Yukon College has announced the next step in its march toward university status, unveiling plans Tuesday for its first “made-in-Yukon” degree program.

The venture will give residents the chance to earn a bachelor’s without leaving the territory.

The degree — a bachelor of policy studies in indigenous governance — is now “in development,” with the enrolment gates tentatively set to open in 2017.

Paul Flaherty, chair of the college’s board of governors, says the program will integrate the “practical” with the “theoretical” and sees it as “the next phase of the college’s evolution.

“We’re not about imitation, we’re not out to be the next UBC; we’re about trying to be the best we can be for Yukoners,” Flaherty said at the announcement, highlighting the college’s “niche” strengths.

A one-year post-graduate certificate — another first for the college — in climate change and public policy is also in the works.

Flaherty noted that nearly one-third of the 6,000-plus students attending the college have already earned a post-secondary credential like a certificate, “which tells us that many students are entering Yukon College to ... switch careers, or go further with their existing career,” he said.

Grand Chief Ruth Massie of the Council of Yukon First Nations, present for the announcement, applauded the idea of a First Nations-focused degree for community members that reduced “the stress of leaving their community for higher educational goals.”

More than two-thirds of newly admitted students were of First Nations descent in the 2012-13 academic year, according to the college’s annual report.

Numerous hurdles need to be cleared before university status can be conferred.

Perhaps most important is establishing a quality assurance board. That independent advisory body would be mandated by the territory to ensure that programs are on par with national standards and that credits are transferrable to degree-granting institutions in other jurisdictions.

“(B)y creating niche programs that attract more students from around the world, these advancements will develop and retain knowledge in the North, as well as bring new dollars to the territory,” said Education Minister Elaine Taylor, surrounded by students, faculty and administrators at the Pit.

NDP MLA Kate White approves of the concept — one she points out the NDP advocated at least as far back as 2006.

More than eight years ago, the late Todd Hardy, then leader of the official Opposition, added the promise of a Yukon university to his election campaign.

“The NDP is in complete support of establishing a university in the North,” Hardy announced in April 2006.

The response from the governing Yukon Party was lukewarm.

“Some people are interested; others say we don’t need it,” then-Education minister John Edzerza responded at the time.

As for the focus of the upcoming degree program — policy studies in indigenous governance — White remarked that myriad Yukoners could benefit: “Wouldn’t it be fantastic if members of cabinet took a couple of these classes?

“Yukon College has shown itself to be a heavyweight,” she added in an interview this morning. “We look forward to hearing more.”

Tosh Southwick, director of First Nation initiatives at the college, said the degree has its roots in an executive development program, launched eight years ago in partnership with the Champagne-Aishihik First Nation and territorial and federal governments.

“This degree allows us to prepare for the complex challenges that lay ahead,” Southwick said.

The bachelor’s will incorporate leadership in politics, business and policy, and include a capstone project involving local aboriginal organizations.

“Our students will be poised to emerge as leaders....It will provide the ability to study our own story.”

Ralph Nilson, president of Vancouver Island University and a guest speaker Tuesday morning, stressed the importance of “degree programs that are relevant and responsive to the communities that you serve.”

He offered the example of his own institution, where 1,800 international students from 85 countries are currently enrolled.

Over the next few weeks, a team of administrators will be visiting Yukon communities “to discuss what this announcement means with First Nations and community leaders,” Flaherty said.

Taylor also noted several more boxes need to be ticked off before Yukon College can get a passing grade as a university — “the logical next step.”

Completing a Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining trades building, master land use plan for the college’s reserve lands, economic impact study and territorial “university legislation” are all on the agenda, Taylor said.

This year, the territory poured base funding of $26.5 million into the college.

Niche areas already on the institution’s radar include climate change — particularly at the Northern Research Centre and its Cold Climate Innovation — as well as First Nations governance and industrial training in resources development.

“This is not about pushing aside one program for the sake of another,” Taylor said.

She added that partnerships with private donors and industry would be necessary to securing sufficient funding for the potential University of the Yukon.

Last year, there were 72 students enrolled in degree programs at Yukon College in partnership with the Universities of Alberta and Regina in 2014, like the Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental and Conservation Sciences.

Twenty-two Yukon College students graduated with degrees from those two institutions.

Founded as a vocational school in 1963, the institution became a college in 1983, and now has 12 campuses across the territory.

The Whitehorse campus opened in 1988.