Most students are aware to some degree of the social networking site Facebook. Michael Shouldice, a Senior Recruitment Officer with Athabasca University, has been with AU since 2006 and explains the possibilities Athabasca University sees in the use of this site. ?Facebook was created back in 2003,? Shouldice notes. ?When I started my original position… Read more »

AUSU’s Student Service Award is ?designed to recognize members who have made outstanding contributions to their community,? including ?members who volunteer their time to AUSU, AU or to any other community or organization.? Three winners were recently chosen for this award: Tyler Nagle, Lorie Craig, and Sarah Beamish. All three were kind enough to discuss… Read more »

While most AU students enjoy the flexibility of distance education and the freedom it gives them from the confines of scheduled classes, there are also inherent difficulties in the process. For example, when learning French by distance education, how are students to cope with distance education’s lack of face-to-face interaction? ?An essential aspect of language… Read more »

The Returning Student Award is AUSU’s newest student award, and was first offered in May 2009. The award is ?intended to recognize the courage of students who return to university after two or more years away from formal schooling,? with preference given to those students who ?have been away from formal education for longer periods,?… Read more »

Fluency in both of Canada’s official languages is becoming increasingly more common. The ability to speak French has even become a skill necessary to attain many jobs. How is language-learning experienced at a distance, though? Are AU French classes comparable to those found in ?regular? brick-and-mortar universities? Dr. Vina Tirven-Gadum, Assistant Professor of French Language… Read more »

AU’s WMST 401, Contemporary Feminist Theory, is a senior-level, three-credit social science course. It is offered through the Centre for Work and Community Studies and has no prerequisites, though WMST 266 is recommended. Contemporary Feminist Theory gives students the opportunity to learn about feminist theory and women’s movements around the globe, as well as providing… Read more »

The Athabasca University Students’ Union has long provided services to and represented the interests of undergraduate students at Athabasca University. But graduate students at AU have until recently remained without official representation, relying on the voluntary services of AUSU. With the inception of the Athabasca University Graduate Students’ Association, or AUGSA, graduate students now have… Read more »

IDRL 308 ? Occupational Health and Safety is a three-credit course offered by AU’s Centre for Work and Community Studies. This course ?examines issues of life and death on the job within their political and economic context.? Dr. Bob Barnetson explains that ?the risk of workplace injury is typically thought to be minimal, unavoidable and… Read more »

Geology 313 – Our Physical Resources, ?explores the nature and uses of numerous physical resources.? This senior-level science class has no prerequisites, and thus attracts a wide range of students. Dr. Ken Munyikwa is an Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, and currently coordinates Geology 313. ?Our Physical Resources examines the occurrence and exploitation of major… Read more »

Athabasca University’s Master of Arts – Integrated Studies (MAIS) degree offers ?a unique opportunity to engage in a program of study that spans the arts, humanities, and social sciences,? and allows students to design their own learning plan which is ?comprehensive in scope but specific in focus.? This ability to integrate multiple areas of study… Read more »