FNTI a "promising practice" in Abo-PSE

Yesterday was National Aboriginal Day and, as such, it was the perfect time for two announcements in Aboriginal post-secondary education.

First, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) released the report, "Answering the Call: The 2010 inventory of Canadian university programs and services for Aboriginal students," the results of a survey conducted by the AUCC of its member organizations regarding Aboriginal access to mainstream post-secondary education. The 30-page document is available for download at the link.

As well, the Assembly of First Nations released a discussion paper called "Taking Action for First Nations Post-Secondary Education: Access, Opportunity, and Outcomes," where it identifies FNTI as one of eight "promising practices" in Aboriginal post-secondary education. The report reads:

The First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI) opened in 1985 as a result of partnerships among the Tyendinaga Mohawk Council, the FNTI Board, the Department of Indian Affairs and the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training. FNTI's approaches to Aboriginal post-secondary over the years includes alternative delivery methods such as intensive course offerings, use of video-conferencing technology and community delivering of programming. They believe that, "by taking the education to the people, we have removed one barrier to access. By changing the delivery schedule we have removed another. Our final step is to create active, participatory learning environments which respond to the cultural and socio-economic needs of our learners.

This 30-page discussion paper, developed by a panel of ten First Nations educators and administrators from across Canada, is available for download at the AFN website.