Associate of Arts Degree in AHCOTE (Alaska Highway Consortium on Teacher Education)

The Alaska Highway Consortium on Teacher Education (AHCOTE) is a joint teacher education program offered by Simon Fraser University (SFU), Northern Lights College, School Districts 59, 60, 81, and local teacher associations. The AHCOTE program has existed at NLC for more than two decades, and hundreds of program graduates now work in school districts across the region and beyond. Students who enter AHCOTE with a previously completed degree finish the program in 1.5 years and are then eligible to apply to the Teacher Regulation Branch, to start teaching with a Professional Teaching Certificate provided all course prerequisites have been met. Students who enter AHCOTE with 60 credits in designated areas or with NLC’s Associate of Arts Degree (Education) also finish the program in 1.5 years and are then eligible to apply to the Teacher Regulation Branch, to start teaching with a Conditional Teaching Certificate provided they have the required minimum credits and all course prerequisites have been met. These students generally need an additional 30 elective credits to earn SFU’s Bachelor of General Studies (Education) and a Professional Teaching Certificate.

Admission to AHCOTE is subject to a competitive application process that includes a review of academic performance, prerequisite completion, experience in a classroom setting, and an interview. To be eligible for admission, applicants must meet one of the following criteria: completion of NLC’s Associate of Arts Degree (Education); or completion of a minimum of 60 university-level credits that include all required coursework*; or completion of a degree from an accredited university.