Procedure

Procedure Name Selection of Applicants

Procedure # AD 1.04 Parent Policy AD 1.0 Admissions Policy
Policy Owner Board of Governors Effective Date July 1, 2016
Procedure Owner Vice Provost Review Date July 2016
Approved by Vice Provost Approval Date June 7, 2016

1.0 Purpose/ Background

NAIT maintains admission criteria that optimize student success and is committed to a fair,
equitable, and consistent approach to admission into its Degree, Diploma and Certificate
Programs (DDCP). The parameters expressed within this procedure are intended to support the
maintenance of selection of applicants into NAIT DDCP, and outline the methods of selection
that pertain to applicants.

2.0 General Principles

2.1 NAIT maintains two methods of selection for its applicants; first qualified first offered
and competitive selection.

2.2 Programs with first-qualified first offered selection will accept minimally qualified
applicants on an ongoing basis until the program enrolment target is met. Qualified
applicants who apply after the program enrolment target is met are placed on a waitlist
by date, in the order that a complete application was received.

2.3 Programs with competitive selection may evaluate criteria beyond academic
requirements. Applicants may be evaluated based on non-academic requirements
including, but not limited to, a career investigation, interview and/or portfolio
submission.

Programs are committed to a fair, equitable, and consistent approach to evaluation of

criteria beyond academic requirements and adheres to service standards for providing
timely decisions as determined through consultation with the Office of the Registrar.

2.4 Competitive selection programs will accept competitively qualified applicants until the
program enrolment target is met. Competitively qualified applicants who apply after the
program enrolment target is met are placed on a waitlist in order according to overall
ranking.

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 2.5 Conditional acceptance based on academic requirements can be granted to the
following types of applicants:
a. High school students attending in Canada (including international students currently
attending high school in Canada)
b. Upgrading students attending in Canada
c. NAIT ESL Level 6 students.

In addition to academic requirements, some programs may require non-academic

requirements in order to grant conditional acceptance.

2.6 All applicants must meet NAIT’s published English language proficiency requirement in
addition to the English Language Arts subject requirement for their program of interest.

2.7 Recognition of Prior Learning assessments may be considered in place of academic

requirements for admission.

2.8 All offers of admission are processed through the Office of the Registrar.

2.9 The Office of the Registrar is committed to admitting qualified applicants in a timely and
expeditious manner and maintains the following service standards:

Documents Submitted Service Standard

Application with proof of
completion of academic and non-
academic requirements including a
foreign credential document
assessment (if applicable)
Application with incomplete
documentation
Foreign educational credentials
10 business days to review and provide an
application decision
10 business days to review and request submission
of outstanding requirements
10 business days to review and determine
comparison to the Alberta secondary courses
required for admission

2.10 Applicants are responsible for their conduct as articulated in the Student Conduct
Guideline SR 1.1.

2.11 Applicants wishing to appeal their admission status may initiate an appeal procedure
through the Office of the Registrar.

3.0 Definitions

Term Definition
Academic Requirements Specified high school and/or post-secondary grades, courses or
credentials required for admission as formalized and recognized
through the Ministry of Education.

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 Competitive Requirements that are higher than the specified minimum high
Requirements school and/or post-secondary grades, courses or credentials
required for admission.
Competitive Selection Admission selection process for programs that evaluate criteria
beyond minimum academic requirements, and in some cases
require an additional screening component such as an interview
or a career investigation.
Conditional Acceptance An offer of admission contingent upon the applicant meeting the
requirements necessary for full admission. Full admission may be
contingent upon fulfilling outstanding academic and/or non-
academic requirements.
English Language Specified assessment exams, study or credentials required to
Proficiency Requirement demonstrate English language proficiency.
Enrolment Target The number of international and domestic seats available in a
Degree, Diploma or Certificate program in any given term.
First-qualified, First- Admission selection process for programs that accept minimally
offered Selection qualified applicants on an ongoing basis until the program
enrolment target is met.
Non-academic Requirements that are intended to support, supplement or
Requirements otherwise enhance the assessment of the suitability of an
applicant for admission to a program. This may include
documentation, certification, or performance standards achieved
and demonstrated beyond identified academic requirements, for
example, career investigation, performance on an interview, First
Aid certification, etc.
Recognition of Prior Broad umbrella concept which includes three types of assessment
Learning processes that are used to evaluate the learning that people have
acquired in their lives. The three processes for assessing and
recognizing these forms of learning are transfer credit, credential
recognition and prior learning assessment and recognition.

4.0 Procedures

4.1 An applicant applies to a credit program through the Alberta Post-Secondary Application
System (APAS). The Office of the Registrar will review all submitted documentation to
ensure all academic and/or non-academic requirements for the program have been
met.

4.2 Applicants that have applied to a first-qualified, first offered program are admitted into
the program if minimum requirements for the program are met and there is space
available in the program.

4.3 Applicants that have applied to a competitive program are admitted into the program if
the competitive requirements for the program have been met and there is space
available in the program. Competitive requirements may include academic
requirements above the specified minimum courses required for admission and non-
academic requirements.

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4.4 Some competitive programs may have non-academic requirements that are evaluated
by the program area. In these cases, the Office of the Registrar screens applicants to
ensure all competitive academic requirements are met and a list of academically
competitive applicants is sent to the program area. The program area evaluates the
non-academic requirement(s) and provides an overall ranking for each applicant to the
Office of the Registrar, taking weighting of academic and non-academic requirements
into consideration.

4.5 Applicants may be conditionally accepted on the basis of final marks for the previously
completed academic level in the subjects required for admission. Progress reports
and/or proof of enrolment in the pre-requisite courses necessary for admission must
also be provided, and any non-academic requirements must be met.

If interim marks in the required academic level are shown on the progress report they
will be used for conditional acceptance. If interim marks in the required academic level
are not shown on the progress report because the applicant has not yet started the
course, the final marks for the previously completed academic level will be used to
determine conditional acceptance.

Interim marks must be at or above the required level in order for an applicant to receive
a conditional acceptance. If interim marks are below the required level but the
previously completed academic level final marks are above the required level, the
applicant will not receive a conditional acceptance.

An applicant who does not meet admission requirements with interim level marks or
final marks from the previously completed academic level will be placed on hold until
the final official transcript is received showing the final marks at the required level. This
does not apply to programs with an early application deadline.

4.6 If an applicant meets all requirements for a program and there is space available in the
program, an offer of admission is given. Applicants are required to pay a non-refundable
tuition deposit by the deadline indicated in their MyNAIT Portal in order to accept the
offer of admission and hold their seat in the program.

Applicants accepted to multiple programs will indicate which program they would like to
attend through payment of tuition deposit. The program offer of admission associated
with the last tuition deposit paid is the seat that is held for the applicant. Any previously
paid deposits in the same term are applied to tuition and any previously held seat in
another program in the same term is cancelled. Applicants are responsible to drop any
course enrolments associated with any previously held seat in another program.

4.7 Qualified applicants that have applied after the program enrolment target has been met
are placed on a waitlist and managed according to whether the waitlist is first-qualified,
first offered or competitive:

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 a. First-qualified, first-offered applicants who apply after the program enrolment target
is met are placed on a waitlist by date, in the order that a complete application was
received

b. Competitively qualified applicants who apply after the program enrolment target is
met are placed on a waitlist according to overall ranking.

When a seat becomes available in a program prior to the tuition deadline, the Office of
the Registrar will send an offer of admission via the MyNAIT Portal to the next qualified
applicant on the waitlist. Applicants are required to pay a non-refundable tuition deposit
by the deadline indicated in order to accept the offer of admission and hold their seat in
the program.

When a seat becomes available in a program after the tuition deadline, the Office of the
Registrar will contact the next qualified applicant on the waitlist by phone to determine if
the applicant would like to accept the offer of admission. The Office of the Registrar will
continue to contact qualified applicants on the waitlist in order until an applicant accepts
the offer of admission. Applicants who accept the offer of admission will have 24 hours
to pay tuition and enrol in classes; applicants that do not pay and enrol within this
timeframe are cancelled and their seat is offered to the next qualified applicant.

4.8 Applicants can have their application cancelled for reasons such as:
a. Failure to meet program requirements
b. Requirements not submitted
c. Failure to pay tuition deposit
d. Failure to enrol
e. Failure to pay tuition
f. Applicant requested cancellation
g. The enrolment target for the program of interest has been met and classes have
commenced.

4.9 Applicants wishing to appeal their admission status may initiate an appeal procedure by
contacting the Associate Registrar, Admissions for review of the process used in the
admission decision.

If the concern is unresolved, the applicant may outline his/her appeal in writing to the
Registrar within 10 business days of receipt of a Notice of Cancellation of Admission. The
Office of the Registrar will refer the request to the appropriate Dean or approved
designate who will convene a committee of at least three members relevant to the nature
of the appeal (including the Dean or approved designate and the NAIT Ombudsperson or
approved designate). The committee will evaluate the request and inform the Office of
the Registrar of the decision within 10 business days of receipt of the applicant request.
The Registrar will communicate the outcome of this review to the applicant within 10
business days of receipt of the Dean’s decision.

Fees related to appeal of admission are set by the Office of the Registrar and must be
included with the written request of appeal. This fee is for re-evaluation of the
application; a refund of the appeal fee will apply in cases of successful appeal.

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 The decision of the committee will be final and binding and the applicant shall have no
further right of appeal for that particular admission decision.

5.0 Exceptions to the Procedure

5.1 Exceptions to this procedure must be documented and formally approved by the Policy
Lead.
Procedure exceptions must include:
• The nature of the exception
• A reasonable explanation for why the procedure exception is required
• Confirmation that the exception aligns with the general principles
• Any risks created by the procedure exception and how they will be managed.

5.2 The Policy Lead may assign a designate to review and approve exceptions to this
procedure on his/her behalf.

6.0 Related Documentation

NAIT Policy AD 1.0 Admissions

NAIT Guideline AD 1.1 Recognition of Prior Learning
NAIT Procedure AD 1.1 Recognition of Prior Learning
NAIT Procedure AD 1.02 Admission Criteria
NAIT Procedure AD 1.03 Admission to Degree, Diploma and Certificate Programs
NAIT Guideline SR 1.1 Student Code of Conduct

Document History
Date Action/ Change