Academic Programs and Curriculum

The School of Continuing Studies is primarily a teaching faculty but also an incubator for innovative approaches to professional and lifelong learning grounded in applied research and practice. It was through a research grant that SCS launched the University’s first online program for Indigenous learners living in remote communities. To date, we have developed six programs specifically for Indigenous learners.

In this area, SCS demonstrates its commitment to innovation and leadership in the integration and understanding of Indigenous culture and knowledge into our program curricula and pedagogy. We aim to design academic content that is holistic, welcoming, and reflective of the realities of Indigenous students. For example, most textbooks and case studies are likely to be written by non-Indigenous authors, and the content of book chapters or articles often reflects big business or urban settings with Western ideologies and perspectives. We believe that incorporating the ideas, experiences, and perspectives of Indigenous learners and researchers into our academic content will make our courses and programming richer and more inclusive.

Beyond improving the inclusion of Indigenous learners, SCS recognizes that it is critical to offer opportunities for all students, SCS faculty members, and course lecturers to gain awareness of Indigenous epistemologies, values, and worldviews. We will ensure that SCS faculty members and course lecturers are able to participate successfully in this area of the initiative, and we will reach out to community leaders, Indigenous faculty, and Indigenous organizations to work with us in offering cultural awareness training.
We focus on playing a significant role in creating transitional access to diverse programming, obtaining university credentials, and developing and fostering strong relationships with various partners to build capacity within Indigenous communities.

Indigenous Peoples face barriers intersecting geographic, economic, and technological barriers to higher education. In this area, we will take key steps to address some of these barriers. For instance, Indigenous learners who live in rural or remote communities generally do not have local access to higher education. In order to pursue postsecondary education, they must leave their communities to live and study in larger population centres where they are disconnected from their support networks and may feel isolated and out of place. We will make SCS courses and programs more accessible to Indigenous learners in part through diverse modes of delivery. This means developing programs that are community based, online, on- or off-campus, cohort-based, intensive, and/or summer programs. Many of these programs will also allow Indigenous learners to engage with the University community while maintaining strong relationships with their support networks at home.