Northwest Community College proposes new name

More change is coming to NWCC, with a proposed name change
now part of a process of consultation for college officials

Coast Mountain College, that's the name that the NWCC selection panel has identified as the proposed new name for the Northwest educational institution.

In a media release issued today, NWCC outlined how with the new name now selected, the final stage of community engagement will now get underway across the region.

As outlined by college officials, the proposed new name comes after two years of research and strategic planning, a process which involved staff, faculty, students, alumni and community members.

The planning was in support of the college's goal of becoming the college of choice for experiential place-based learning by 2027.

As part of today's announcement, NWCC President and CEO Ken Burt highlighted the approach the college is taking to delivering post-secondary education in the region.

“The work we did with staff, students and community around the strategic planning process really demonstrated that the core purpose of the college is to create adventurous pathways to transform lives,” 

“Our students are learning in some of the most unique classrooms in the world – from oceans and glaciers, to First Nations language classes and culturally significant locations in the region. Our unique field schools are giving students a chance to bring their studies to life outside the four walls of a traditional classroom.”

The process of reducing the list of proposed names from 30 to one started in 2016, with the process then picking up steam earlier this year.

In April NWCC officials had settled on  four names that made the final cut, leading up to today's announcement that declares that the majority of those that were surveyed preferred Coast Mountain College.

Among the themes that called to those who responded to the survey was the belief that the new name speaks to the rugged and sprawling area of the province that the college serves and is aspirational in nature.

College representatives will now embark on a three week engagement period with members of the college community across the Northwest and Haida Gwaii seeking to determine the level of support for the proposed name change.

Following that engagement process, letters of support will be forwarded to the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training along with formal request to change the college's names.

How some of the campus locations across the region respond to the proposed name could make for some interesting observations.

By selecting Coast Mountain College, the Terrace based college is following a path highlighted by the public school system in the Skeena region, which is known as the Coast Mountains School District.

The upcoming engagement process will also offer up some indication as to how the NWCC campuses of Smithers, Prince Rupert and Haida Gwaii view the proposed name and whether Coast Mountain College will make for a good fit for their communities, as well as embrace the scope of territory that the college serves.

The move to change the name of the college in the region comes after NWCC recently removed its iconic Thunderbird logo, that decision was made earlier this year after concerns about cultural appropriation.

A review of today's proposed name change announcement can be found here.

More notes related to Northwest Community College can be examined on our archive page.