Athabasca University


Athabasca University is a Canadian public university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first Canadian university to specialize in distance education.

History

In 1967, the Manning government announced its intention to establish a fourth public university, but this would be delayed by three years as the government considered different proposals. The U of A wanted to expand rather than see another university open in Edmonton to compete with it. One proposal favoured establishing a Christian university instead of a secular one. Another early suggestion was an "Alberta academy" that would take credits students had earned at multiple universities, evaluate them for transfer, and perhaps award degrees. A Department of Education ad hoc group favoured the establishment of a fourth public university.
Athabasca University was created by the Alberta government in 1970 as part of an expansion of higher education to cope with rising enrolment at the time. A group of U of A graduates including Preston Manning influenced the development. In 1970, Grant MacEwan, then the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, established AU by an Order in Council. The name for the new university was a challenge, as it was not desired to associate the new university with a city that already had a university. Athabasca Hall, a student residence at the U of A, was scheduled for demolition, so the name was appropriated for the new Athabasca University.
The initial mandate for Athabasca University dictated that AU be primarily undergraduate in scope. Creating new procedures for curriculum development was also part of the mandate.

First president and early years

In April 1971, Timothy C. Byrne was appointed the first president of Athabasca University, and he assumed office in June that year.
The initial governing authority of the university had eight members as well as a broad range of powers to set up the new university. On 2–3 July 1970, they met for the first time, and Carl W. Clement was the first chair. It was expected by the government of the day that AU would have 10,000 students by 1979. 1 September 1973, was set as the target date to open.
The AU administration chose the University of California, Santa Cruz, as its model, deciding that individual colleges should serve as the basic planning units for the new university, which would be organized as a federation of colleges. Each of the colleges was to have 650 students with corresponding lecture and office space. The learning approach would have students in small tutorials instead of large lectures. Research within the new university was to be limited to a specified region around the city of Edmonton. One criticism was that the university was trying to do too much.
The government of Peter Lougheed in 1971 brought changes including a cabinet portfolio specifically for post-secondary education. The newly elected Conservative government was opposed to building a new university in Edmonton, but architectural plans were permitted to continue. A proposal was made to the government to test the new model for three to five years, and if it succeeded, AU would become a fully independent university. This happened under chair Merrill Wolfe. The proposal was accepted by the government.
In the summer of 1972, the new deputy minister of Alberta Advanced Education stated there was a demand for lifelong continuing education. There was also a need for an "Alberta academy" that would evaluate university courses taken at multiple institutions and award degrees based on its evaluations. Meanwhile, AU also proposed to serve part-time students and made the case that this would not affect the traditional universities already established in Alberta or the new approach of AU. An open-door academic policy removing most traditional university admission requirements was part of AU's proposal.
In 1972, a new Order in Council was issued to include only a new pilot project for distance education.

Piloting distance education

Trial and error characterized the pilot period, as there was no similar model to follow for the mandate Athabasca University was given. In 1973, AU began to advertise for students to help with course development. World Ecology was the first course and the core of the pilot project. In-house production of the learning packages for courses was important to the staff, so the university developed its own printing process.
In 1975, plans came together to reach out to students through field services tutors and regional learning resource centres. In 1976, the first part-time telephone tutors were appointed, 24 in total. The tutor role was to facilitate learning, not to teach the course. Tutors were assigned blocks of between 20 and 40 students each, and AU provided toll-free phone numbers that students used for contacting the tutors. All tutors were required to have at least a master's degree.
An early test project for a learning resource centre had books and tapes relevant to the courses available at branches of public libraries throughout Alberta. Although the libraries were keen on the idea, students preferred to remain in their homes to learn. By 1975, the median age was between 35 and 40, and there were 725 students. A minority of students had only completed Grade 9.
In 1975 at the end of the pilot project, an agency was appointed to evaluate its success. A recommendation was made to the Alberta government that the university be made a permanent member of the province's university system. It was also to remain an open university. Under the chairmanship of Edward Checkland, the university gained permanency.
In 1976, Sam Smith took over as president, and the university's permanency was established through an act of the Legislature of Alberta.

Collaborations

The first collaboration the university embarked on was with Keyano College, which eventually led to the opening of a regional learning office in Fort McMurray, Alberta. In 1976, North Island College took on the challenge of delivering many of AU's courses on its many campuses.
In 1984, AU moved its main campus in Edmonton 145 kilometres north to Athabasca. The main campus remains in Athabasca, and there are satellite locations in Calgary, Edmonton and St. Albert.
In 1985, AU reached an agreement with the Correctional Service of Canada for the payment of tuition and program delivery fees for federal inmates taking courses through the university.
In 1994, AU's Centre for Innovative Management introduced the world's first online MBA program, also the first graduate program at the university. The program had 65 students in its first year, and to date there have been almost 4,000 graduates from the online MBA program. Under the leadership of university president Dominique Abrioux, Athabasca expanded programs in all faculties, including graduate studies, with a new MA in Integrated Studies called MA-IS.

Amazon Web Services

Athabasca University is the first Canadian post-secondary institution to enter into a formal collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Inc.. This collaboration modernizes AU's IT infrastructure and the two organizations will also be designing, implementing, and managing cloud education programs, artificial intelligence and machine learning initiatives, and research-based applications for the education sector. The partnership speaks to the five-year digital transformation of Athabasca University, as set out by the university's strategic plans – Imagine: Transforming lives, transforming communities and RISE: Athabasca University's Digital Transformation, Our 5 Year IT Strategy.

Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA)

In June 2014, Athabasca University formally partnered with the CFLPA as the official education provider for their players – both past and present.

Western Hockey League (WHL)

Since 2009, the WHL and Athabasca University have partnered, offering fully accredited university courses to any WHL player interested in pursuing post-secondary studies while playing in the WHL. For the 2018/2019 hockey season, over 75 players have been taking courses through Athabasca University.

Professional Hockey Players' Association (PHPA)

Partnering with the PHPA, members of the association have access to online courses that they can complete through Athabasca University.

Blue Seal Program

The Achievement in Business Competencies Program, also known as the Blue Seal Program, gives Alberta-certified trade and occupational certificate holders the opportunity to earn a business credential that is recognized by employers. A Blue Seal illustrates they have the skills needed to succeed in business.

Education delivery models

The majority of Athabasca University's courses are taught through online distance education, but some courses or components of courses are taught in-person, face to face. The major education delivery models at AU are as follows:
  • Individual study: Students are provided with the textbooks, computer software, and video material required. A preset recommended schedule comes with each course. Each course has a professor, as with any university course. This person publishes a series of learning activities, readings and assessments. That publication becomes additional reading and activity for the student. Assignments are submitted to the professor via email or more commonly via the Moodle assignment drop box. The final exam is administered at Athabasca's learning centres or a partner university, college or accredited individual. Students have up to six months to finish their course, unless they have received a student loan, in which case, they have up to four months. Courses start at the beginning of each month. Most courses are now augmented with additional resources and activities using the Moodle LMS
  • Collaborative, online: Courses in the graduate programs are paced, usually beginning three times a year. The primary delivery platform is the Moodle Learning Management System, that is augmented by web conferencing using Adobe Connect and social networking using elgg-based Athabasca Landing
  • Grouped study: Offered primarily to students physically in Alberta, this method allows students to get together with other students in the same course, and study in a manner similar to that of a regular university. Students studying in this method have up to four months to complete their course. Courses start in September and January.