March 29, 2007

The College of New Caledonia and the University of Northern BritishColumbia are investigating opportunities for collaborating on a varietyof programs and research initiatives that will strengthen connectionsbetween the schools, the region, and local students.

The Boards of the two institutions are meeting tonight to discusscollaboration opportunities. The joint Board meeting follows severalmonths of heightened activity between the two institutions that hasinvolved meetings among the College and University executive teams andfaculty.

“It’s a credit to the leadership teams of both institutions thatopportunities for collaboration are being pursued,” says BruceSutherland, Vice-Chair of the CNC Board. “It takes effort and couragefor autonomous institutions to work together in ways that will improveservices to students.”

CNC and UNBC currently work together to deliver a bachelor’s degreeprogram in Nursing and they share a new campus in Quesnel. Additionalopportunities include being part of a Northern Curriculum Institutewith the other northern colleges, developing the capacity for greaterdistribution of courses through new technologies, and creatingdegree-completion opportunities for graduates of Trades programs.

“We’ve already seen how partnerships in the delivery of Nursing andMedicine have greatly expanded educational opportunities in the North,”says Dr. Donald Rix, Chair of the UNBC Board of Governors. “There areeven greater opportunities for CNC and UNBC in the health sciences,natural resource teaching and research, and using new technology toachieve economies of scale.”

The next step will be to identify specific opportunities forcollaboration. One possibility is the development of a Carrier languageand culture certificate/diploma program in Burns Lake that would beoffered in partnership with the Lake Babine Nation. Coursework couldbegin by 2008.

Contact:
Steve Raper, Manager of Marketing and Enrolment Services, CNC – 250.562.2131
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC – 250.960.5622