Long winters and sub-zero temperatures usually come to mind when there's any mention of Canada. Talk about northern Canada and thoughts go to an arctic tundra where half the year is spent in darkness. This may be the reason why students aren't exactly eager to pack their bags and head north for their postsecondary education. However, that's not all the north has to offer, and going there for your postsecondary education may just show you how wonderful the North can be.

I think that for a lot of people in Canada, a trip north is a right of passage, says Michael Vernon, communications coordinator at Yukon College. I think that the big attraction to come here would really be to broaden your knowledge and experience of Canada, especially for people who want to be more connected to the natural world, and are looking to be inspired by incredible landscapes.

For students who are looking for a change of pace and scenery as they enter their postsecondary education years, northern colleges and universities like the University of Northern British Columbia and Yukon College may just be the academic getaway you've been hoping for.

Northern schools often boast smaller class sizes which, according to Pat Maher, associate professor at the University of Northern British Columbia, is a great advantage for students as well as professors. For me, it's that I know the students' names, he says. I have first-year classes with 30 or 40 students in them, so I know when a student isn't there, and I can ask them ÔÇÿWhat's the matter?' and why they haven't shown up. I can really dedicate a lot of time to my students; I can come up with a lot of really unique opportunities that I just don't think there would be a possibility for in the city.

Vernon agrees. He says that smaller class sizes offer much more interaction for students with their classmates, as well as their instructors. It also allows students and instructors to engage in new teaching practices like collaborative learning.

It allows our instructors to be more nimble in experimenting with new technology'such as being one of the first [schools] in Canada to utilize iPads to help organize patient information and plan patient care in our practical nursing program, says Vernon. This year, the practical nursing, health care assistant, primary care paramedic, and bachelor of social work students at the Yukon College came together for several joint real-world simulation exercises, which he says is easier to facilitate and coordinate with individual classes of 10ÔÇô20 students instead of 100ÔÇô500.

Many students also choose to leave home and pursue their postsecondary studies in other provinces because who doesn't want to experience university and college life away from parents? We've had students here from downtown Toronto who thought about going to Lakehead [University], but Thunder Bay wasn't far enough away, says Maher about some of the students who enrol at the university. They wanted that, ÔÇÿI'm going to go all the way to northern BC. I don't know what's there, but I think there are probably some great opportunities,' and they've taken advantage of that.

Vernon also thinks that while it's not exactly your typical city-living lifestyle, the Yukon has many things to offer. We have modern amenities here in Whitehorse. There are lots of winter activities and lots of things to get involved with but, as busy as we are, there's definitely less happening here compared to a big city like Toronto or Vancouver.

Over the past several years, attendance of out-of-province students to northern schools has been slowly rising because, according to Vernon, there are certain programs that we offer that attract people from outside the territory. One of the things that most northern schools boast about is their programs which have connections to the outdoors and the environment.

For some programs, like for our national science programs, we're right here where climate change, for example, is happening, says Vernon. The effects of climate change are really apparent here, so if you're studying anything about that'or maybe something like animal populations'the results are right here, and the ability to go out into the field is what's great. You can't necessarily do that in a school down south. Their renewable resource management program has been running for 20 years, and he says that's also attracted people from across the country, who are wanting to get into natural resource management and conservation.

The outdoor recreation and tourism management program at the University of Northern British Columbia is something that Maher thinks students should take advantage of if that's the field of study that they're interested in.

I think that in some of the city schools, like in Toronto or Vancouver and other places like that, to have a program like that means driving hours and hours to get to the outdoors to do a class or a field trip, (like a three week-long field course), whereas I can step out of the university and run a three-hour lab, and be back in a matter of seconds at the university in time for the next class,  he says. I can provide opportunities for a program like ours, which looks at outdoor recreation, conservation, and nature-based tourism, with activities and content right here versus being in the city and perhaps needing to drive for that.

Northern schools can offer many of the fun and exciting opportunities and experiences that most other colleges or universities across the country have, however, as with postsecondary education in general, there are obviously going to be some challenges along the way.

Folks who are leaving wherever they're from to go somewhere else'that's always a big deal, says Maher. I know for me, I went and did my PhD in New Zealand, and that was a big deal. For some, it's leaving the comfort of their home, where their friends and family are. It's a big step, regardless of where you're coming from. It's an even bigger step if you're not entirely comfortable or aware of what's happening at that school or in that community because all of your friends and their siblings grew up and went to school elsewhere. There's just some stepping outside of your comfort zone.

If you're unsure about your plan of action, as far as making the big move to the North, Maher says that you need to do your homework and research as much information about the schools you're interested in as you can. There's all kinds of information on the web where you can really get a flavour of what a community or university is like. I think that part of it is that you're not just buying into a university that you might want to go to, but you're buying into the city or small town [that you'll be living in]. You need to know what the difference is between places and figure out if it's just a wasteland out there with no good clubs or restaurants, etc, he says.

He also suggests that students contact the schools.I encourage students all the time to phone a university or a professor. Because I teach at a small school, I'm aware of the problem with recruiting students here, so I'm always open to taking the time out of my day to answer questions, so that you're hearing it from me. I quite often put students in touch with alumni so they don't just hear it from a faculty member, but they can hear all the great stories right from the horse's mouth.

At the end of the day, though, Vernon says that your northern school experience, should you choose to accept it, all depends on how willing a person is to engage in the community, the culture, and the nature that's happening all around here.

Photo: Auki/iStock, Anthony Capano