"Learning through Nova Scotia Community College has been a great experience for me. Taking courses through the Internet allows me to study at my own pace, which is important as I have a very busy lifestyle from being in the Military to being a mother of a little girl who is 8 years old."

How is it possible to live in Bosnia and be an NSCC student? Well, the Internet is a pretty amazing thing.

Corporal Lise Grondin brings new meaning to distance education. Through NSCC's Virtual Campus, Lise is studying business while stationed in Bosnia.

Corporal Lise Grondin, from Dolbeau Quebec, has been stationed in ZGON, Bosnia, and is working towards completing a diploma in Business Administration from NSCC, through the Virtual Campus. Lise has been in the Canadian Military for almost eleven years, and she is taking courses to ready herself for her second career when she retires in 2010.

Lise heard about the educational opportunities at NSCC, through the Canadian Military. She is currently a resource management support clerk, and she needs to complete five more courses in order to complete her diploma.

"I chose the Military because from where I come from I was very limited with what I could do career wise," says Lise. "There was no college or university near by and my parents didn't have the means or the money to help me out. I also wanted to travel and earn a good salary - the Military back then seemed to be a wise choice."

A wise choice it proved to be, as Lise has had her share of experiences. After joining the Military in 1990, she went to St-Jean, Quebec for basic training for 10 weeks. From there she went to Borden, Ontario for ten months to learn English and her trade. At the beginning of 1992, she was posted to Ottawa, at National Defense Headquarters, where she worked in various capacities for 7 ½ years. She was posted in to Petawawa Army Base, in 1999 where she demonstrated herself to be a person of determination. "The first year that I got to Petawawa, I took on a great challenge - competing in a biathlon," says Lise. "I had never skied before and I had never shot with a rifle of 22 calibre either, but I decided to give it a try. My team and I did great. We won the regional competitions, went to the nationals in Valcartier, Quebec, and we placed second!"

Lise exercises that same determination with her studies at NSCC, Virtual Campus, as she balances a career in the Military, her studies, and a family life. "Learning through Nova Scotia Community College has been a great experience for me," says Lise. "Taking courses through the Internet allows me to study at my own time. I have a very busy life style from being in the Military to being a mother of a little girl who is 8 years old."

When Lise is ready for her new career, NSCC, Virtual Campus will have played a role in giving her the education she needed, in the venue and schedule that worked for her life. Learning from NSCC, while stationed with the Canadian Military in Bosnia? Corporal Lise Grondin definitely gives a brand new meaning to NSCC's commitment to accessible education.

Source: NSCC Success Stories

Life can be very busy. That is one of the big reasons why Automotive Service Technician Apprentice Jeff Sandall decided to pursue the courses he needed to complete his apprenticeship through NSCC Online Learning…

People take vehicles into the repair shop all the time without a second thought about what goes into making that vehicle work. That is not the case for Jeff Sandall, an Automotive Service Technician Apprentice. Automotive Service Technicians are the people that repair the brakes, suspension, engine, and fuel systems of cars and light trucks. A Red Seal Occupation, persons with this certification are allowed to work across provincial borders without further examination.

The Automotive Service Technician trade is compulsory certified. This means that in order to work in this trade you have to be either registered as an apprentice or certified as a journeyperson. To become certified as a journeyperson requires a total of four years of work experience as an apprentice as well as the completion of required theoretical training. The NSCC is one of the preferred providers of such training for the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Training Division.

Apprenticeship training at the NSCC is delivered in a course-based format. Some of the apprenticeship training is delivered face-to-face in the classroom environment. In other cases, this theoretical training is delivered online using a flexible alternate delivery format. The alternate delivery approach allows apprentices to work at their own pace while maintaining contact with their instructor. Alternate delivery also reduces the amount of time apprentices are required to be away from the workplace, decreasing associated down time for the employer. Of his experience with NSCC Online Learning Jeff commented, " I couldn't afford to take the time off work to go to school for two years. So I figured I would try to do it part-time and this is how I'm doing it, part-time. I'm working in the garage basically every day and I can do this at night or at home. It doesn't cost me money to take time off work. That's the major advantage I found…"

Being flexible about finding ways to get things done is absolutely essential in today's busy world. If in doubt, just ask Jeff Sandall.

The theory with an apprenticeship is that you work with an employer to accumulate the necessary work experience at the same time that you are taking the required theoretical training. Sometimes, however, if work is busy, getting away from the job to be able to take the training you need is the real challenge. That was the case for Juanita Coffey, who ended up coming to NSCC Online Learning to pursue the training required to become a Journeyperson cook…

The timing was perfect for Juanita Coffey. At the same time she was looking to try to find a way to be able to go to school to complete her required apprenticeship theoretical training, the Refocusing Apprenticeship Pilot Project started. That was the project that saw the development of what was to become NSCC Online Learning, a division of the College committed to providing a comprehensive continuum of service delivery. This happens through the offering of flexible and accessible online courses. Juanita remembers, " I first started cooking as a casual cook. Ended up doing full time hours. At the time I was able to go to school I was always filling in for somebody who was on maternity leave, vacation time, so the opportunity (to go to school) was there, but it wasn't there. "

Juanita started with her first online courses back in 1997. Up until that point, she had barely even turned on a computer let alone completed courses using a computer. Juanita remembers, " When I started the course I knew nothing about a computer." However, after a detailed orientation, Juanita started on a journey that saw her complete all of her required cooking courses. After the completion of her required working hours and her required courses, Juanita was able to write for her journeyperson status. It took her a total of three years to complete all of the courses in the program and then successfully complete the certification examination. Juanita is now a Journeyperson Cook and she is using the computer a lot more than she ever imagined. She comments, "I am in the process of doing a family tree for my grandkids. And getting all of the information that is required for them. Using the scanner, so I am able to give them all photos of way back when. I got all kinds of things that I can play with now."

For Juanita, doing her apprenticeship cooking courses online was an extremely positive experience. Online learning was the opportunity she needed to be able to get where she wanted to go.

One trade, many stories. Curt Goodwin is an Instructor who facilitates online electrical apprenticeship courses. Curt has seen more than his share of success stories in his days since starting with NSCC Online Learning. Recently, Curt shared a few of the student success stories that he has been a part of since he started facilitating online courses a number of years ago.

A Construction Electrician is a person who installs, alters, repairs, and maintains electrical systems in buildings and residences. This is a compulsory certified trade that means that to work in this trade you have to be either registered as an apprentice or certified as a journeyperson. The trade is also a Red Seal Occupation that allows working across provincial borders without further examination. To become certified as a journeyperson in this Trade requires a total of four years of work experience as an apprentice as well as the completion of required theoretical training.

One of the construction electrician apprentices that came to the NSCC for online apprenticeship training in this field was a person who had been working in the trade for some time. He has taken part of his training through block face-to-face classroom delivery, but having to travel to the metro area to attend training did not fit well into his life. He found it incredibly frustrating to have to be away from his family. For this person, taking online courses allowed him the flexibility of staying closer to home and work. It kept him from having to travel to pursue his training. He took a number of online courses to finish up the training that he needed to be able to write his certification examination. His instructor, Curt Goodwin was extremely pleased to receive some correspondence from the student that indicated the student had written the Interprovincial Certification Examination and had passed it. The student was extremely pleased with the result.

Another student of Curt's was a person who had been working in the field for many years since first becoming an apprentice. He has been working steady in the trade. He actually had a lot more hours than he needed to finish up his apprentice, but he never got around to finish his training. This student was able to finish up his training with some customized courses that we developed to meet his needs. He was able to get all of the skills and all of the hours required to finally complete his apprenticeship. He finished up just before going to write his inter-provincial exam. He made an 85% on the inter-provincial exam, which is a fantastic mark.

NSCC Online Learning made it possible for these two apprenticeship clients to access their required courses and attain Journeyperson status in the construction electrician trade. Providing a comprehensive continuum of service delivery was an important part of meeting their needs, and the needs of many others.