Lakeland College and Athabasca University are growing their 14-year partnership to offer more degree pathways to Lakeland's university transfer students.
This enhanced partnership provides 12 new Athabasca University degree options to university transfer students that can be completed locally starting September 2019 at Lakeland's Lloydminster campus.
“We are pleased to offer more opportunities for our students to achieve their educational goals. This partnership allows university students to start and finish their degree program without having to leave our community, which is an exciting value-added opportunity as they will have access to our student support services and more,” says Michael Crowe, Vice President, Academic and Research for Lakeland College. “We appreciate our partnership with Athabasca University and how it creates new complete learning pathways for students that will help them realize their full potential.”
The 12 new Athabasca University degree options Lakeland's university transfer students can now complete locally include:
- Bachelor of arts with concentrations in history, psychology, sociology and general;
- Bachelor of arts with majors in history, political economy, psychology and sociology;
- Bachelor of human resources and labour relations; and
- Bachelor of science with majors in general, applied math and human science.
To date, Lakeland's university transfer students have had access to Athabasca University's bachelor of general studies degree program.
To complete these 90- and 120-credit undergraduate programs, university transfer students will take a blend of face-to-face courses offered by Lakeland College and online courses totaling 30 credits from Athabasca University.
“Our mission is to remove barriers that restrict access to and success in university-level education,” says Dr. Matthew Prineas, Athabasca University Provost and Vice-President Academic. “Partnerships like this are crucial for community leaders who want to build their community without having to leave it and for the learners who want the ability to personalize and optimize their chosen educational pathway.”
Through this partnership, the institutions have agreed in principle to a dual-admissions process, which would allow university transfer students to enrol as both a Lakeland College and Athabasca University student from the start of their chosen degree program.
Lakeland's business students have also had access to university-level study from Athabasca University thanks to the institution's longstanding partnership. Students who've completed the college's business administration diploma program can complete a bachelor of commerce or bachelor of management degree in two years.
About Athabasca University: Athabasca University (AU) is one of the world's foremost and fastest growing online education institutions, serving over 40,000 students worldwide. The Athabasca University experience represents a rigorous, high quality university education accessible to any learner 16 years of age and older. AU offers over 900 courses at the undergraduate, graduate, diploma and certificate program level in addition to online professional development. Disciplines include arts, business, health, education and science. Committed to advancing research, AU is home to Canada's only UNESCO Chair in Open Education, four Canada Research chairs, and two Campus Alberta Innovates program chairs.