More than 130 students across the North Island enrolled in Dual Credit — early-entry coursework in February.
This level of expansion exceeded even the most optimistic projections for this early phase in the collaborative partnership.
One major value added derived from the North Island Partnership has been the sharing of ideas and expertise amongst the partner school districts, to the benefit of students and communities across the northern Vancouver Island region.
The North Island Partnership, now in its third year, is the formal collaboration of North Island College with the school districts of Alberni Valley, Comox Valley, Campbell River, Vancouver Island North and Vancouver Island West, in a project mandated to create Dual Credit early-entry program opportunities for students enrolled in secondary schools from Port Alberni to Port Hardy.
In this current school year, the model has begun to pay dividends in quite extraordinary ways.
Over the past year, officials and teachers in the Port Alberni School District have worked closely with staff and administration from the local Alberni NIC campus. The result is a dramatic expansion of the programs developed over the initial two years of the partnership, allowing full cohorts of ADSS Grade 12 students to use this, their last semester before graduation, to take university transfer coursework in psychology and criminology at NIC.
Having heard about the new course developments through communication facilitated by the partnership, the Campbell River School District, aided by the partnership co-ordinator and working with the appropriate dean, developed its own university-transfer offering in psychology with a full class of Grade 12s enrolled when the course opened in February.
Students in the other partner districts have also benefited, with students from Gold River, Port McNeill and Comox also beginning university-transfer coursework.
In a similar vein, skilled trades models first refined in Campbell River through intensive negotiations brokered by the transition co-ordinator during the 2009-2010 school year, have contributed to allowing students from the Comox Valley to enter carpentry at the new Skill Centre at NIC Comox Valley, and culinary under the new provincial format, in January.
“The negotiations tend to be complex, in all course and program areas,” says Bob Thompson, regional student transition co-ordinator for the partnership, “because with each step taken, all parties at both secondary and post-secondary know they are setting precedents.
"Full credit to NIC, by the way, the only college in the province to move these courses from their traditional early January start to the February dates more complementary to the timetables of secondary schools.”
The result of these cumulative efforts is 130 plus students entering college coursework as of either Jan. 31 or Feb. 7 this year across a full spectrum of skilled trades, business-tourism, education and university-transfer options now being offered via NIC facilities in Port Alberni, Courtenay, Campbell River, Gold River and Port McNeill-Port Hardy.
Adding these students to those who started this past September makes the total dual credit enrollment for 2010-2011 more than 170 students — or roughly 7.25 per cent of the total Grade 12 enrollment in the region.
Developing this willingness to share, and the implementing of systemic mechanisms designed to encourage the sharing of information and ideas, has been a priority of the North Island Partnership.
It has increased numbers from 13 students total in September, 2008, the first semester of the collaboration, to the enrollment for this year. It also has resulted in scholarships opportunities for students throughout the region and grants for the districts.
“Just as an example, every school district partner of the North Island Partnership has received grant money to encourage secondary school apprenticeships,” explains Thompson.
More growth is anticipated.
For the first time, all five districts and the college have recently signed off on ‘regional’ letters of understanding in specific course areas for implementation in September 2011 and February 2012. Combined with more pilot projects in the pipeline, also intended for this coming school year, opportunities for students and families continue to increase.
For more information, visit http://northislandpartnership.ca or e-mail
bthompson@northislandpartnership.ca.
— North Island Partnership