Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
PA-4: Diversity and Equity Coordination

ABORIGINAL AWARENESS COURSE - TAD600: The Aboriginal Awareness course is a cohort-based, facilitated online course delivered using Moodle and Adobe Connect that is available for all NAIT community members to take. The course is hosted by NAIT and is also offered on eCampusAlberta, an online study platform comprised of 900 online courses and 70 programs offered by 26 Alberta post-secondary institutions. There is no tuition fee for eCampusAlberta-sponsored participants who register in this course. TAD600 provides participants with the opportunity to increase awareness of Aboriginal cultures and explore how to better support of students, staff, and colleagues. Using videos and personal narratives, Inuit, Metis and Cree history, contemporary issues, and ways of learning and knowing will be explored. Participants will reflect on Aboriginal cultures, and will examine the effects of colonization and racism through course content and interaction with Metis Elder Gisele Wood, Inuit Elder Peggy Richardson, and Cree Elder Walter Bonaise. There will be opportunities provided for personal reflection and application of course content as participants focus on understanding as a path to greater self-awareness and Aboriginal student, staff, and colleague support. This online course is asynchronous and you can enter at any time during the week to access the content and participate in the activities. There are no papers to complete and no examinations to write, although each week there is at least one interactive activity to complete and the Elders will hold an optional office hour to explore content and questions. http://www.nait.ca/course_TAD600.asp SAFE SPACES: Safe Spaces is an initiative to mark safe and inclusive spaces for students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirited, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ). Safe Spaces office stickers identify staff members who have attended a workshop to be a resource for sexual and gender minority students. The workshop includes: - exploring terminology - understanding the realities of sexual and gender minority students - identifying strategies for creating safe and inclusive learning and working environments Though trained staff may not have all the answers, they welcome conversations and questions. Staff are also prepared to help students find resources on campus and in the community. http://www.nait.ca/93753.htm PD DAY SESSIONS: NAIT's Organizational Development department puts on an annual Professional Development Day open to all NAIT employees. PD Day typically has a session relating to cultural competence. Examples of sessions offered at PD Day in 2014 include: - INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS 101 Discuss the importance of finding cultural similarities without minimizing differences. Talking about culture helps us learn where we come from and how we can adapt to the worksite/classroom without losing cultural and language identity. In this interactive workshop, participants will be led through several lesson ideas which help explain 1) concept of time, 2) communication styles, and 3) hierarchy. - CHANGE BEFORE OUR EYES: EDMONTON'S RAPIDLY INCREASING CULTURAL DIVERSITY This presentation highlights recent immigration trends in Edmonton as well as some of the factors fueling our current immigration boom. Edmonton’s changing demographics will pose new challenges for post-secondary institutions as more newcomers view education as key to their successful settlement in Canada. - VALUING DIVERSITY Discuss diversity and share personal experiences in an attempt to recognize our own attitudes, prejudices, biases, and assumptions as we interact with one another. Examine the layers of diversity to gain further insights into your own and others’ cultures in order to increase cultural awareness

In a joint venture between NAIT and NAITSA (NAIT’s Student’s Union), the role of an Ombudsperson has been created and will be launched on March 13th. Serving as an independent, impartial, informal and confidential resource to students and staff, NAIT’s Ombudsperson provides guidance on academic, interpersonal, and discipline-related issues pertaining to student academic or non-academic matters. This role promotes procedural fairness within NAIT’s policy, procedure and guideline structure, and assists students with conflict resolution by analyzing problems, collaboratively developing options and outlining consequences. The Ombudsperson is an impartial advocate for due process and acts as an educational resource for the NAIT community. The successful candidate will advise students on their rights and responsibilities, using a student-centred and developmental approach.