Yellowknife college receives accreditation for two programs

A Yellowknife-based college can now offer two accredited logistics programs. 

The N.W.T. Department of Education granted the College of Northern Canada approval in mid-July for a certificate program and a diploma.

Both accreditations are valid for three years.  

Norman Yak'e ula, a member of the college's elders council, said logistics is important for the territory as it continues to deal with devastating wildfires. 

"Pat on the back to the [territorial government's] people for realizing that the importance," he said. 

Yak'e ula said the college has worked with the territorial government over the past few years to get to this point. 

CBC News reached out to the college's president and vice president, but didn't receive a response. 

It's unclear how many professors at the school are from the North or work in the North. 

Yak'e ula says now that some programs have accreditation, the hope is to get Indigenous instructors working at the college. 

"We're working on and we're looking at the Indigenous instructors that are qualified that are very knowledgeable in the traditional knowledge and are recognized by post-secondary institutions across Canada," he said. 

The college has also previously listed several Indigenous leaders as advisers, many of whom have said they weren't actually involved. 

Initially denied accreditation

The College of Northern Canada began offering programming about a year ago. Around that time, it had its initial accreditation applications denied, partially due to not appearing to have an understanding of Northern Canada. 

The applications for those programs were posted online so the public could share feedback on them 

The programs that were just recently approved, however, were not posted publicly beforehand.  

Agata Gutkowska, a spokesperson for the department of Education, said in an email that in this case, the originally rejected application from 2023 found that program was both in demand and sustainable within the N.W.T. However, it could only operate if it met the quality assurance standard. 

"With this system co-ordination review only completed one year prior, it was determined that it would not be necessary to repeat this process for other logistics programs, given the recently approved review in this area," she wrote.

That means with the program meeting the quality assurance standard, there was no need to repeat the full review which aims to determine if a program is both sustainable in the N.W.T. and in demand.

In a previous interview with CBC News, a manager with the Education department said accreditation means that a program has a minimum quality standard. 

It also means students attending the school can access the territory's student financial aid.