User:Agillisgprc/sandbox

Background:
eCampusAlberta was a consortium of 26 publicly-funded post-secondary education institutions in the province of Alberta, Canada. The consortium worked to facilitate, extend the reach, and enhance the quality of online higher education in Alberta and increase learning opportunities and respond to learning needs across the province. The Government of Alberta recognized online education delivery as a critical component of Alberta’s post-secondary system and provided limited financial resources to support eCampusAlberta’s work with partner institutions to advance this objective. eCampusAlberta worked closely with the provincial government to secure funds for online curricula development, core operations, and raising opportunities available online.

History and Significance:
In 2001, the presidents of Alberta’s colleges and technical institutions approved the creation of a provincial system in Alberta, Canada, to coordinate online course delivery within a consortium framework in order to foster collaboration and increase learner access.

With leadership from Dr. Tricia Donovan and support from Jesal Odedra, Craig Lawson and Joanna Bossert, eCampusAlberta was in operation for 14 years and was governed and managed by a Board of Directors, which consisted of the presidents of the member institutions. The Board was supported by a number of steering committees and an administrative team. The roles and responsibilities of the committees were informed by the Membership Charter, which was approved by the Board of Directors in May, 2008. The advent of the consortium served as a catalyst for conversation and collaboration at a system-wide level. With eCampusAlberta, the immediate and growing demand for increased access had a transformative effect both system-wide and within institutions.

Through eCampusAlberta, students were able to register in more than 900 online courses and 70 provincially-approved online certificate, diploma, and applied degree programs offered by member institutions. In just eight years of operating, annual course registrations grew from an initial intake of 460 in 2003-04 (course registrations began in 2003-04) to 13,107 in 2009-10. From the time of inception in 2002 until 2014, eCampusAlberta reached 100,000 online learners. By 2017, more than 167,623 registrations took place through eCampusAlberta. With learners ranging in age from 15 to 80, eCampusAlberta had a wide reach — helping to connect institutions with learners in 541 Alberta communities and all Canadian provinces and territories as well as learners in 54 countries.

On November 10, 2016, the eCampusAlberta Board of Directors and institutional delegates voted to pass a Special Resolution to cease operations on March 31, 2017. After examining the value propositions and business models within the context of competing budget priorities for institutions, it was evident that eCampusAlberta was no longer viable due to disproportionate support from member institutions and the level of funding then available from the Alberta Government.