Portage College, Athabasca University partner on new degree pathways

Partnership gives students more flexible options for learning online and in-person

Edmonton, Alberta, Feb. 17, 2022 – Portage College has partnered with Athabasca University (AU) to offer students five new pathways to earn a degree.

The transfer credit partnership improves learning flexibility for students and aims to attract more learners to the region and allow them to stay longer, for the benefit of the area economy.

“This partnership allows Portage College to provide further degree programming to students across our region as they pursue a variety of focuses and majors. We have heard from various community leaders about the desire for more local degree opportunities, and this partnership with Athabasca University allows students to take and complete these programs through one of our campuses,” said Don Moore, dean of Education, Arts and Culture, and University Studies at Portage College.

The new degree partnership will allow students to study for up to four years. Courses are delivered through an online format with AU, while face-to-face, hyflex, or online options are available with Portage College.

This creates new opportunities for students, including student-athletes, and will help attract international students to both institutions. The agreement builds upon existing collaborations between Athabasca University and Portage College to promote learning pathways for students at Portage College.

“As Canada’s only open and online university, Athabasca University gives students the flexibility to pursue a university education from anywhere—including their home communities,” said Dr. Matthew Prineas, provost and vice-president academic at AU. “We are proud to partner with Portage College and ensure that students can continue to live, study, and work in the region. In doing so, we are not just creating future graduates but future leaders whose knowledge and experience will benefit the entire community.”

The following AU degree programs will be open to Portage College students starting in Spring/Fall 2022:

“I am extremely excited about our partnership with Athabasca University. The ability to open up more degree pathways is paramount to expanding opportunities for learners in our region. We are excited to announce this partnership and open new doors for our students,” said Dr. Donna Feledichuk, Interim Vice President of Academics at Portage College.

About Portage College

Portage College is a public board-governed community College, operating seven strategically located campuses in northeastern Alberta. Collaboration, inclusion, and a commitment to success and accountability are at the core of the College’s values. Portage College has been serving the region for over 50 years and is proud to be the first choice for learners in northeastern Alberta.

Offering more than 30 certificate and diploma programs face to face and online in areas of business, accounting, arts, health care, food sciences and education, as well as apprenticeship trades training, university transfer and academic upgrading, Portage educates thousands of full-time and part-time students every year through their programs and continuing education courses.

About Athabasca University

Athabasca University (AU) is one of the world’s foremost and fastest-growing online and open education institutions, serving 43,000 students across 87 countries. AU is a comprehensive academic and research university offering online Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate programs alongside online courses for both personal learning and professional development. It is uniquely founded on the principles of flexibility and openness, giving students control over their studies to learn whenever and wherever is right for them. For more information, visit: www.athabascau.ca.

Media inquiries

Bryan Alary
Manager, Content and Media Relations
780-203-1988
balary@athabascau.ca

Updated June 29, 2023 by Digital & Web Operations (web_services@athabascau.ca)