North Island College (NIC) is a comprehensive community college serving Northern Vancouver Island and the Central Coast of British Columbia since 1975. NIC offers adult basic education, academic, career, vocational, technical, and trades training programs. Credentials include four year degrees in Nursing, Fine Arts, and Business Administration, two year Associate degrees, diplomas, and certificates.

Close to snow capped mountains, pristine lakes and streams, and the Pacific Ocean, campuses are located in Campbell River, Comox Valley, Port Alberni, and Port Hardy with smaller centres in Ucluelet, Gold River, Cortes, and Bella Coola. While our locations provide a lifestyle sought after by nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts, NIC’s expert faculty provide students with quality instruction in reasonable class sizes.

Amongst the 70 unique credit programs that are available, three are worth highlighting: the Aircraft Structures Technician program, which is designed to address an expected shortage of trained personnel in the British Columbia aerospace industry; the Fine Arts undergraduate degree program that is offered in collaboration with Emily Carr Institute; and NIC’s Computer Science program that places grads all over the country. You don’t have to attend a big city technical college to get equivalent training.

Search the North Island College off-campus housing listing for more information: http://www.nic.bc.ca/services/campusinfo/transportationhousing.aspx

Need help? Talk to an educational advisor to create a plan that works for you. Educational advisors are available to help all NIC applicants and students, whether by person or by phone: https://www.nic.bc.ca/services/educationplanning/advising.aspx

For general questions email questions@nic.bc.ca or phone: 1-800-715-0914.

Each campus has the following career educational resource materials and research information available: calendars and catalogues from other colleges, institutes, and universities in Canada, and mini library of career information, career decision information, career inventories, CD ROMs, and online career planning tools. In addition, professional counsellors are available by appointment at the Campbell River, Comox Valley, and Port Alberni campuses to assist students with their career planning.

The community is very sports minded. There are many teams you may consider joining. Popular summer sports include baseball, soccer, swimming, kayaking, hiking, and mountain biking. Sports popular in winter include hiking, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, and running.

Students at NIC are welcome to participate in the North Island Student Association. There are also many clubs in the community, which welcome students to join.

North Island College endeavours to provide students with access to computers. Students in courses requiring computer access are given priority through scheduling of computer time. Campuses and centres also provide computers for general student use for research and preparation of assignments. Computers assigned for student use have word processing and spreadsheet capabilities, where possible, student computers will also allow Internet access for research and library catalogue searches.

The Comox Valley has a very active cultural life. We are home to several art galleries, aviation and paleontological museums, and performing arts companies. Each year there are hundreds of cultural events to attend and participate in.

Faculty are available by appointment at the Campbell River, Comox Valley, and Port Alberni campuses to provide confidential support services to students with disabilities. If these services are required, contact the Access for Students with Disabilities Department at the local campus. As funding may depend on outside agencies, we strongly recommend that you contact us at least eight months in advance. There are childcare services located in each of the four campus regions to provide assistance to student parents.

NIC is publicly funded and part of a network of public educational institutions in British Columbia. We have an extensive course and program transfer system. Our agreement with Vancouver Island University allows NIC students to complete a degree in Liberal Arts and Nursing. Our agreement with Emily Carr allows NIC to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts. All this on our Comox Valley Campus location.

NIC works with five partner institutions in North America to allow business students to study at partner sites. We also have agreements with educational institutions in Japan, Vietnam, and India.