Indigenous Education and Community Engagement

Supporting the success of Indigenous learners for the benefit of future generations.

• Indigenous student services
• Locations and contact information
• About us
• Become a VCC student
• Funding & financing
• Other on-campus services

Indigenous student services

VCC's Indigenous Education and Community Engagement team offers friendly, helpful, one-stop student support in a safe and relaxed atmosphere. We are dedicated to creating a safe and empowering environment for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis learners.

Indigenous Education and Community Engagement provides a range of services including:

• Program advising
• Assistance with applications, funding, and education and career planning
• Liaison between student and VCC programs and services, First Nation administration, sponsoring agencies and community resources
• Assistance with transition into VCC and/or transfer to another post-secondary institution
• Confidential Elder support
• Cultural workshops and celebrations with Elders
• Enhanced support to ensure overall student success

VCC campuses have beautiful Indigenous Gathering Places featuring computers, resource textbooks, lounge, study and kitchen areas.

Locations and contact information

Email: indigenous@vcc.ca 

Broadway campus, level 2, building B, room 2232

Downtown campus, level 1, room 100M

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About Us

VCC’s Indigenous Education and Community Engagement team offers friendly, helpful, one-stop student support in a safe and relaxed atmosphere.

We are dedicated to creating a safe and empowering environment for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis learners.

Our Downtown and Broadway campuses are located on land that is the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples (Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations).

Aboriginal Service Plan

Public post-secondary institutions work with Aboriginal communities and organizations to develop and implement an Aboriginal Service Plan (ASP); a three-year rolling strategic plans that enhance the post-secondary educational experiences and outcomes of Aboriginal learners.

The ASP is a provincial initiative funded by the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training with the the goals to:

• increase the access, retention, completion and transition opportunities for Aboriginal learners;
• strengthen partnerships and collaboration in Aboriginal post-secondary education; and
• increase the receptivity and relevance of post-secondary institutions and programs for Aboriginal learners, and provide support for initiatives that address barriers

The proposed activities in VCC's 2018-2021 ASP were developed in recognition of the needs of the broader community, faculty, and students. These programs and initiatives were designed to have a significant positive impact on institutional engagement, increasing meaningful collaboration and involvement with urban and rural Aboriginal community partners.

Partnerships

VCC are a signatory of the College and Institutes Canada (CICan) Indigenous Education Protocol that agrees to commit to making Indigenous education a priority.

We are also a proud member of the Coastal Corridor Consortium, a partnership that works to improve levels of participation and success for Aboriginal learners in post-secondary education and training in the Coastal Corridor region.

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Become a VCC Student

As a new student at VCC, you'll find a variety of opportunities that may assist you with your program planning, such as regularly scheduled information sessions and tours. Indigenous advisors can help with pre-admission services such as requesting band funding for your education and gathering your education records and transcripts for your application. 

VCC serves a large Indigenous population that is underrepresented in post-secondary education, and offers priority registration to qualified Indigenous students in all courses and programs. Candidates are invited to self-declare when applying for admission to the college.

Learn more about your program or course of interest online, find out about enrolment information, or book an appointment with an Indigenous advisor or program advisor who can assist you by interpreting the college's policies and develop an educational plan to meet your academic, career and life goals. They also help with your transition into VCC programs as well as transfers. Advisors are committed to help make your path to school and experience at VCC a successful one.

To book an appointment, call 604.443.8453 or email indigenous@vcc.ca.

If you need to write an assessment to enter a program within VCC please visit our Assessment Centre.

Start an education plan. Some tools that may assist you are:

• Education Planner
• Labour market information

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Funding & Financing

At VCC, Indigenous students can access a wealth of information to help fund their education.  VCC's Financial Aid and Awards office helps students access a variety of scholarships, bursaries and student loan programs. 

Aboriginal Advisors are here to help you navigate through various funding options, including Band funding and financial supports for Métis students. To book an appointment with an Aboriginal Advisor, please send an email to indigenous@vcc.ca

Student Loans

• BC Student Loan
• Canada Student Loan programs

Youth Education Assistance Fund for Former Youth in Care 

• Former youth in care grant

Scholarships and Bursaries for Indigenous Students

• Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada bursaries search tool
• BC Hydro Indigenous scholarships and bursaries
• First Nations Health Authority scholarships and bursaries
• First Citizens Fund bursary program
• Holiday Inn Vancouver Downtown Indigenous scholarship program
• Indspire scholarships, bursaries, and awards
• New Relationship Trust scholarships and bursaries
• Chief Joe Mathias BC Aboriginal scholarship fund
• Health Sciences Association bursary for Aboriginal students
• Irving K Barber Indigenous awards

Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS)

The Aboriginal Skills and Training Employment Strategy (ASETS) is a program for Indigenous people (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) who are looking to improve their job skills and find employment. 

To access the programs and services available to you, please find an ASETS service delivery organization near you. 

Lower Mainland regional offices:

• ACCESS, West Vancouver
• Métis Nation BC, Surrey

Additional information

For more information about post-secondary support for First Nations and Inuit students, read the Post Secondary Student Support Program and University and College Entrance Preparation Program – National Program Guidelines 2018-2019. 

Other On-campus Services

VCC students also have access to a number of other on-campus services, such as:

• Child care
• Health care coverage
• Free professional tutoring
• Library
• ‌Counselling offices
• Students' Union of Vancouver Community College

"In the past all of our Nations of people, red, yellow, black and white were hunters of the land and waters. We all used the natural resources available to us, however today in our urban societies these resources are limited, and in order to survive we must maintain our cultures and become modern day hunters through education - degrees, diplomas, and technical trades are the tools that will allow us to grow into the future." ~ Elder Leonard George