Nipissing University - History

History

Nipissing University College was established in 1967 as an affiliate of Laurentian University in Sudbury, and received its charter as an independent university in 1992.

The university's roots go back as early as 1909, when the North Bay Normal School, a teacher training school, was established in the city. The school was renamed North Bay Teachers' College in 1953, and became Nipissing University College's faculty of education in 1967. After the university received a prestigious award in 2010, the Faculty of Education was renamed the Schulich School of Education.

Nipissing University was honoured with the Schulich designation as this distinguishes the faculty of education for its superior teacher education program and reputation for excellence in education. The Schulich School of Education at Nipissing University joins the Schulich School of Business at York University, the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario, the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University and the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary. In 2009, Nipissing University celebrated 100 Years of Teacher Education in Ontario. The university is proud of its roots and is regarded as one of Canada's foremost faculties of education with a strong emphasis of technology in the classroom.

Nipissing University is one of the largest providers for Additional Qualification courses for Teachers. The University offers courses online, on- site, and partially online. Every year the University receives around 5,000 registrations from Teachers across the Province that register for AQ, ABQ, Honour Specialist and Principals Qualification courses. Nipissing University is the only university in Ontario to offer the Advanced Bachelor of Education Degree. Since 1909 over 25,000 teachers have achieved their Teaching credentials from Nipissing University.

The governance of Nipissing University was modelled on the provincial University of Toronto Act of 1906 which established a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate (faculty), responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) exercising exclusive control over financial policy and having formal authority in all other matters. The president, appointed by the board, was to provide a link between the two bodies and to perform institutional leadership. Nipissing University has a strong emphasis on teacher education and nursing.

The Schulich School of Education at Nipissing University remains a popular choice for students in Ontario to obtain their Bachelor of Education Degree. Selection for the BEd. Degree is based primarily on academic average and the Faculty is one of Ontario's most competitive faculties of education to get admission. On December 14, 2001, the government of Ontario passed a bill revising the university's charter to permit it to grant graduate degrees. Nipissing University has a joint BEd. program with Wilfrid Laurier University for the Concurrent program. Nipissing University has one of the largest Faculties of Education in the Province with 750-800 Bachelor of Education students Consecutive, plus 150 from the joint program with Wilfrid Laurier University. On average the Faculty of Education receives over 7000 applications and enrolls between 750-800 students for the Bachelor of Education program.

The university is also widely known for its portrayal in Lynn Johnston's comic strip For Better or For Worse, in which Elizabeth Patterson was a student in the education program. Johnston lives near North Bay in real life, although the Patterson family was depicted as living in a fictional community in Southern Ontario.