MEDIA ADVISORY

Survey results inform education planning in southern Alberta

CALGARY, May 19, 2010 - Hollywood cinema infrequently plays the starring role in adult education planning, yet a motif from Field of Dreams opened Bow Valley College’s Partnering on Solutions Conference, hosted in High River, Alberta, on May 19.

 

“What is the it to which they might come, who is the they, and will they come if it is built?” asked Dr. Roger Gibbins, President and CEO of the Canada West Foundation. Dr. Gibbins was the keynote speaker at the conference, where stakeholders from communities, government, education, and industry grappled with questions on expanding access to adult education and training in the regional communities around Calgary.

 

“There is nothing easy, neat, or tidy about enhancing access to adult education,” observed Dr. Gibbins. “The it must have a community outreach component. Many will come but not without difficulty and bringing a bewildering mix of backgrounds, skills, and expectations—but this forms the energy that shapes the educational process and the experience.”

 

The Partnering on Solutions Conference was framed around a regional survey of employers and the public-at-large. The surveys examined current perceptions around education delivery methods, attitudes on education and training, as well as current labour market conditions in Bow Valley College’s service region.

 

As the regional learning steward, Bow Valley College brought together many partners to support this effort and strategize on not only the College’s next steps, but also those of communities and other education providers.

 

Sharon Carry, President and CEO of Bow Valley College, likened the College’s stewardship role to that of an academic eHarmony. “Bow Valley College will help broker relationships with learning providers to better serve the region through viable solutions. We all have to work together.”

 

President Carry observed that some solutions are emerging while others are well established. “In looking at Bow Valley College and excluding Calgary, we are already engaging fully 3,255 learners in the region. If we include our eCampusAlberta learners, that number increases to 4,823.

 

“You can see that eCampusAlberta, with its capacity to make a classroom space anywhere there are a computer and Internet connection, will be pivotal as we move forward,” she concluded.

 

The survey project and conference attained the support of 106 community organizations throughout the region and received funding from the Government of Alberta, Mount Royal University, SAIT Polytechnic, University of Calgary, and eCampusAlberta.

 

To view the survey report and conference webcast, go to www.bowvalleycollege.ca/communityvitality