Athabasca University

The front entrance of the main campus building at Athabasca, Alberta.

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.

AU's mandate was later revised to include graduate studies as well, and the university has offered graduate programs and courses since 1994.

In April 1971, Timothy C. Byrne was appointed the first president of Athabasca University, and he assumed office in June that year.[6]

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.[6]

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.[6] 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.[6]

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.[6]

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 admissions policy removing most traditional university admission requirements was part of AU's proposal.[6]

In 1972, a new Order in Council was issued to include only a new pilot project for distance education.[6]

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.[6]

Contrary to much current belief, Athabasca University was not modelled after the Open University, but was developed in its present form during the pilot project. AU became aware of what the Open University was doing when, during the final year of the project, a representative went to Milton Keynes to discover any methods its staff might have devised to speed up production.[6]

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 (and are still) required to have at least a master's degree.[6]

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.[6]

Inviting students to register in a course and then forcing them to wait an unconscionable length of time for delivery of units was obviously not a way to establish a reputation as a reliable institution.[6]

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.[6]

In 1976, Sam Smith took over as president, and the university's permanency was established through an act of the Legislature of Alberta.[6]

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. (This regional office would later close.) In 1976, North Island College took on the challenge of delivering many of AU's courses on its many campuses.[6]

In the mid-seventies, two young Canadians, one of whom was the son of a prominent Edmonton family, were indicted in an English court for attempting to smuggle drugs into the country. They were each sentenced to a lengthy prison term and incarcerated in one of England's most infamous prisons. Each registered in one of Athabasca University's first three courses, becoming the first two in a long list of prison inmates to join its student body.[6]

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.[6]

The university maintains more than 350 collaborative agreements with other Canadian and international educational institutions, with professional associations, with businesses, and with Indigenous institutions and communities.[9]

Through Athabasca University's partnerships with other post-secondary institutions, students have options. For example, they can add an Athabasca University course to their program at a partner institution, take classroom versions of Athabasca University courses at a partner institution or enrol in an Athabasca programs while studying at or working for a partner institution.[10]

Through established transfer agreements, Athabasca University also recognizes previous education that obtained through colleges, technical institutes, or professional organizations. Block credit transfer arrangements have been established with numerous educational providers across Canada, granting program graduates a specified number of credits toward a particular degree.[11]

A range of academic partnerships are in place, including a recent announcement in early 2019 with Lakeland College.[12]

Athabasca University is the first Canadian post-secondary institution to enter into a formal collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS).[13] 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.[14] 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[15] and RISE: Athabasca University's Digital Transformation, Our 5 Year IT Strategy.[16]

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

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.[17]

Partnering with the PHPA, members of the association have access to online courses that they can complete through Athabasca University.[18]

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.[19]

In addition to delivering courses and programs primarily through online distance education, Athabasca University has a Centre for Distance Education (CDE).[21] Since 2019, the CDE has existed in name only, and its staff and programs are now part of the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences (FHSS). The former CDE, led by a core faculty and supported by additional sessional instructors, offered graduate-level courses and programs that taught other educators how to develop, design and deliver online education. The CDE was home to North America's first online Doctor of Education in Distance Education, and it also offered a Master of Education in Distance Education and post-baccalaureate certificates and diplomas in distance education technology, instructional design, and technology-based learning. These programs and associated teaching methods continue to thrive in the FHSS.

AU also sponsors the publication of the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, which is listed in the Social Sciences Citation Index and is a well-known and frequently cited scholarly journal in the field of distance and open education.[22]

• Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
• Association of Commonwealth Universities
• Canadian Association for Graduate Studies
• Canadian Virtual University
• International Council for Open and Distance Education
• International Association of Universities[27]
• University of the Arctic
• Organization of American States (OAS) Consortium of Universities.[28]

AU has five faculties: College of Business, College of Health Disciplines, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Science and Technology and College of Graduate Studies.[31] AU spends over $2 million per year on research.[32] The university has four Canada Research Chairs, one NSERC/Xerox/Markin/ICORE Research Chair and one of three UNESCO/COL Chairs.[33] The Athabasca University Research Centre is the primary centre at the university, along with the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute and the Centre for World Indigenous Knowledge and Research. AU is also a participating member of the WestGrid Research Network.

• Martin Connors, Canada Research Chair, space science, discovered Trojan asteroid associated with planet Earth (2011)
• Joseph Pivato, professor of Comparative Literature who published eleven books on Canadian authors and ethnic minority writing.
• Tracey Lindberg, Canada Research Chair, indigenous knowledge and law, many publications on social and legal questions
• George Siemens, assistant professor, distance education, theorist in distance education, creator of theory of Connectivism, leader in learning analytics

Facing financial pressures in 2015, Athabasca University underwent an independent third-party review to report to ascertain long-term solutions.[41] The report[42] found that there was a significant student demand for flexible, online post-secondary options, but that Athabasca University needed a clear and shared vision for the future.[43]

Looking to the future and guided by a new president, Neil Fassina, Athabasca University charted a renewed course. Building off recommendations from the Coates Report, Imagine: Transforming Lives, Transforming Communities[44] was a strategic plan forward, built out of extensive collaboration with the entire Athabasca University community and acted as a roadmap with priorities to guide them on the path forward.

Undergraduate students at Athabasca University are represented by the Athabasca University Students' Union. The AUSU head office is in AU Edmonton, though the students' council may have elected members from any area where AU students reside.

AUSU was officially incorporated as of 16 July 1992, and was formalized as a registered Alberta society until students' unions in Alberta were granted recognition under the Post-Secondary Learning Act. On 13 September 2004 the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta approved an order in council establishing "The Students' Association of Athabasca University".

AUSU offers services to its members including but not limited to: student awards, a free subscription to LinkedIn Learning, student advocacy, and Athabasca University course evaluations.[50] Student media at Athabasca University is provided by the official publication The Voice Magazine. Previously published on paper, the magazine since 2001 is published exclusively online in HTML and PDF format.[51]

Visiting and program students at the graduate level are represented by the Athabasca University Graduate Students' Association.[52] The organization was founded in 2010, and approved by the Alberta Advanced Education.