Aurora College is pushing back the start of a new general studies diploma by a year because it doesn’t have the right approvals and agreements in place.
In a news release, the college said quality assurance reviews for its two-year general studies diploma – which was supposed to begin for the first time this fall – have not yet been completed by the Campus Alberta Quality Council and the NWT’s Department of Education, Culture and Employment.
Later, in a follow-up email after this article was first published, the college said the Campus Alberta Quality Council is actually not responsible for diploma reviews, and it had made that assertion in error.
The college said it’s also still working on agreements “for credits to be transferable to other institutions.”
“While Aurora College is confident the required approvals will be in place soon, they may not all be ready in time for the start of the 2024-25 academic year,” the college wrote.
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The college says it is contacting applicants for the general studies diploma to discuss either deferring or choosing another option.
In its news release, the college said its board decided to postpone rolling out the diploma because applicants needed to be “aware of exactly what courses they can take, the credentials they will receive, and how the diploma can help them gain acceptance into other post-secondary programs of their choice.”
Introducing a university-level general studies diploma had been seen as a key component of the switch from a college to a polytechnic university – a transformation intended to be fundamentally complete next year.
College president Glenda Vardy Dell called the general studies program “an important step in Aurora College’s plans to increase access to post-secondary educational opportunities for NWT residents” when it was announced.
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Delaying the launch of general studies has a knock-on impact on the Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Social Work programs that are seen as central components of the revamped university’s offering.
Taking general studies is partly “designed to allow graduates to meet the third-year entry requirements” for those programs, Aurora College said.
Correction: April 17, 2024 – 13:49 MT. This article initially referred to Glenda Vardy Dell as the college’s former president. She isn’t, she’s the current president, though her successor has already been appointed and takes over later this year.
