North Island College is a community college located primarily on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. NIC facilities include four campuses and three centres serving a population of 157,000 and a geographic region of 80,000 square kilometers. The largest campus is in the Comox Valley, at 2300 Ryan Road in Courtenay, but there are also campuses in Campbell River, Port Alberni and Port Hardy. A centre is also located in Ucluelet and there are two vocational centres: Tebo Vocational Centre in Port Alberni and Vigar Road Vocational Centre in Campbell River. North Island College was established in 1975 and employs approximately 400 people.
In 2017, more than $290,000 in scholarships and bursaries were available to students, through the generosity of donors.
History
North Island College was established in 1975. With a small and dispersed population to serve in coastal towns and villages, North Island College initially opted for a distance education model with outreach operations that took the college to the people. Delivery methods, in an era before cable, satellite television and internet communications, included mobile units and a short-lived experiment with a 160 ft ex-whale catcher ship, the Samarinda. In 1990, the process of building physical campuses to serve the regions began. The Comox Valley campus opened in 1992, followed by the Port Alberni campus in 1995 and the Campbell River campus in 1997. In 2004, North Island College offered its first undergraduate degree in Nursing in collaboration with Vancouver Island University. This was soon followed by a degree in Liberal Studies, also with VIU, and a Fine Arts degree, in collaboration with . In 2006, North Island College was granted approval to offer its own degree – the Bachelor of Business Administration, with an Accounting major – the first rural college in the province to be given that approval.
Facilities
Comox Valley
The Comox Valley campus is located at 2300 Ryan Road, Courtenay, BC and is composed of six main buildings and a number of smaller portable classrooms. Discovery Hall contains the library, registration, student services, staff offices and classrooms. Raven Hall contains classrooms, science labs, and photography classes, while the neighboring Shadbolt Studio contains large rooms suitable for art instruction. Puntledge Hall contains classrooms and offices for Early Childhood Care and Education, Nursing, and Co-Operative Education. Raven Hall, Discovery Hall and Puntledge Hall are connected by a raised skyway. The Trades Training Centre, which opened in 2011, provides trades instruction. Komoux Hall, located at the far west of the campus, contains administration offices and the Stan Hagen Theatre. Tyee Hall contains the college bookstore, the cafeteria, classrooms and two computer labs. The campus also has several portable ATCO trailers that are collectively known as ‘The Village Complex’.
Campbell River
There are two NIC facilities in Campbell River: the Campbell River campus and the Vigar Vocational Centre. The Campbell River campus is shared with a high school, Timberline Secondary School – the only shared college/high school facility in Canada. The campus offers programming in Trades, Business Administration, Adult Basic Education, University Transfer, and Tourism and Hospitality. The Vigar Vocational Centre is devoted entirely to Trades Training, such as Aircraft Structures Technician, Heavy Duty and Commercial Transport Mechanics and more.
Port Alberni
There are two NIC facilities in Port Alberni: the Port Alberni campus and the Tebo Vocational centre. Port Alberni campus is composed of one main building, where students can attend classes in Nursing, Early Childhood Care and Education, University Transfer and more. The Port Alberni campus also contains a bookstore and library. The Tebo Vocational centre is devoted to trades training, and provides training for Automotive Technician, Carpentry Foundation, Joinery/Cabinetmaking, Welding and other vocations.
Port Hardy
The Mount Waddington Regional campus, located in Port Hardy, offers programming in University Transfer, Health Care, Business, Adult Basic Education, and more. The building contains a library, student services, and classrooms.
Centres
North Island College offers an educational facility in Ucluelet. This centre provides classrooms and access to Health Care, Business, Adult Basic Education and University Transfer programming.
Students and Faculty
In 2010/2011, 11,200 students completed courses and/or programs at the following locations:
