said Ranil Herath, president of DeVry Institute of Technology.

“We are committed to making this transition as seamless as possible for all involved and ensure our remaining students in Calgary have access to the quality academic programs necessary to achieve their career goals.”

Herath said the move is the result of an increase in demand for internet-based education.

Herath added a lot of students won’t be impacted at all, because they already take all of their courses on the web.

“Then we have a smaller group of students that are doing most of their courses online. They do currently take between 40 and 50 per cent of their courses online, even now. After July, that will shift to 100 per cent of their courses online.”

U.S.-based DeVry says it delivers "practitioner-oriented undergraduate and graduate degree programs" in areas such as business administration, computer information systems, electronics engineering and network communications management.

Last summer, DeVry received approval from the Alberta government to expand its business administration program into the online education realm.

(CFFR, The Canadian Press)