Skip to main content

ᐁ ᐃᔥᐹᔨᒡ ᓂᑕᐦᑯᐧᐃᓈᐦᒡ ᒋᔅᑯᑕᒫᒉᐧᐃᓂᔫ ᐄᔨᔨᓈᐦᒡ ᐁᑎᑑ ᐄᔑ ᐃᔦᔅᑯᐧᐄᐤ

Cree Springboard to Nursing

In-community Springboard to a Nursing Diploma

Applications Closed

Applications open in February

This springboard is a one-year preparatory to college program offered in partnership with John Abbott College.

Prerequisites

Open to Cree beneficiaries living in iiyiyiu aschii with a Secondary V Diploma or in the process of completing it during summer school, before the session begins.

Delivery

Online courses with set class times. A five-day intensive Physical Education course is also offered on the land each semester. In-person tutoring.

Credits

Credits from courses completed are transferable to any English cégep in Québec, and will apply towards a Diploma of College Studies (DCS).

Student Supports

  • Access to a loaned laptop.
  • In-person tutoring in the communities.
  • Online support by the Indigenous Resource Centre and the virtual community.
  • John Abbott College student services available online.
  • On-site orientation at John Abbott College.

Financial Assistance

The Cree School Board provide financial support to qualified students, in accordance with our in-community financial assistance policy.

Financial assistance for the Springboards are provided independently from Post-Secondary Student Services and have an internal process.

Online courses from your home community
Created by Cree educators
For Cree students

Time Commitment

  • Two semesters, beginning in August and ending in April of the next year.
  • 14 class hours per week (3-4 hours per day, Monday to Thursday)
  • Approximately 14 homework hours per week.
  • A one five-day intensive physical education course each semester.

For more information, email

Program Content

Students will take up to nine (9) accredited CEGEP-level courses and will receive a certificate upon successful completion.

Preparation for College English

  • Learn the English reading and writing skills you need to succeed at college.

French

Available to students who have studied in French
  • Strengthen your language skills.
  • Students are registered at the appropriate level, based on their language assessment.

Contemporary Issues I

Explore issues that interest and impact Cree youth (topics selected from CNYC survey). Program includes modules on health and healing, environment and relationship with the land, governance, and more. This course was customized specifically for Cree students and is only available through this program.

Land-based Physical Education

Practice traditional skills on the land with two accredited, five-day intensive cultural physical education sessions (one in Fall and one in Winter).

Introduction to Nursing

The Introduction to Nursing course will examine current issues and trends in Health Care and Nursing in Quebec and Canada. Students will discover what it means to be a nurse today and the challenges nurses face in Quebec. In this course, we will look at health and wellness (miiyupimaatisiiwin), develop a better understanding of issues related to health care from a Western or colonization point of view and from iiyiyuu-iinuu perspectives. We will explore the challenges and rewards of nursing in iiyiyuu/iinuu aschii.

Chemistry

This course builds on the basic understanding of chemistry developed in the secondary four-level science courses and explores the properties of gases, energy changes in chemical reactions, reaction rates, chemical equilibrium, and acids and bases. As part of the Cree Springboard to Nursing program, the course will pay particular attention to aspects of these topics that relate to life in the Cree territory (iiyiyuu/iinuu aschii) and relate to nursing and other health professions.

A series of experiments throughout the course will both develop an understanding of the scientific method and explore the concepts of the course. This course is a prerequisite for nursing programs in the Québec CEGEP system and many other CEGEP programs.

Environmental Science

This course builds on many of the concepts seen in high school in Secondary 4 Science and Technology. The properties of the elements will be explored in more detail. Calculations involving chemical reactions will be introduced. Qualitative notions in electricity and energy will be enriched with mathematical calculations. The basic concepts in genetics will be introduced.

This course will pay particular attention to aspects of these topics that relate to life in the Cree territory (iiyiyuu/iinuu aschii) and relate to nursing and other health professions. This course is a pre-requisite for nursing programs in the Québec Cegep system, and a pre-requisite for Chemistry in the Springboard to Nursing program.

Applied Fundamental Math

This course reinforces the student’s understanding of fundamental math concepts and their ability to apply those concepts to practical situations. As part of the Cree Springboard to Nursing program, the course will pay particular attention to mathematics concepts and competencies that relate to life in iiyiyuu/iinuu aschii and to nursing and other health professions. This course is given at the beginning of the Springboard to Nursing program and these math skills will also be required in the science and chemistry courses of the program

Application

Through SRAM

(Service régional d'admission du Montréal métropolitain)

Need help with your application? Contact us at:

Step 1 – Written component

Applicants must complete the written portion document to be uploaded with their SRAM application.

Download Written Portion Document for Nursing

The written portion includes:

  • A motivation statement (one paragraph)
  • A short essay (250-500 words – topics provided in the document)

Step 2 – SRAM application

  1. Go to admission.sram.qc.ca and select "Apply for admission".

  2. Click on "Continuing education applicant".

    If you don't have one, create an account with a valid email address (which will be part of your file) and a password. SRAM and the college will use this email address to communicate with you.

  3. Complete the application form, including the following details.

    Take time to read every instruction and fill in the application form carefully. Once your application is submitted, a confirmation email is sent to your email address.

    • Choice of College: John Abbott College
    • Program: Cree Springboard to Nursing 081.06
    • Particularity: HIGHER LEARNING – for Cree students only
    • Begins on: August 2025
  4. After submitting your application, you will see a prompt to upload your documents. This is where you will upload the written portion of your application.

You will need to complete your file as soon as possible by:

  • Providing all the required documents (the fastest and most effective way to send documents to SRAM is to upload them directly to your online file. It is also possible to send clear and legible photocopies of your documents by mail or drop them in person at our office).
  • Applicants are responsible to make sure all the required documents have been received and accepted and that their application is complete by verifying the status of their application. An incomplete application will not be sent to the college for study. The online file must be completed before the program’s deadline issued by the college.
  • When complete, the application is sent to the college for evaluation. The college is responsible for giving you the admission answer.

You can access your online file by clicking on the Check the status of my application option. This menu provides you with the following options:

  • Upload documents to your file.
  • The application fees are waived.
  • Verify if your documents are adequate and if your file is complete.

John Abbott College

Since John Abbott College opened in 1971, it has been a significant part of English post-secondary education in Quebec and a pillar in the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue community. Today, the College caters to over 6500 day students and more than 2000 Continuing Education students from Québec, Canada and abroad.

John Abbott College offers a wide range of career and pre-university programs specifically designed to give students the necessary tools to succeed in society. In addition to having a dedicated and knowledgeable teaching staff and quality facilities, the College goes above and beyond by offering outstanding services to its students, and all this from a breathtaking lakeside campus.

John Abbott College has always been a strong supporter of developing, in partnership, educational programs tailored for the Cree Nation. Starting in the 1970's with a Nursing program and continuing today with Iyeskuwiiu and the Cree Springboard to Nursing.