The Centre for Teaching and Learning Innovation (CTLI) is North Island College’s teaching, learning and technology teaching commons for faculty, support staff and administration. The Centre staff assist the programs, people and places engaged in designing and facilitating quality student learning experiences.

We do this by creating high quality curriculum-supported learning opportunities, individual and group facilitated consulting support and developing resources to assist instructors in redesigning/designing evidence-based and pedagogically-sound learning for all students.
CTLI manages the institution’s program review process while supporting many programs each year as they progress through the phases and activities related to reflective renewal of quality academic programs. CTLI also manages the course feedback survey service and is committed to instructor support in all NIC learning technologies.

CTLI History

Early Years

North Island College originally had a teaching and learning committee for many years working together to bring in keynote speakers, special professional development sessions, workshops and learning opportunities. The committee shared resources, held gatherings to plan upcoming sessions and had a representative sit on the BC Teaching and Learning Council. Additional supports were given to short term positions to explore the impacts of the new BC K-12 curriculum on NIC courses and other teaching and learning initiatives.

Beginning a Centre

The teaching and learning centre officially began January 2020 with 3 staff members and a director and was named the Centre for Teaching and Learning Innovation. The staff jumped in to support instructors moving to digital delivery during the pandemic, as well as offering numerous learning experiences to enhance instructors’ digital competencies. With the launch of an institutional program review process in early 2020, the Centre staff worked with instructors to gather evidence, write self-studies, organize external review panels and engage in action plan items.

Office Space

In June of 2023, overnight a fire took out the physical spaces for the teaching and learning centre including all teaching, technology and learning resources. Staff had to transition to working from home until the Centre could be relocated and furniture purchased. In January of 2024, the staff were able to move into their new spaces located in the Trades Training Centre in the former Adult Basic Education offices. One of the two small classrooms was repurposed into 5 cubicle offices and 2 exam rooms were used as offices. The computer area was redesigned into a gathering space, coffee bar and lounge space with whiteboard and data projector for all sorts of uses. During the summer of 2024, the second small classroom underwent an upgrade to be a HyFlex/multi-modal training room and training space for Centre activities. Most of the materials lost in the fire a year earlier were repurchased and set up and so by June 2024 the Centre is open and functioning.

Growing from Within

Also in 2023, the Centre explored a new model of growing talent from within the College. Five limited term (10 month) positions were created to allow for exploration of the field of educational development by NIC instructors. Many learning experiences, observations and training activities occurred throughout the year. At the end of the 23/24 academic year, those temporary positions were converted into 2.5 FTE regular positions and 3 people were hired in regular positions. One of those positions is focused on Trades and Technical Programs and another one on Health and Human Services to provide specific supports for those areas needing discipline expertise.

Support for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

The Centre also helped train and support instructors using newly implemented technology platforms including web conferencing, video platforms, and digital learning environments. CTLI launched the Teach Anywhere website in June 2020 along with the Learn Anywhere website for students in digital learning in an effort to provide teaching and learning resources for faculty all in one convenient location.

CTLI aligns its work with the needs of instructors, the institutional strategic plan (BUILD 2026) and changes in teaching and learning especially with a focus on building flexible and accessible learning experiences for North Island College communities

How CTLI Can Support You

CTLI at North Island College has four areas of support for instructors:
1. Teaching and learning practices & pedagogies
2. Integration and appropriate use of learning technologies and online course design
3. Program review and quality assurance activities
4. Evidence-gathering and scholarly teaching activities to advance practice

On Campus with CTLI

CTLI has an office and gathering space in the Trades Building on the Comox Valley Campus. Instructors are welcome to use the gathering space as a place to work, connect with other faculty, and meet with CTLI staff.

CTLI Workshops

CTLI offers a range of workshops to assist you in expanding your understanding and competencies of quality student learning, along with sessions to support your technical abilities using tools such as Kaltura Virtual Classroom and Brightspace.

Workshops are advertised to faculty via email and are posted on the Workshops and Sessions Page of the Teach Anywhere site.

New Faculty Support

As a new faculty member, the CTLI team will endeavor to connect with you to ensure you are set up for success with your course design and delivery and that you are comfortable integrating into the NIC community. You may reach out at any time to CTLI for additional support.

Notable Information

As you navigate all of the new faculty onboarding, you may want to note and bookmark the following for easy access:

CTLI Teaching and Learning Site
CTLI Program Review Process Site
CTLI email – CTLI@nic.bc.ca

Academic Quality Enhancement

The Centre’s priorities include supporting the work of academic quality enhancement to ensure our programs and courses are current, relevant and timely with new processes, policies and procedures about curriculum, learning outcomes and evidence of student learning.
Providing quality academic programming is essential to supporting the success of NIC students, ensuring education is current and relevant, inclusive of different perspectives and cultures, Indigenous ways of knowing and being and well-rounded to support ongoing growth.

Quality academic programs and courses:

• Support the development of critical thinking, problem-solving skills and lifelong learning
• Contributes to social, cultural, and economic prosperity of the region, province, and country
• Supports the growth and enhancement of the country’s workforce, drives creativity, innovation and community engagement, and produces academic and applied research

NIC uses evidence-informed practices and accesses timely research and insights into how learning works and works to create and offer the most engaging and robust learning experiences for students.

Program Review

Program review is a faculty-led, collaborative, and evidence-based examination of a program or program area’s quality including things like curriculum, student learning experiences, assessments, teaching practices, collaborative activities, instructor qualifications and professional learning.
Institutional program review is one of NIC’s quality enhancement functions and is required by the Ministry’s Degree Quality Assessment Board (DQAB). DQAB conducts an audit of NIC’s Program Review process every seven to eight years to ensure compliance with the Ministry’s quality assurance requirements. NIC has formalized its institutional review of academic programming via Policy 3-11 – Program Review.

All NIC credit and credentialed programs undergo the program review process every seven years, but the process is flexible to meet the unique needs of diverse courses, programs, and disciplines.

Below is the typical schedule that Departments will follow for Program Review.

Documentation, instructions, and video tutorials for each phase of Program Review can be found on the NIC Program Review Process site. Also refer to Chapter 13 for a more fulsome look at Quality Assurance, Program Review, and the student learning journey.

To view current and upcoming programs that are undergoing and preparing for Program Review please explore this Program Review document found on the NIC Program Review Process site.