News

As online education gains momentum, access to post-secondary education has become a reality for many people - eCampusAlberta is at the heart of making this happen in Alberta. The online institution recently hit its largest number of registrations since its inception in 2002.

According to an official new release, eCampusAlberta officially exceeded 10,000 course registrations for the 2009/10 academic year and is on track to reach well over 12,000 by June 30.

"We are currently anticipating a year-over-year increase in registrations of more than 30 per cent, whereas in 2008/09 our year-over-year increase was 29 per cent. This is noteworthy as it demonstrates that our registrations are not only growing, but are continuing to grow at a slightly accelerated rate," says eCampusAlberta Finance and Operations Coordinator, Craig Lawson.

A consortium of 15 Alberta colleges and technical institutes, eCampusAlberta facilitates greater access to high quality online learning opportunities.

Ann Everatt, Vice President, Academic, Keyano College, applauded the news and says "the 10,000 registrations is indicative of the need to have these courses and programs available to regional and remote communities and truly identifies a need for access through online learning programming."

"We, at Keyano, have been working hard over the past several years to include more and more courses and programs on the eCampus network and we are seeing growth in our efforts and registrations increase," Everatt added.

Barb Armstrong, Senior Strategist, eLearning & Instructional Design, Suncor Learning Innovation Centre, Keyano College, has been involved with the eCampusAlberta since it was first launched. She says the news is not surprising.

"Keyano College always believed in eCampusAlberta. We always knew it would grow and there are still a lot more opportunities coming in the future," said Armstrong.

Keyano College offers the Office Administration Diploma, Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Certificate, and Educational Assistant Certificate programs via eCampusAlberta. Office Software Specialist Diploma and Computer Information Systems are currently in the works.

"Keyano College is a founding member of eCampusAlberta and plays a vital role in creating access to online education for learners across Alberta. I offer my congratulations to Keyano College on achieving a 38 per cent increase in registrations through eCampusAlberta for the 2009/10 academic year and for achieving its highest number of registrations to date," says eCampusAlberta Executive Director, Dr. Tricia Donovan.