Remember the problems with North Bay’s Native Education and Training College?
Trouble began brewing earlier this spring, when a former student of the college, Amanda Weichel came forward with allegations against the school’s administrators, Larry Stewart and Waylon Stewart, Larry’s son.
Weichel didn’t mince words when she spoke to BayToday: “I am beyond frustrated with this entire situation.”
This spring, Weichel told BayToday she paid just over $6,000 for tuition in the fall of 2023 and was unable to access any courses, and was not offered a refund, as she requested. Other students reached out with similar stories, and a former teacher with the college, Tammy Jackson, noted she hadn’t been paid, “Not for the majority of 2023.”
The college, which had an office at 147 McIntyre Street, Suite 101, was closed. The college was locked out for not paying rent – just under $18,000 was owed.
See: Allegations mount against Native Education and Training College
Fast forward a few months, and BayToday reached out to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities for a follow-up. Minister Nolan Quinn did not respond, but his spokesperson, Dayna Smockum, commented instead
Smockum sent this response via email: “Native Education and Training College is no longer a registered career college. We launched an investigation earlier this year and the Superintendent of Career Colleges is speaking with affected parties to facilitate a resolution.”
Asked for further details, the radio went silent. A copy of the investigation, or a summary of what occurred? Crickets. BayToday has yet to hear back from the Ministry, and no clarification was given about how the province planned to facilitate a resolution for those affected.
Weichel still hasn’t received a refund for those courses she couldn’t take. It’s been a year since she handed the college her credit card for that $6,100 tuition. She fits the bill of an affected person, but the ministry has not been in touch with her once since she came forward with her story.
Not for lack of trying. Weichel has been contacting the ministry, but to no end, save for earlier in the month when she received a message from above saying they are “working on your update.”
See: Warnings continue against Native Education and Training College
BayToday reached out to the other students who came forward with allegations against the college, and none of them had heard from the ministry either.
As for the college, Weichel said, “Last I heard from the college was back in April when they told me they were giving me a credit for another course instead of a refund. I told them I refused the credit and wanted my money back.”
That never happened.
Back in April, Larry Stewart posted on the NETC Facebook page, detailing how a co-worker told him “Some strange dude was in your mailbox, wow, this dude was stealing our tuition fee cheques because we are an Indigenous College and easy prey.”
As for the inaccessibility to course material (many of the college’s programs are delivered online), Stewart said, “Our Canvas LMS platform was hacked and disabled and we had no access to students or grades, etc. It was a nightmare, to say the least.”
The college has not provided further comment to BayToday.
As for the future of the NETC after losing its designation as a college, Weichel had some insight.
Weichel noted, “My friend emailed Larry regarding losing their designation and they replied that they are switching from a private career college to an Indigenous institute, and it should take a year.”
“This has made me so mad,” Weichel continued. “I can't believe they get shut down for lying and stealing from staff and students and they'll be able to open again under another institution.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
