UNBC graduate Christine Creyke was the featured guest in April 2016 as part of UNBC’s Aboriginal Alumni Speaker Series.

Aboriginal students at three public post-secondary institutions in the North will benefit from new and continuing programs and services that will support their success as they work to complete their post-secondary education and training.

Examples of programs and services funded include:

• a cultural advisor who will provide cultural guidance and traditional knowledge to College of New Caledonia (CNC) students;
• an Introduction to Trades program that will give Northwest Community College (NWCC) Aboriginal students basic skills in the trades; and
• an Aboriginal Alumni Speaker Series featuring graduates who will share their journeys and accomplishments with current students at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC).

These programs and services are available through Aboriginal Service Plan funding from the Ministry of Advanced Education. CNC received $375,000, NWCC received $341,831 and UNBC received $200,000 for Aboriginal Service Plans in 2016-17.

Aboriginal Service Plans help to increase access to post-secondary education and training for Aboriginal learners as well as strengthen partnerships between public post-secondary institutions and Aboriginal communities. The service plans are designed to make post-secondary institutions and programs more receptive to Aboriginal learners and more relevant to them.

Aboriginal Service Plans are part of ongoing activities to support the Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education Training Policy and Framework and Action Plan (Aboriginal Framework). The provincial government launched this plan in 2012 to help Aboriginal learners succeed in an integrated, relevant and effective British Columbia post-secondary education system.

Government has invested more than $20 million in Aboriginal Service Plans since the launch of the Aboriginal Framework, including $2.7 million for CNC, $2.6 million for NWCC and $1 million for UNBC.

Aboriginal learners in B.C. were awarded 3,340 credentials in 2014-15, an increase of 27%, or 706, over 2009-10. One of the Aboriginal Framework goals is to increase the number of credentials awarded to Aboriginal learners by 75% by 2020-21.

Quote:

University of Northern British Columbia President Daniel Weeks:
“UNBC offers programs that enhance education successes for Aboriginal students, and appreciates the additional funding through the provincial government’s Aboriginal Service Plan. This type of commitment helps UNBC celebrate and strengthen the partnerships we enjoy with Aboriginal communities in our region and across the country.”