Early Assist

Early Assist provides an opportunity for students to get help at an early stage. The earlier a student gets connected with appropriate supports, the better chance they have to improve their performance and wellbeing.

Early Assist provides a clear, centralized place where BCIT faculty, staff, and students can report their concerns.

Access to information collected through Early Assist is tightly controlled. The Student Life Office staff who are trained in supporting students are the only people who have access to the information collected through Early Assist.

Maintaining student privacy is paramount. Any personal information communicated through the BCIT Early Assist system is collected under the authority of the Freedom of information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”). This information is kept confidential and stored separately from a student’s academic records and is used by the Student Life Office for the sole purpose of identifying and reaching out to students who may be struggling personally or academically to offer them support and services for student success and wellbeing. The use of this information for any other purpose is only if required or authorized by law (i.e. law enforcement).

The collection of Early Assist student information and processing of reports is completed through BCIT’s service provider, Symplicity Corporation (“Symplicity”) using servers that are located in Canada. Simplicity adheres to stringent privacy policy and its infrastructure has been designed to ensure compliance with FIPPA. A copy of Simplicity’s Privacy policy can be found on Simplicity’s website.

BCIT’s personal information management practices can be found in our privacy policy at Policy 6700 (under review). For questions about the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by BCIT, visit BCIT’s Privacy Information page or contact the Associate Director, Privacy, Information Access and Policy Management, 3700 Willingdon Ave., Burnaby BC V5G 3H2; Tel: 604-432-8508; E-mail: privacy@bcit.ca.