Population: 39,407
Number of K-12 Schools: 45
Number of K-12 Students: 10,902
.
Number of K-12 Distance Learning Programs: 0
Number of K-12 Distance Learning Students: Unknown

Note that these profiles are taken from the most recent edition of the report, please review additional annual profiles below.

The research team did not receive a response from officials in the Government of Nunavut to our repeated requests for information. As such, updates to this profile for the 2023-24 school year are limited and based on data provided by key stakeholders and document analysis.

Governance and Regulation

The Education Act, 1999 allows various educational bodies to “authorize, supervise and evaluate the use of distance learning programs in the provision of the education program” (p. 75). The Department of Education defines distance learning as involving the use of appropriate technologies to provide learning experiences for students who are physically separated from their instructor for the majority of the learning process (Government of Nunavut, n.d.). Distance education applies to courses that cannot be offered due to insufficient numbers of students or when the subject matter is highly technical, requiring specialized teaching staff that may not be available in the community. Distance education can be delivered as on-line courses or as print courses.

Historically, there were also territorial agreements between Nunavut and various distance learning providers in Alberta and Ontario. On May 29, 2023, the Minister of Education issued an Operational Directive: Kindergarten-12 Distance Learning indicating that the Vista Virtual School and the Centre francophone d’education à distance were currently the two authorized distance learning providers (Government of Nunavut, 2023). The directive also defines distance learning, outlines the scope of its use in the territory, and then provides a list of responsibilities for a variety of stakeholders (e.g., parents, the student, and the school principal and other administrators).

Distance education and/or online learning is not funded differently than traditional brick-and-mortar education. However, territorial students who are officially registered as part of a homeschooling program are eligible to receive up to $1000 of expense reimbursement for distance education programs to cover the costs of registration fees, books, and equipment (Government of Nunavut, 2016).

K-12 Distance and Online Learning Activity

The Department of Education has indicated in the past that it tracks student enrollment information through its agreements with distance learning providers. It is not known the status or level of activity from any of these agreements.

K-12 Blended Learning Activity

At present, the Department of Education is not involved in any blended learning initiatives.

References

Government of Nunavut. (n.d.). Distance education. https://www.gov.nu.ca/en/education-and-schools/distance-education

Government of Nunavut. (2016). Operational directive: Homeschooling reimbursements by DEAs/CSFN. https://www.gov.nu.ca/sites/default/files/policies-legislations/2024-12/Homeschooling_Reimbursement_Directive__2015__New_coming_in_2025_.pdf

Government of Nunavut. (2023). Operational directive: Kindergarten-12 distance learning. https://www.gov.nu.ca/sites/default/files/documents/2024-12/K_to_12_Distance_Learning_Directive_2023.pdf

Previous Territorial Profiles

History of K-12 E-Learning

When Nunavut was first created in 1999, it continued to utilize the Education Act, 1996 – a piece of legacy legislation from the Northwest Territories.  In this legislature there was a provision that allowed various educational bodies to “authorize, supervise and evaluate the use of distance learning programs in the provision of the education program” (p. 58). This legislation was updated with the Nunavut Education Act, 2008, which only referenced  distance education in  a statement that a university providing “distance learning programs by mail or by electronic means from outside Nunavut to persons in Nunavut” was not considered to be operating in the territory (p. 95).

Since the inception of this study, Nunavut has not had any active K-12 distance education programs.  While the Ministry of Education has stated that there have been pilot programs in the past, there has been no information found or provided about these pilot projects.  Around 2012, the Ministry indicated it was developing a ministerial directive regarding access to and delivery of distance education.

The State of the Nation: K-12 E-Learning in Canada study has always reported that students from Nunavut have only enrolled in distance education offered through the Alberta Distance Education Centre.

Vignettes

Individual Program Survey Responses

Program Most recent response  Medium  # of Students  # of Teachers  # of Courses 
N/A

To update this information, visit http://tinyurl.com/sotn-program-survey

Inter-territorial and International

If a student in Nunavut wished to receive credit for a course taken from an online program in another province or territory the process varies depending on where the online program is located. If the online program is located in Alberta, the list of specific transfer credits is available in advance and specific equivalencies are automatically granted (i.e., due to the fact that the Nunavut senior secondary core program is linked to the Alberta course curriculum). If the online program is located in another province or territory the school principal would request the curricular information from the jurisdiction from which the course originates. Where the online course can be shown to be equivalent to an existing credit course contained in the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada Student Transfer Guide, the guide outlines the steps for credit transfer. Finally, using online programs from a jurisdiction other than Alberta would require Ministerial approval. The same process would occur if the online program was located in another country.

As Nunavut does not offer any distance education programs of its own, students from other jurisdictions are unable to enroll in their courses to receive credit.