Graney, J. (2018) Athabasca University gets $4.9 million grant to upgrade outdated IT Edmonton Journal, June 8
One year on from the delivery of the Coates Report, an external review of the university, the Alberta provincial government has announced a one-off additional grant of almost $5 million to the university to help it overcome some of the problems it has been facing. The money is earmarked as follows:
- $1.5 million to implement the university’s new strategic plan, which is in response to the recommendations in the Coates Report
- $1.5 million to develop and implement a plan to improve student delivery services
- $1.5 million to implement the university’s plan to upgrade its IT system, moving to a cloud-based system
- $400,000 to develop a long-range plan to renew the university’s teaching and learning framework.
The grant will enable Athabasca University to modernize significantly its digital learning environment and upgrade the existing IT infrastructure.
Marlin Schmidt, the Minister for Advanced Education in Alberta, is quoted as saying:
I am pleased with the progress made by the university to ensure that the recommendations in the Coates Report are implemented. I know these additional investments will support the university’s long-term success.
Comment
This is very good news for both the university and especially its students. It indicates that the Alberta government has confidence in the future of the university, and the funding provides necessary resources for modernizing and improving the quality of its teaching and other student services.
Once again though I am disappointed by the headline in the Edmonton Journal. ‘Athabasca University gets $4.9 million to become a world leader in digital learning’ would have been a more accurate headline.
True, the university needs to upgrade its IT infrastructure, which was the subject of a scathing audit by the provincial auditor-general, but the majority of the funding has quite rightly gone to ensuring that the overall strategic plan is implemented, and to improving the quality of student services and the quality of teaching.
Congratulations to everyone at AU on getting this far so quickly since the Coates Report. Now you just have to do it.
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
