Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY! People working in NAIT are horrible, I would be saying nothing if I was calling it horrible, to be honest. I was happy to be accepted back in March and I was really excited to move to Edmonton to start my studies! i was supposed to start May 4^th 2015, so from the time I got my letter of acceptance till May 4 I was patiently waiting to see the schedule. Around May 15 I find out that I AM DOING ONLINE COURSE which is not acceptable by Canadian Immigration if you are willing to immigrate throuhg study. Honestly I called this place 200 times asking WHEN will the schedule be ready, and every time I was getting same answer «it is to be announced». I am extremely dissappointed with this place. I spent 7000 bucks for NOTHING, and that is because of the extreme improfessionality and ignorance of all the staff working in NAIT. I am an international student, and I spent all my money to get at least a little tiny chance to immigrate to Canada and NAIT’s improfessional stuff took that chance from me and took all my money. Moreover, when I was trying to fix the situation and get accepted by a different college I asked nait’s stuff to email me an official letter that would state that I’m not a student anymore, they refused to do so becase «they are not supposed to issue such documents». Really??? I paid you whole bunch of money and you dare to say that!!! I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS INSTITUTION, ESPECIALLY FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS! NAIT WILL RIPP YOU OFF AND MAKE YOU GO HOME LIKE THEY DID WITH ME! HORRIBLE STAFF WORKS IN NAIT!

I’ve taken three classes at NAIT and my biggest piece of advice would be to research the heck out of your professor. Because they are night or weekend classes, they are often taught by students or non-​NAIT staff.
(2 star) Christmas Dinner Class: Some of the recipes in this class were great, and I still use them. But when thinking back the thing I mainly remember was that most of the ingredients in the recipes were missing (Chestnuts in the chestnut stuffing) or mouldy (herbs in the salmon wellington recipe) and that the recipes were off (the spice was really inadequate in the pumpkin pie as was the liquid needed in the stuffing). The class was taught by a very newly graduated chef and she seemed so in over her head with very little planning having been done for the class. if you are a super new beginner and you are really scared to make Christmas dinner, maybe consider this class, but if you are looking for more advanced technique, look elsewhere.
(4.5 stars) Artisanal bread class: An awesome, awesome class which was taught by the head of the baking program. Alain was a great teacher and I often think about his advice about baking and about bread. My only critique of the course was that we didn’t get to finish many breads start to finish. We mainly worked on techniques of bread making rather than making a bread start to finish. I contacted the prof. after that class to ask for clarification and he answered promptly and kindly though it had been a couple years since I took the class. Be warned, once you’ve eaten your 15 loaves of bread that you’ll leave with in the class, all other bread will suck.
(0 stars) Cake decorating class: This class was terrible. So bad I left after the 1^st class and demanded a refund. The «chef» is neither a trained chef nor a NAIT prof. He taught «buttercream» that was made with palm oil — though he acknowledged it was a life threatening ingredient. He taught custard made with custard powder. Half the class outline was how to bake a cake (why would I take cake decorating if I didn’t know how to bake a bloody cake!) This prof didn’t seem to understand his audience or the need for quality. Why on earth would I take a class in advanced culinary technique only to be taught Safeway style cakes? This class really soured me on NAIT culinary courses. It was so bad I’ve never taken a class again and never will unless it is taught by an established NAIT prof.

One of the best technical institutes that I am aware of. Their facilities are pretty awesome and the range of programs offered is quite extensive. This province definitely needs such educational programs/​facilities.
I also really love the fact that the public can use certain on campus facilities on occasion, whether for special events or otherwise.

I’ve taken a few classes at NAIT now as part of my Plan B preparation. NAIT offers a LOT of different courses in different programs, and my experience is only with a few non-​credit courses as part of one of their certificate programs.
So far, I’ve found the quality of the courses very mixed. The instructors all have a lot of great experience, but not all of them are great teachers. So far I haven’t figured out how to determine in advance whether the class will be valuable or not, and when you’re paying as much for a 2 day course as you would to take a credit class at the university, this is a problem. The course materials are usually pretty good though, and those are included in the cost of the course.
My other major complaint is the whole course registration system. There’s no way to plan your program inside the portal, and the scheduling of classes is a bit inconvenient, given that the target audience for my program is people who are currently working full time.
Other than that, they have a few mediocre food options on campus (blame Aramark), and parking is much easier weekends and evenings than during the day. The buildings and labs I’ve been in are in good shape, but there’s nothing really interesting on campus.

NAIT is great! The location is very convenient, classrooms are small, and instructors are professional. Many of my friends have graduated from various NAIT programs, and everybody has only the fondest memories of this school. What distinguishes NAIT from other schools in Edmonton, is that it offers hands on approach to education. At NAIT you can study part time or full time, online or in the classroom; you can enrol in a certificate, diploma or degree programs; further your knowledge by registering in one of many continuing education programs and courses or, if you are a handy type of person, enrol in an apprenticeship program where you can study and work at the same time. Actually, there are quite a few programs at NAIT that offer work experience as part of their curriculum.
Course at NAIT are a bit cheaper than at Grant MacEwan and UofA, even online delivery ones. Instructors are extremely engaging and knowledgeable.
NAIT would get five stars from me if only it was easier to find parking! Parking your car by Kingsway mall is not recommended because somehow evil parking officers always single out NAIT students’ cars and write out tickets.