Northwestern Polytechnic

Institues Overview

Northwestern Polytechnic (NWP), formerly known as Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC), is a comprehensive community institution, publicly supported to provide opportunities in post-secondary education in northwestern Alberta. The institution operates under the Post-Secondary Learning Act and the Ministry of Enterprise and Advanced Education, Province of Alberta.

Northwestern Polytechnic was established in 1966 in Grande Prairie with campuses in Fairview and Grande Prairie. NWP offers a wide variety of career certificates and diplomas, pre-employment and apprenticeship trades, university transfer studies, and several opportunities for on-campus degree completion at baccalaureate and master levels through collaborations with four-year universities.

The highly qualified faculty, affordable tuition, small classes, personal contact and extensive scholarship and awards program offered by NWP attract students from a wide area. Classroom-based instruction in Grande Prairie and Fairview is extended to several other communities in our region and beyond through various distance delivery methods. The institution is an eCampusAlberta partner facilitating increased access to online learning opportunities for students.

As a comprehensive community institution, Northwestern Polytechnic is committed to expanding access to post-secondary education in its stewardship region by responding to needs expressed by the communities it serves. NWP has developed a portal access delivery model that encourages other post-secondary institutions to deliver programming on site, establishing collaborative partnerships that rapidly and effectively meet the varied needs of learners.

Northwestern Polytechnic offers university transfer, diploma, and certificate programs; apprenticeship and pre-employment trades training; and adult high school equivalency completion. Credit programs are offered in the areas of Liberal Arts, Science, Education, Physical Education, Nursing, Human Services, Fine Arts, Business, Technology, Academic Upgrading, Trades and Technical training, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. NWP also offers baccalaureate degrees and master’s degrees in collaboration with universities.

In response to regional, community and industry demand, Northwestern Polytechnic provides a range of customized non-credit pre-employment programming, skills development, safety training and community interest courses. NWP responds to community and industry demand for specific training through the provision of customized programming.

As an educational facility in northwestern Alberta, NWP helps meet the cultural, recreational, athletic, and conferencing needs of the region in partnership with community and regional stakeholders. In Grande Prairie, the institution offers athletic, music, art, and science summer camps; and the D. J. Cardinal Performing Arts Centre is frequently the site of concerts, community music festivals, dance recitals, speakers’ series and industrial seminars.

Northwestern Polytechnic encourages and supports applied research and scholarly activities, and innovation activities that complement and enhance teaching and learning in program areas and in industry sectors where its academic expertise enables such a contribution. NWP is dedicated to providing learners with access to high quality and diverse lifelong learning opportunities, and to the responsible educational, fiscal and environmental stewardship of resources.