North Island College - Ministry of Advanced Education - Government ...

Institutional Accountability Plan and Report 2011/12distributed learning technologies. A plan for upgrades and increased integration of the College’slearning management system has been established, including upgraded remote access options.Regular faculty and student training to use the learning management system are in place.A number of faculty development workshops have been held to support blended learningdevelopment; these workshops are being assembled in a blended learning course.Recently North Island College undertook an extensive study to look at the future of distributedlearning at the College. Over 130 faculty and staff and 950 students participated in a consultativeprocess to gather information about the distributed learning needs, both present and future, atNorth Island College. This information is being used to develop plans for supporting growth in theuse of distributed learning at North Island College.North Island College has always been a leader in delivery of distance education due to the necessityof serving learners living in remote areas of our region. We are continuing to lead in this field withthe ongoing development of remote, web-based technology designed to allow students to completescience labs and ultimately, an associate or baccalaureate science degree through on-line learning.Recently scientists and post-secondary curriculum designers from across North America gathered atNorth Island College’s Comox Valley campus to learn about the remote web-based sciencelaboratory technology. The prototype that has been developed is central to the North AmericaNetwork of Science On-line (NANSLO) project that has been awarded a $750,000 grant from theBill and Melinda Gates and William and Flora Hewett Foundations.Expand services specifically designed to promote the success of Aboriginal students.North Island College’s second Aboriginal Gathering Place celebrated its opening in May 2012 inCampbell River; an Aboriginal Gathering Place at the Port Alberni campus has been open since 2010.These achievements recognize and support the important cultural significance of the region’s FirstPeoples.In-community programming will continue to be a focus of NIC’s Aboriginal programming. NICrecognizes that Aboriginal learners have significant community, family, employment and culturalobligations that support in-community learning. Community-based programming allows for greaterrelevance to First Nations learners and also requires intensive program development to ensurelearners achieve all levels of required coursework.North Island College is committed to continued support for language revitalization programming inFirst Nations communities. The Fort Rupert Language Revitalization Program is being offeredthrough 2015 in conjunction with the Quatsino First Nation, the Kwakiutl First Nation, theGwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw, and the University of Victoria (UVic) providing students with theopportunity to continue with the UVic Bachelor of Education Degree. North Island College has alsoentered into partnership with the Huu-ay-aht First Nations to revitalize the Nuu-chah-nulthlanguage.New ABE programming in Alert Bay began in January 2012, following a three-year planning cycle ofMath and English, Science, and advanced levels offered progressively; in Fort Rupert, university levels38