• About Us
• 2007/08 Annual Report Executive Director's Message
  
• Vision, Mission and Mandate
• eCampusAlberta's Five Guiding Objectives
  

The organization enables students from across the province to register in more than 400 online courses and 30 provincially accredited online certificate, online diploma and applied degree programs.

eCampusAlberta works to extend the reach of Alberta’s post secondary education system across the province. The provincial Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology has endorsed online education delivery as a critical component of Alberta’s post-secondary system and supports eCampusAlberta in its work with partner colleges and technical institutes to advance this objective.

eCampusAlberta has established itself as a community hub for online educators.

What is online education or online learning?

Online learning (also called online education or eLearning) is a form of distance education that is conducted through the Internet and supported by communications media, such as audio and video conferencing software, e-mail and other technologies that enable interactive discussions between classmates and between students and their instructors. Many students choose this form of distance education because it enables them to pursue post secondary studies while continuing to work full time, raise a family or remain living in their home community.

Lead and partner model

Online courses are delivered based on a lead and partner model. The lead institution develops and offers the course or program and provides the instruction and materials in an online environment. The partner institution offers support services, such as access to the library and exam supervision as well as research and study skills support.

The advantage of this model is that it enables students to take courses offered by institutions located far from their home but access the services offered by an institution that is close to where they live.

In addition to providing the infrastructure (website, server and software) that facilitates the learning experience for the student, eCampusAlberta also researches and shares high quality standards for online education with member institutions and offers monthly seminars and professional development opportunities for online educators.

Participation in online education has increased steadily since the organization was formed in 2002. The number of registrations in eCampusAlberta courses increased by approximately 37 per cent to  7,128 in fiscal 2007/08, up from 5,128 in 2006/07

Member institutions

eCampusAlberta’s current membership includes: Bow Valley College (Calgary), Grande Prairie Regional College, Grant MacEwan University (Edmonton), Keyano College (Fort McMurray), Lakeland College (Lloydminster, Strathcona County, Vermilion), Lethbridge College, Medicine Hat College, Mount Royal University (Calgary), NAIT (Edmonton), NorQuest College (Edmonton), Northern Lakes College (Slave Lake and Grouard), Olds College, Portage College (Lac La Biche), Red Deer College and SAIT Polytechnic (Calgary).