1. ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY
The Future Today
Frits Pannekoek, President
Athabasca University

3. Some Statistics
• 40,000 students taking 70,000 courses
• 70 program, 900 courses
• 74% first in family to have a degree
• 3 doctoral programs
• Largest M.A. program
• Largest Nursing program
• A number of research institutes (E learning,
Project Management, Athabasca River Basin)

4. Quality Environment
• Only Canadian University accredited in the
U.S.
• One the four research intensive universities in
Alberta
• A Provincial University subject to the
Provincial Quality Agency
• Courses fully transferable to 64 Canadian
post secondary institutions

5. Quality Environment
• All courses are carefully designed to ensure
consistent learning outcomes.
• All courses subject to peer review
• All programs subject to normal five year
reviews
• All professional programs are accredited
• All courses tutored by at least someone with
an M.A

6. The Difference
• Remove all barriers to learning
• Anyone in – over 18
• Continuous enrolment in most programs
• Prior Learning Assessment program
• Learning Support Structures
• Home/group and on line study

7. The Difference
• Fewer faculty – faculty as content specialists
• University ownership of the course IP
• Focus on outcomes not inputs
• Scalability
• Lower per unit costs
• Focus on student as the learner, their context, and
their community.
• Focus on IT rather than traditional infrastructure

8. The Resistance
• Competition
• International resistance
• New international laws
• Quality “red herring”
• The Ranking Industry and its impact
• The new/old competition

9. The Future
• Re evaluation of the value chain in post secondary
environment must happen – there will be new
structures
• For example - Best first year
• Digital environments – i.e. OER’s, Learning
Analytics, social software etc.