This college listed N.W.T. Indigenous leaders as faculty. Some say they were never involved at all.

Several Indigenous leaders who were listed for months by the College of Northern Canada as advisers say they aren't really associated with the college at all.

The new Yellowknife-based private college, which had its grand opening ceremony in mid-July, promises to serve northerners by offering programming tailored for Indigenous people from remote communities. In June, the N.W.T. government formally rejected its application to offer diplomas, but the college is still offering non-accredited courses.

Until CBC asked questions about it, the college's website listed four well-known N.W.T. leaders as part of its faculty: Steven Nitah, Danny Gaudet, Tom Beaulieu and Norman Yake' ula.

In late July, Nitah, a former negotiator and territorial politician, and Gaudet, chief of the Délı̨nę Got'ı̨nę Government, told CBC News they heard about the idea a few years ago and were generally supportive of a northern college — but no one from the college has been in touch in the years since then.

CBC News reached out to the College of Northern Canada about this discrepancy Monday but didn't receive a response. However, as of Tuesday morning, Nitah and Gaudet were removed from the website. 

Beaulieu, who is still listed on the website, said he had been helping the college on a volunteer basis. Beaulieu said he no longer has the time, since he took on the role of administrator of Fort Resolution in July.

He said he'll send the odd email to the college, but had nothing to do with setting it up and didn't have any involvement in the courses. 

The fourth adviser, Yake' ula, told CBC News he is still actively involved.

In an email to CBC News in late May, Louis Blais, vice-president of business development and marketing for the college, said it would be using a co-teaching model where each course would be taught by both a southern and a northern professor.

CBC News asked how this will work with only one Indigenous and northern member of the team. However, repeated follow-up requests to the college were not answered.

CBC News also reached out to all the listed faculty (except one who couldn't be found online) to ask if they live in Yellowknife, whether they will work in Yellowknife and what they will be teaching. Of the 13, three responded to redirect CBC to Blais.

In an email sent in late May, Blais wrote that "while the [College of Northern Canada] website shows 16 faculty, CNC also draws on additional instructors on a course-by-course basis from local communities."

Public tuition and international students

The faculty page wasn't the only recent change on the website.

A section has now been added that lists the costs of the available courses. For example, the college's logistics pathways course is $1,400 per course. 

Additionally, a webpage titled "About Northwest Territories" originally featured a photo of what appeared to be a Nordic coastal community. 

CBC News emailed the college about this on Monday, and the following day the photo was replaced with one of Yellowknife. 

The college takes international students, though it isn't a designated learning institution — meaning students can only attend short-term courses or programs there and can't get study permits to attend the college. 

Chehrazade Aboukinane, the college's president, said the college is honest about what it offers them.

"Our students know that we have no intentions in delivering a diploma at the moment or a degree … so they already know; their goals are a little bit different from typical students that come from overseas," she said in an interview with CBC News in May. 

Dale McCartney, an assistant professor at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C., who studies international student policy and international higher education, said looking at the school's website, it doesn't make clear exactly where the students will be attending classes. He said international students may not actually know where Yellowknife is, and might expect to be learning somewhere that's far different from reality.

"It's very challenging to explain to someone where Yellowknife is if they don't really understand [Canada's geography]," he said.

It isn't just Yellowknife, he added — in his experience, private colleges often aren't clear about where exactly on a map the campus is located. 

That can have an impact on students when they arrive to study, he said.