New Indigenous courses at Athabasca University

New business courses have been added to Athabasca University’s Centre for World Indigenous Knowledge and Research programs which will further enable students to learn about Canada’s First Nations culture, history and management.

“The Centre was created to address the issues, needs and goals of Indigenous education at AU,” said Priscilla Campeau, chair of the CWIKR and program administrator of Indigenous Education.

The Indigenous education centre at Athabasca University was launched in the fall of 2001 and is staffed entirely with Indigenous people.

In addition to nine popular courses which include Aboriginal justice, Indigenous government, and Aboriginal government and law, new courses have been developed which address Indigenous business, financial management, organizational management, and leadership of Indigenous nations and organizations.
“Our goals are to meet the academic needs of Indigenous students, scholars, nations, communities, institutions and organisations,” said Campeau. “As well, we aim to improve the development and delivery of Indigenous Education at Athabasca University and strengthen the research undertaken for, by and about First Nation, Métis and Inuit people.”

CWIKR acknowledges and develops the role of traditional knowledge in academic settings as well as supports, protects and preserves Indigenous Knowledge, education and oral traditions, said Campeau.

The centre is currently working on a Bachelor of Arts program in Indigenous Studies.  In collaboration with the School of Business, the centre opened a bachelor of management degree with a major in Indigenous nations and organizations.

“All Indigenous studies courses are written with an Indigenous subject matter expert and focus on Indigenous knowledge that is relevant to Indigenous learners,” said Campeau.

These courses may be done by individualized study or in a grouped study mode if an adequate number of students request. AU maintains over 350 collaborative agreements with other Canadian and international post-secondary institutions, with professional associations and employer groups and with First Nations institutions and communities.

“We have students that take courses purely out of interest, students that take them to complete other degrees at other universities and students that are completing Athabasca University courses,” said Campeau.

The university has over 700 undergraduate courses and more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs. An average undergraduate is 29 years old and the average graduate student is 37. Eighty-one per cent of students work while they study; 63 per cent of program students study year round, balancing their studies with other commitments; and 63 per cent support dependents. Sixty-seven percent are women.

Because of AU’s distance education mode of delivering courses to anyone, anywhere, regardless of location, more than 74 per cent of graduates are the first in their family to earn a university degree, often living in remote locations far away from urban centres.

 “Our courses are written by Indigenous course authors and we have on staff an Elder, Maria Campbell, who guides us in our centre goals,” said Campeau.