Higher education in the Yukon
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Higher education in the Yukon is shaped by the province’s small population (30,375 people as of May 2006) in a relatively large territory. Despite a culturally heterogeneous population with diverse educational needs, the territory’s educational apparatus is less developed than those of other regions of the country. This is because the territory’s entire population is smaller than the enrollment of some of the big Canadian universities, but is spread out over a wide area. The history of higher education in fact went hand in hand with the establishment of a representative territorial government in 1979.[1]
Quick facts from Environmental Scan 2007by Yukon College:
The Yukon has a large gap in university attainment rates between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations. Overall, 16% of adult Yukoners held a university degree in 2001, but this only applied to 4% of Aboriginal adults. The non-university post-secondary attainment rates were less divergent: 36% overall, and 34% among Aboriginals. More than one out of three Aboriginal Yukoners aged 25 and up had not completed high school or its equivalency in 2001, as compared with one out of five in the general Yukon adult population.[2]
The Canadian Information Centre for International Creditentials also provides information on post-secondary education in the Yukon.
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[edit] History
The predecessor of the present day Yukon College, the Whitehorse Vocational Training Centre, opened in 1963 with a focus on teaching skills that enabled adults to gain employment. Even in the 70s, its expanded successor, the Yukon Vocational and Technical Training Centre, did not shift its vocational focus towards an academic/research based focus because the Centre did not consider affluent Yukoners as potential clients, historically being recipients of college and university education outside of the Yukon. The 70s was also the time when public discussion took place over new higher education opportunities as a result of the Federal Government’s interest in developing its northern territories (due to the oil rush in the Beufort), which, in turn, resulted in an increase in grants for scientific research to be conducted in the North.
The birth of Yukon College at the beginning of the 1980s was due to the territorial government’s dissatisfaction with the by then inadequate programming offered by the only training institute of the region, and the dissatisfaction of its electorate with the occasional extension courses offered through other regional universities. When the Yukon opened its first community college, Yukon College, it was similar to other community colleges across the country in that it offered credit and non-credit courses to adult students at all spectrums of educational needs, but it was unique in that the college also embraced the role of investigation, or research, relevant to the province or region. The research policies and initiatives of the college have also established a foundation of academic training.[3]
See also sections: 4.4 Transferability of program credits, and 5. Future directions and challenges.
[edit] Structure and governance
[edit] Higher education and the labour market
The Advanced Education Branch of the Yukon Department of Education provides services to Yukoners through two divisions: Labour Market Programs and Services, and Trades Certification and Training Programs. Amongst the many objectives of these programs, some clearly delineate the relationship between the province's labour market needs and its higher education.[4] For example, one objective is that these programs promote partnerships with business, labour organisations, Yukon College, First Nations, equity groups, federal government and other jurisdictions in the development and implementation of programs. The programs also develop and deliver labour force initiatives through Community Training Funds and the Yukon (Immigrant) Nominee Program.
The Yukon also has some private trade schools that are regulated by the Yukon Government.
[edit] Yukon College governance
"The board of governors of Yukon College is responsible for the government, conduct, and management of the operations of the institution including educational policies and activities that relate to quality assurance, particularly establishing programs of study and student admission standards. The act also establishes campus advisory committees to advise the board of governors on the programs and activities of the community campus, with particular reference to the needs of the community. The board of governors is accountable to the minister of education. The minister tables the board's report with the Legislature."[5]
See also: Yukon College Act
[edit] Funding and financial assistance
The Advanced Education branch of the Yukon Department of Education supports adult training, education and labour force development through Community Training Funds ($1.45 million for the fiscal year 2006-07), and Student Financial Assistance options such as the Yukon Grant ($3.3 million for the fiscal year 2006-07), and Student Training Allowance ($0.5 million for the fiscal year 2006-07).
Over 50 organisations, individual and professional groups have established scholarships to complement the Financial Assistance programs offered by the territorial government.
Yukon College draws funding from two sources. First, the Northern Research Endowment Fund was established in 1989 by the Government of Yukon to support "scholarly research in the humanities, social, pure, and applied sciences that is directly relevant to Yukon."[6] The Yukon Government also provides Community Training Funds. For example for the fiscal year 2006-07, $321,383 was allocated to Yukon College training courses.[7]
The territorial government has acts, policies, and regulations concerning Student Financial Assistance for Yukon citizens pursuing their post-secondary studies in or outside of the Yukon. For example, during the 2005-2006 academic year, one of the grants, the Yukon Grant, assisted, 1,118 post-secondary students in their post-secondary studies. Interestingly, of those receiving the Yukon Grant only three out of ten were studying at Yukon College; 44% of the recipients were studying at universities; 4% at university colleges outside of the Yukon; and 26% studied outside the province in programs that may be similar to local alternatives. That is, the educational needs of 68% of the Yukon Grant recipients were served outside of the province, but financially assisted by the province.
Loan programs include Canada Student Loans, funded by the federal government and administered by the province. Students may also be eligible for the Canada Millennium Scholarships up to 2010.[8]
[edit] Tuition
In the 2007-08 academic year, full-time tuition fees for Yukon College students in university-level credit programs were $150 per three-credit course or about $1,500 per year. Students in trades/vocational courses paid $750 per year, and those in developmental studies programs paid $350 per term. Tuition fees for international students, other than residents of Alaska, were $250 per credit or about $7,500 per year.
There is no tuition for apprentice training. Financial assistance is normally available for apprentices to offset loss of income while attending in-school training, travel and book costs, and living-away-from-home costs where applicable through Employment Insurance funds.
[edit] Equity, mobility, and access
[edit] First Nations
In the 1970s, Native groups such as the Yukon Native Brotherhood and the Yukon Association of Non-Status Indians worked on conceiving a northern institution as a response to a lack of government initiatives, and approached the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC), called the First Nations University since 2003, to deliver programs in the Yukon. In 1976, SIFC entered into a federation agreement with the University of Regina that provided for an independently administered university-college, the mission of which was to serve the academic, cultural and spiritual needs of First Nations’ students.
From the 1980s, however, Yukon College has begun to offer courses based on the demands and needs of the first nations communities (e.g., literacy programs, adult high-school programs, vocational training, and Native language instructor training With the advent of the new millennium, the college has set up a department for first Nations initiatives and a First Nations teacher education program. The latter, is offered in partnership with the University of Regina.
The college also outlines in its research policies that its research activities must support the social and economic priorities of First Nations and the Territorial Government, support First Nations and private sector research through partnerships and collaborative agreements with First Nations groups and local private sector research.
Recent statistical data prepared by the Institutional Research and Planning Office at Yukon College, reveals that the Yukon has the highest proportion of adults with non-university post secondary education in the country, at 36%, of which 34% are of aboriginal background. Financial constraints , family responsibilities, and the legacy of residential schooling affecting 87% of all aboriginal families are amongst the major reasons why Aboriginal Yukoners aged 25 to 64 may not complete their education. In the year 2005-2006, 46% of adult Yukon students identified themselves as First Nations people.[9]
[edit] People with disabilities
Students with disabilities are also served by Yukon College. In the 2005-06 academic year, 13% of Yukon College students reported a disability, be it physical, learning, or mental/emotional.[10]
Detailed information on the depths of services and types of accommodation is welcome.
[edit] Immigrants and international students
Like all Canadian provinces the Yukon also encourages immigration. The Yukon Nominee Program was developed to allow the Government of Yukon to nominate potential immigrants based on industrial and economic priorities and labour market conditions and who, based on the Yukon’s assessment, have a strong likelihood of successfully establishing themselves in Yukon society.
The Yukon Nominee Program offers two programs to potential immigrants to the Yukon; the Skilled Worker/Critical Impact Worker Program and the Business Program. Immigrants can receive language classes
Yukon College welcomes international students. Besides language courses, the college provides certificate, diploma, and university transfer programs to international students for a lower fee than in most Canadian colleges.
[edit] Transferability of program credits
Seamlessness of system and endpoints:
Although the Yukon Grant as part of the provincial Student Financial Assistance program assists post-secondary college and university studies anywhere in the country, the top ten institutions outside the Yukon for students receiving the grant were mostly in the neighboring provinces of BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Yukon students attending these out of province institutions have to observe the credit transfer and articulation agreements within and among the institutes of these provinces.
In a number of articulations with universities in British Columbia, the first two years of university programs can be taken at Yukon College and credited by the BC universities. An exception to this agreement is the new visual art, design, and media art program offered by Yukon College in collaboration with the Emily Carr University of Art and Design and Alberta College of Art and Design at the KIAC School of Visual Arts in Dawson City. "Students who complete the foundation year at the new School of Visual Arts in Dawson City qualify for second year at the southern institutions." [11]
In addition, in recent times, the college has partnered up with the University of Regina (in the province of Saskatchewan) to offer two four-year bachelor’s programs and with the University of Alaska Southwest, USA, to offer one master’s program in public education in addition to the college’s certificate, diploma and university transfer programs. That is, to date (2008) the college has no degree granting authority.
See also: Canadian Information Centre for International Creditentials
As of January 2008, there are 48 trades/occupations in which apprenticeship and certification are available in the Yukon. Apprentices obtain a Certificate of Qualification issued by the Department of Education upon completion of all requirements of their apprentice program. Recognition of their completion credentials extends outside Yukon through the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program if a Red Seal examination is available in their trade.
[edit] Future directions and challenges
Yukon College is a founding member of the Virtual University of the Arctic, run by circumpolar nations; however, to date there is no provincial university in the Yukon. This is despite the fact that the Science Council of Canada had already urged its establishment as early as the mid 1970s, and local college board members have been visioning it, or its university-college status since 2004.
More information is welcome.
[edit] Accreditated institutions
The only post-secondary institute in the Yukon, Yukon College, issues certificate, diploma, and partial and some full degree programs to all high school leavers and older adults. The college is a community college and as a result it provides Adult Basic Education/literacy programs, too.
[edit] Associations of Higher Education
Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC)
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC)
[edit] Journals
[edit] References
- ^ Senkpiel, Aron. (1997). Postsecondary Education in the Yukon. In "Higher Education in Canada" (pp. 285 - 300). Ed. Jones, G.A., New York, N.Y.: Garland Publishing
- ^ Yukon College. "Environmental Scan 2007". a (pp. 3-5.) Retrieved May 15, 2008, from
- ^ [1]
- ^ Yukon Ministry of Education. "2006-2007 Yukon Education Annual Report". a (pp.61-69) Retrieved May 15, 2008, from
- ^ Canadian Information Centre for International Creditentials. Retrieved May 14, 2008, from
- ^ Yukon College. "Northern Research Institute." Retrieved May 15, 2008, from
- ^ Yukon Ministry of Education. "2006-2007 Yukon Education Annual Report". b (p.66) Retrieved May 15, 2008, from
- ^ Millenium Scholarship. Retrieved May 16, 2008, from
- ^ Yukon College. "Environmental Scan 2007". b (pp. 19-20.) Retrieved May 15, 2008, from
- ^ Yukon College. "Environmental Scan 2007". c (p. 36) Retrieved May 15, 2008, from
- ^ Yukon Students Can Transfer to Southern Art Institutions. "canadian-universities.com". Retrieved June 2, 2008, from
[edit] Glossary
Aboriginal Student: a student who has reported him/herself as being of Aboriginal ancestry (First Nations: status and non-status, Metis, and Inuit)
Access: the level of ease to gain admission to an institution, including fees, admission requirements, geographical location
Adult Student: a student 20 years of age or older as of June 30 in the school year July 1 - June 30.
Certificate: award in recognition of academic program completion at a college
Degree: award in recognition of academic program completion
Distributed Learning: a method of instruction that relies primarily on indirect communication between students and teachers, including internet or other electronic-based delivery, teleconferencing, or correspondence
Equity: equal distribution of various groups/communities across degree types
Higher Education: education provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, technical colleges, and other collegian institutions that award academic degrees, such as career colleges source: Wikipedia
International Student: student who does not have residency or landed immigrant status
Post-secondary Education: see Higher Education
Private Institution: institution that receives no funding from either the provincial and federal government
Transfer Credit: acknowledgment of course work completed at an institution other than a student's home institution. (In Canada, students can attend a Community College or University College for two academic years and then transfer to a university to complete a bachelor's degree.)
See also: The educational planner glossary of British Columbia
