Nov 14, 2024  
2025-2026 Academic Calendar 
    
2025-2026 Academic Calendar

Human Services-Educational Assistant/Community Support, Indigenous Focus Certificate


Learn intercultural communication skills and understand contemporary Canadian social and family issues, with a focus on Indigenous populations. As a specialized education assistant or community support worker, you will be prepared to provide support to individuals with a broad range of disabilities, bringing unique skills and training to the workplace to help integrate Indigenous cultural and curricular content - or transfer to NIC’s Human Services Diploma .

Admission Requirements


  1. Signed Human Services Requisite Skills and Abilities document.
  2. 300-word HSW Letter of Intent coming into the program and career goals. 

Indigenous Priority Admissions

North Island College is dedicated to improving its ability to meet the educational needs of Indigenous students. NIC’s Indigenization Plan, “Working Together” outlines our commitment to Indigenization, reconciliation and decolonization.  To further advance these goals, North Island College has reserved seating and priority admissions in many of our program for students of Indigenous ancestry. 

Applicants will be considered on a first-applied, first-qualified basis for all programs with the exception of Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree, where a selective admission process will be used.

To be considered for a priority admission seat, Indigenous students must:

  • Self-identify as an Indigenous person
  • Complete the Indigenous Priority Admission Request for a Reserved Seat form
  • Meet NIC’s general admission requirements, and/or specific program requirements 

Before Classes Begin

Once accepted to the program but before classes begin, you will be required to:

  • attend a group information session. This mandatory session is designed to assist students in making an informed decision about pursuing a career in Human Services. The admissions office will send you an invitation with details regarding the date and time of the information session.
  • hold a current Standard First Aid certification with CPR Level C that will remain valid through to the end of the program.
  • submit a Criminal Record Check Permission form, which will be sent to you by admissions office once you have been offered a seat in the program.
  • complete a Personal Immunization form. This form will be sent to you by the admissions office when you have a seat in the program. It must be validated by the public health nurse at your local health unit.

Note: Human services students are not required to meet the PSY 130  and PSY 131  prerequisites for registering in PSY 250  and PSY 251 . If you choose to work toward a degree, you may be required to complete PSY 130  and PSY 131 .

If you wish to reduce your workload, you can take ENG 116  before entering the program.

Course Requirements


Completion Requirements


  • A letter grade of C (60%) or better in all classes.
  • A letter grade of P (Pass) in all practicum courses.
  • Students must receive a letter grade of C (60%) or better in all certificate courses (HSW, SSW,    and    to be promoted from one term to the next term. A student who fails any course in the program cannot progress until the course is passed.    or    courses are not a requirement of progression but must be completed with a grade of C (60%) or better in order to obtain the credential.

This program may be completed in two ways:

1. Part-time. A limited number of seats per year are reserved for part-time admissionStudents admitted as part-time must successfully complete all required courses within seven years of admission. 

  •  Students admitted as part-time will complete the program courses in a pre-determined order. NIC advisors can assist students with this planning.

2. Full-time. Students admitted as full-time must successfully complete all required courses within seven years of admission.

  • Students who are invited to the program as full-time may not then switch to part-time. If students wish to give up their full-time seat and switch to part-time, they must re-apply to the program as a part-time student.
  • In order to repeat a course, you must reapply to the program in a subsequent offering of the same term in which the failure occurred providing there is an available seat. If in repeating the course, you fail again, then you will be removed entirely from the program and can only re-enter by going through the admission process. Please note that you may be required to begin at term one.
  • If you fail a course, re-enter the program and successfully repeat the failed course, and then fail another course, you will be removed entirely from the program and can only re-enter by going through the admission process. Please note that you may be required to begin at term one.
  • Re-entering the program under any circumstance is dependent on availability of seats and at the discretion of the human services department and in consultation with the dean. If you fail a course, you may be asked to complete a learning assessment prior to being reconsidered for re-admission. These regulations are important to the profession to ensure that graduates have the required skills and knowledge and are therefore deemed safe to practice.
  • All students are required to adhere to the program expectations document. Failure to adhere to these standards may result in your dismissal from the program.