Â鶹ԭ´´

Athabasca University (AU) is an online university. It was established in 1970 as a campus university, but the first long-distance learning course was offered two years later, and AU has since become Canada’s leading open university. From its base in Calgary, Alberta, this institution welcomes students from around the globe, offering a flexible and inspiring digital learning experience.

AU is the fifth biggest university in Canada and one of the four most respected research universities in Alberta. It’s also one of the few 100 per cent online research-intensive universities in the world. Lecturers and tutors at AU are trained to offer an inclusive, interactive online education to every student. There are undergraduate programmes, postgraduate programmes, and a range of professional and personal development courses available to study.

Personalised learning options are always available at AU, where students have more control over the shape of their education than they would at most other universities of this standard. AU is even home to the Canadian Institute of Distance Education Research, offering students career opportunities through research and constantly improving online teaching methods.

For any student who wants to learn at their own speed, fitting their degree around their life and existing responsibilities, AU could be perfect. It’s so convenient and accessible to study at this institution that lots of barriers to education are removed, and people from all backgrounds can learn and grow.

The university’s digital learning environment is well-designed, well-organised and well-respected. Even from across the world, students can create important connections with peers, teachers and employers during their studies. Plus, students will learn important distance work skills that will help them in a professional environment where remote work opportunities are more and more common every year. Distance learning doesn’t need to equal feeling distant, and it never does at AU.

Discover more about studying at AU:

Teaching quality

Entry requirements

Scholarships & funding

University structure

Facilities

Student support

Graduate outcomes

Teaching Quality

AU has been delivering high-quality teaching and accessible education opportunities to students of all backgrounds, overseas and domestic, for decades. It has created over and almost 100 degree programmes (undergraduate and postgraduate) that can be delivered by talented tutors in an interactive digital learning environment.

Not every student has a lifestyle that would suit full-time education in person (from financial limitations to accessibility requirements and disability issues), but every student still deserves the chance to get a great full-time education. AU makes this happen. Teaching quality is a priority, standards are high, timetables are flexible and every student, no matter where they’re learning from, feels heard.

AU’s digital teaching space is designed to support a global community. There is a collaborative environment on the virtual campus that encourages remote peer connections and pushes students to reach their full potential. Everything is accessible, and everyone belongs.

Postgraduate research students are also fully supported at AU, both through the Research Portal and through the virtual IDEA Lab that uses cloud technology to keep everyone connected. Staff and students are currently doing important work to tackle sustainability worries in Alberta and around the world.

Entry Requirements

The entry requirements for AU can vary from course to course, so the university recommends that every applicant looks carefully at the specific programme they want to study to make sure they have the right information. General university requirements for undergraduate applicants are:

• Applicants must be over 16
• Applicants must have completed a minimum of four eligible high school level classes (one must be English)/the equivalent for international students with a different education system
• Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 60 per cent
• Applicants must meet minimum English language understanding requirements

An applicant’s GPA will be calculated automatically by combining their five highest grades. will have similar university requirements to consider, but they will instead need previous relevant university qualifications (usually a bachelor’s degree at minimum). Requirements and deadlines can vary for international students, but more details are available on the AU website.

Athabasca accepts students all year round, and application deadlines are flexible. Students who don’t meet the entry requirements can sometimes take further learning courses at Athabasca to make up the credits they need before they enrol on a degree programme.

English Score Required

AU programmes are made for students with a range of abilities and experience levels. The admission rate is high. Still, since AU courses are taught and assessed in English, most international students applying will need to prove a certain level of English proficiency. AU international applicants at the undergraduate level can offer the following things as proof:

• Completion of high school in an English-speaking country
• Completion of 15 university credits from an English-speaking university with an overall GPA of 75 per cent
• Completion of one year at a non-university post-secondary institution with an overall GPA of 75 per cent
• Completion of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test with an overall band score of at least 6
• Completion of the Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL) with an overall score of at least 60 per cent
• Completion of the Michigan English Language Battery (MELAB) test with an overall score of at least 80
• Completion of the Pearson Test of English (PTE) with an overall score of at least 59
• Completion of the online Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with an overall score of at least 80 (including a score of at least 20 on the essay section)
• Completion of the programme at AU with an overall average of 75 per cent

Postgraduate requirements are often similar or slightly higher but will change more between courses. AU recommends that applicants at all levels of study look into their specific programmes for further guidance on English scores and minimum proficiency levels.

Admission

The AU student admission process can be different depending on the level of study/subject of study. It’s also slightly different for domestic and overseas students, with full guidance available on the AU website.

All undergraduate applicants should start an application through Apply Alberta, the province’s online system. They’ll make their programme choice as part of their initial application and share personal details and education details. They’ll also mention if they’d like to be evaluated for a credit transfer (an evaluation fee is charged when a student wants to transfer previous post-secondary education experience into ).

After this, applicants will complete an Undergraduate General Application on the AU website and pay a one-time non-refundable student admission fee of CAD 123 (as well as an evaluation fee, if this applies, of CAD 121).

Postgraduate applicants should complete a Graduate Application Form on the AU website and follow a similar process, sharing details and paying a non-refundable admission fee. They’ll then need to submit a programme-specific application form.

Applicants should aim to register at least one month before the intended start date of their course to allow time for their documents to be processed. Students studying internationally should know that they may have different timelines for processing exam requests and marking examinations. Applications at AU are accepted year-round, but there are rolling application deadlines to be aware of (and these deadlines change between programmes).

Scholarships & Funding

There are some great , awards and bursaries open to AU students. These funding support options are offered by the university and through a range of local, regional, and international initiatives.

One example is the Albert and Pirkko Karvonen Environment Award, which offers students CAD 1,500 for research projects focused on environmental research. Another example is the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship, which awards postgraduate students CAD 11,000 based on academic merit.

While lots of the scholarships available are based on academic performance and community involvement, AU also offers bursaries specifically designed for students with certain financial needs/students experiencing sudden financial hardship.

Since AU is an online university, applicants should also know that the tuition fees are very reasonable. Undergraduate course costs start at CAD 5,370 for Alberta residents and CAD 10,230 for students outside the province (including international students). Postgraduate course costs start at CAD 15,320 for Alberta residents and CAD 17,490 for everyone else.

Plus, students only have to pay for their classes when they register for them. All AU students have control over their course load and pace of study, which means they also have control over their finances/how much their fees are each academic semester.

University Structure

AU offers lots of online courses (over 800) and degree programmes (almost 100). There are credit and non-credit courses. Everything is set up to be as flexible and simple as it can be for students. There are five managing the wide range of courses and programmes:

• The Faculty of Business
• The Faculty of Health Disciplines
• The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
• The Faculty of Science and Technology
• The Faculty of Graduates

Since AU is 100 per cent online, there are unique organisation challenges that the university faces (and solves very well). The virtual learning environment at AU is well-structured, and there are portals for every possible student need, from career advice to research collaboration. Every AU staff member cares about creating a great learning experience for the institution’s distance students, so this is always the priority when organisation decisions are made at the university.

For student researchers at AU, there is a Research Services Office and a Research Development Office. There’s also a full research portal, an IDEA Lab and many routes to online advice and mentoring from staff. Students at every level of study are as supported by AU as they would be if they were attending in person. That’s the magic of Athabasca.

Facilities

Since AU is based online, there are no traditional campus facilities and no student accommodation options. They aren’t needed! The lecture theatre transforms into whichever room is most convenient for the student on the other end of the desktop computer or laptop. The student recreation centre is the local gym. The student activity centre is an online portal, well-designed to create connections and easily accessed from anywhere.

The campus café is any café in a student’s area, maybe even their own kitchen, with a home-brewed coffee? Just 15 minutes after getting out of bed, students can be ready to attend a class. There’s no commute. There are no physical accessibility issues to deal with, although the staff at AU do still take digital accessibility concerns very seriously and do everything they can to accommodate different learning types and disabilities.

One important student life centre on a traditional university campus is the library, a place filled with important study and research resources. AU has even been able to move the library experience online for its students. The available on the AU website is amazing, with materials designed to support students across all programmes and courses.

There’s a huge journal database, lots of eBooks, AV materials and more. There’s a team of library staff at the Library Information Desk who can answer student queries quickly. The library staff also host a range of webinars (on everything from student orientation to specific subjects like science, engineering and culture). There are even guides created by the library staff, resources to help students figure out the research process and make the most of all the online library items.

Other helpful online facilities at AU include the student portal, myAU. There’s a Student Record section in this portal under My Courses on the home page. When students navigate to this section, they’ll find they can do all of the following easily and digitally:

• They can register for a course
• They can withdraw from a course
• They can get a tutor-marked exercise form
• They can apply for a course extension
• They can request an exam
• They can check their grades
• They can change their programme
• They can request a transcript
• They can get an income tax form

Though there’s no physical campus for students at AU to enjoy, there are lots of very useful and easy-to-access facilities. Plus, one of the best parts of AU student life is the fact that everyone enrolled can fit their studies around their current life (and all the facilities and amenities available in this life).

Accommodation

Students who want to study at AU can learn from wherever in the world they want to. The institution is 100 per cent online, so there’s no need for an applicant to worry about moving across the world, finding university accommodation, and adjusting to a new life in Canada.

Students who do live/want to live in beautiful Calgary will find that AU doesn’t offer student accommodation. Still, there are lots of great rental options in the city, from shared student houses to studio apartments.

For AU students, there is a lot of freedom of choice when it comes to accommodation and everything else. If an international applicant wants to move to Calgary to study at AU, they can (though there will be some to think about when compared to the admission process for a person who isn’t moving to Canada). If an international applicant would prefer to stay where they are, they can do this, too.

Student Support

Student support services are always available at AU to help with issues related to a student’s academic life, a student’s personal life or a student’s financial situation. Tutors are assigned to every student, so every person has a dedicated student guide. And for more advice, students can also reach out to the Student Support Centre with questions, worries and concerns.

AU can help applicants choose a course and plan their programme. The online library team can help students with research, referencing and academic writing. The Write Site can coach individuals and offer assessments and exercises to improve written techniques. Career and personal counsellors can build personalised student support programmes for people in need, handling worries all the way from time management to career indecision to mental health struggles.

There are lots of places to turn at AU. Even though the experience is fully online, students are never truly alone. In fact, AU is always working on new ways to support students, push them to their full potential and care for their wellbeing.

One good example is TalkCampus, an anonymous peer support platform that AU students can use when they want to discuss their issues with other students instead of university staff. Sometimes, it’s better to speak with a person who understands the current student experience and can relate. So, AU provides a way for students to do exactly this.

AU also has lots of online services to help students with disabilities do well in their studies. Whatever a student’s learning needs are, they can find support on the AU website. There’s even an IT Help Desk to turn to for technical issues, which will almost definitely happen from time to time on a fully digital university programme.

Graduate Outcomes

AU is inclusive and accessible to almost every learner in the world. Almost 100 per cent of graduates were happy with the education they received at AU, with 95 per cent confirming that they would recommend the institution to a friend. Plus, nearly 90 per cent of graduates said they were now in a job related to their field of study at AU.

AU programmes prepare students for professional life by holding them to a high standard, but there are also lots of great career services and online career guide resources available to everyone enrolled. There’s even a full questionnaire available on the AU website to help students explore their career options and figure out their post-graduation job prospects.

All the AU employment services are designed to give students the information and skills they need to increase their prospects. Studying at AU isn’t a complete journey, it’s the first part of a long and successful professional journey and a chance to become another amazing AU alumnus. From one-on-one career advice sessions to CV writing webinars, there’s nothing the university doesn’t do to get its students ready for the working world.