Time for a Farewell to NWCC, as province approves name change to Coast Mountain College

Change is coming to post secondary education in the Northwest
with the province having now given its approval for the change
of name for Northwest Community College, with the new
name of Coast Mountain College to be rolled out through the summer

The process has taken a little longer than probably first anticipated, however the quest to re-brand the regional community college in the Northwest has been approved by the Provincial government, which has officially given its blessing to the renaming of NWCC to Coast Mountain College.

NWCC gets go ahead to change name to Coast Mountain College

From Terrace, College President Ken Burt outlined how much work went into the proposal in the last few years and what factors were considered before making the application.

“We are very excited about this new and exciting direction for the college ... Our staff and faculty have been working hard during this planning process to explore unique ways of achieving our goal of becoming the college of choice for experiential place-based learning and the name change is one key part of that.”

“We do not take this name change lightly ... This exciting new change is done with tremendous respect for the more than four decades of history that Northwest Community College has in the communities we serve and the staff, faculty and administrators that built this institution.”

The announcement of the province's approval today by the college, brings to a conclusion a lengthy period of studies, community engagement and discussions with provincial officials.

Included in that tour was an appearance in front of Prince Rupert City Council in October of last year, where college representatives outlined their plans for the community.

You can review that information sharing session below, it starts at the very beginning of the Council session.





The changeover will go into effect as of June 18th, which means that this years graduating class of 2018 will be the last to graduate from their post secondary studies as students of Northwest Community college, making the upcoming commencement ceremonies one's that will be quite symbolic for those taking part.

The path towards the new name provided for more than a few twists and turns, including a change in the provincial government and some resistance from residents in many communities across the region who had an attachment to the Northwest Community College brand and presence.

The name change comes after a challenging year for the college which saw the closure of the Houston campus one year ago owing to declining student enrolment and economic concerns in the Bulkley Valley.

The quest to increase its visibility also comes as other institutions begin to explore the Northwest, with the Merritt based, Nicola Valley Institute offering a number of course options across the region through many First Nations communities across the Northwest.

The name change was considered a key element to re-branding the institution, as well as to attract students from around the world to the region to take on their post secondary studies.

The process to changeover the name began to pick up steam back in February of last year,  after consultation with a number of stakeholders, the short list of four was reduced to one last September, when the college rolled out its plan to seek a changeover to Coast Mountain College.

The College then began it's work on exploring its preference with Ministry of Advanced Education officials over the winter, after about two and half years of study and preparation for the proposal.

You can trace some of the more recent background towards today's announcement from the college below:


2018

March 6 -- Province still examining NWCC quest for name change to Coast Mountain College


2017

October 19 -- City Council offers support for NWCC name change; along with a bit of advice
October 16 -- NWCC officials to seek support for name change from City Council tonight
October 13 -- SD52 will oppose proposed name change for Northwest Community College
September 28 -- NWCC seeks bids to refresh college website
September 18 -- Northwest Community College proposes new name
July 24 -- Say farewell to the NWCC Thunderbird
April 5 -- Northwest Community College narrows its name change list to four
February 9 -- Northwest Community College has expansion plans and maybe a name change on the horizon for the region


For more items of interest related to the college operations in the Northwest see our archive page here.



Cross posted from the North Coast Review