KPU is one of the largest institutions by enrollment in British Columbia garnering a total of 20,000 students and 1,400 faculty members across its five locations, encompassing the Metro Vancouver district.

The school operates largely as an undergraduate polytechnic university, but also serves as a vocational school offering apprenticeships for the skilled trades as well as citations, certificates, and diplomas for skilled technicians and workers in support roles in various professional fields related to academia, engineering, high technology, accountancy, business administration, financial services, hospitality, nursing, medicine, architecture, and criminology.

The Globe and Mail Canadian University Report ranked KPU among the top post-secondary institutions in terms of enrolment across Canada, earning numerous grades in the A-to-B range in categories such as quality of teaching and learning, career preparation, student satisfaction and information technology.

[18] Also in 1995, the province of British Columbia enacted legislation changing the institution's name to Kwantlen University College.

[10] Although the AUCC is not an official government accreditation body, its standardized membership benchmarks and requirements for members serves to ease a student's ability to transfer from undergraduate to graduate programs across Canada and the world.

The Cloverdale building is certified as a LEED Gold building and houses KPU's Trades & Technology programs, which include appliance servicing, automotive servicing, carpentry, farrier science, masonry, parts and warehousing, welding, plumbing, and CADD technologies.

[24] The Langley campus is home to the university's School of Horticulture - which includes a field lab, greenhouses, and gardens.

KPU Langley also offers science programs, and has biology, chemistry, physics, and geology labs with industry-standard equipment.

[33][34] KPU has over 140 different programs across seven distinct faculties — Academic and Career Preparation, Arts, Business, Design, Health, Science and Horticulture, and Trades and Technology — where students can pursue a degree, diploma, certificate, citation, or work towards completing an apprenticeship.

The largest library is on the Surrey campus with smaller program focused collections available in Richmond, Langley, and Cloverdale.

KPU students and faculty have access to millions of items through the library, including online journal and newspaper articles, print and ebooks, streaming media and more.

Items from other parts of Canada and around the globe can also be accessed through the library's free interlibrary loans service.

[36] KPU library recently launched the χʷəχʷéy̓əm Indigenous Collection at the Surrey, Richmond and Langley campuses, with Cloverdale to follow.

[citation needed] In March 2008, the Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) organized a referendum to disaffiliate from the CFS.

[50] As of January 2013, the KSA has been attempting to de-federate from the CFS and has joined the "Alliance of BC Students" as an alternative lobbying body.

[51] At a Special General Meeting held on November 30, 2011, Kwantlen students voted 352 to 0 to remove thirteen directors of the KSA and place them into "bad standing" where they would be unable to run for future office.

The vote was held over allegations of conflicts of interest in settling litigation, association with the embezzlement of two million dollars of student funds, and a 40% pay raise to the elected officials on their first day of office among other things.

[54] Each year in February KPU students may run for and elect a Council to a one-year term of office from April 1 to March 31.

It employs an ombudsperson, distributes day planners, and provides advocacy services as well as funding for campus clubs, events, conferences, and special interest groups.

Finally, full-time students who do not have comparable coverage elsewhere are automatically eligible to receive benefits from a health and dental plan.

[57] Since early 2009,[58] The Runner has added to Kwantlen's student life by providing the community with "a freely distributed, year-round, multi-campus, student-owned, student-run news and campus culture publication.

"[59] It receives some of its funds from the Kwantlen Student Association under a levy; however, it is run as a separate, autonomous incorporated B.C.