Aurora College is exploring whether there is enough interest to introduce a post-degree Bachelor of Education program here in Yellowknife.
A program of that kind would allow students who already hold a bachelor’s degree in Arts or Science to take an accelerated path to becoming a teacher without leaving the territory.
School officials will be holding an open house on Thursday night to determine if there’s enough interest.
“We’ve heard some feedback that a post-degree option for a Bachelor of Education is something the community might want,” said Dave Porter, Chair of Aurora College’s School of Education.
“A number of people have expressed an interest after returning to the North with either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science looking to get into teaching.
“We want to ladder up on education they’ve already taken at the post-secondary level and get them moving towards a goal they’ve set for themselves.”
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Currently, the Bachelor of Education at Aurora College is offered as a four-year program at Thebacha Campus in Fort Smith.
Porter believes a post-graduate option could help the territory retain some of its young educators.
“It’s an opportunity to get our northern people back into classrooms to work with our youth and strengthen the profession here in the Northwest Territories.”
“We’ve had some informal conversations and some informal feedback so this is an opportunity for the college to do some clear research in that market and find out exactly what the real needs are.”
Thursday’s open house will be held at Aurora’s Yellowknife campus between 5pm and 8pm.
