By Joel Ward, Red Deer College president and CEO, and Stuart Cullum, Olds College president
The needs of adult learners are unique.
Commitments of children and family, jobs, community, and busy lives can limit education opportunities.
Especially if the learners do not live in the cities where the colleges are located.
Olds College and Red Deer College created Campus Alberta Central (CAC) to serve learners in their home communities. By partnering with over 21 communities and other educational providers, CAC provides valuable post-secondary education opportunities for youth and adult learners in their home communities. Working with local learning sites, students are able to access classes in their own communities and from their own homes, with assistance. They are not left on their own to figure it out—there is community support and face-to-face help available even though many of the courses are offered online.
This connection and personal contact in the communities is what makes CAC successful for the learners.
So it is with great pleasure we are pleased to announce our newest learning centre will be located in Ponoka.
Partnering with Ponoka Adult Learning, the Town of Ponoka and the Ponoka Jubilee Library, CAC will open a state-of-the-art learning hub designed to ensure Ponoka and the surrounding area, including First Nations communities, have access to learning opportunities. Occupying shared space with the town administration and the library will ensure a cost effective delivery model as well as enabling further development for the north end of downtown Ponoka.
The Ponoka Learning Centre will be a showcase for our colleges’ commitments to regional stewardship. By seamlessly blending learning with other community activities and engaging stakeholders through partnerships, CAC will expand its ability to provide educational opportunities for learners and the communities of the Ponoka region.
CAC will work with regional partners to identify potential programs of study designed specifically for the needs of the Ponoka area. CAC will, in collaboration with communities, businesses and the agricultural sector, conduct needs assessments to determine what programs are needed. Programs currently under consideration include agricultural and environmental programming, practical nursing, health care aide, trades like heavy duty equipment operator and, of course, business management.
Perhaps the most exciting and interesting aspect of the Ponoka Learning Centre is the proposed partnership between Ponoka Adult Learning, the library and CAC. The integrated design will give the community access to flexible classroom space within the new library space, making it a true community learning hub for a range of programs.
We could not be more pleased to join with the Town of Ponoka, the Ponoka Jubilee Library and other partners to bring this great new facility to the region.
We anticipate being ready to open this fall.