NORTH WEST COLLEGE – OVERVIEW

NWC is one of eight publicly funded colleges in Saskatchewan. The Regional College system, as a collective, serves 26% of all students utilizing less than 8% of the entire provincial PostSecondary budget. As independent institutions who serve the needs of our respective communities, and as a collective system through the collaborative efforts of the Association of Saskatchewan Regional Colleges (ASRC), colleges not only play a key and integral role for the economic success of the province, but they do so efficiently given our funding allocations. Spanning over 44,000 square kilometers, one-third of Saskatchewan’s First Nations communities are situated within NWC’s service catchment area (Fig. 1). One third of the region’s 91,000 residents are of aboriginal descent. North West College delivered programming in 23 communities during 2020-21, including 15 First Nations. There is a greater proportion of youth in the province relative to other parts of the country. This poses both challenges and opportunities for the delivery of basic education and post-secondary education. With over 60% of the student body having self-declared aboriginal ancestry, the College is making strong gains towards enhancing educational attainment, employment and social outcomes in the region. i) Approximately 1,750 distinct students in 2020-21. ii) NWC is one of the province’s major providers of Adult Basic Education. iii) NWC delivers brokered curriculum while providing personalized support critical to student success. iv) In addition to Institute Credit programs, NWC will continue to invest in University programming to meet the demand of our students and industry in our region. v) Including all program areas, indigenous students (self-identifying as First Nations, Métis or Inuit) represented 63% of our full-time and part-time students in 2020-21. vi) NWC continues to experience steady demand in English as an Additional Language (EAL) programming due to increased immigration to the NWC region.

Student Services provide the value-added and individualized guidance needed to remove barriers to student success and addresses labour market needs. A comprehensive intake process, regular meetings with Student Services staff, career counselling and job coach services ensure that students feel valued through their education experience and supported as they successfully enter into the labour market.

• 91,000 residents in 2 cities, 48 towns and villages, 29 Rural Municipalities and 26 First

Nations • Home of 1/3 of Saskatchewan’s First Nations Communities • Major industries: Health Care, Retail Trade, Public administration, Educational services,

Accommodation and Food Services, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting,

Manufacturing, Arts, Entertainment and Recreation, Finance and Insurance and

Construction