Virtual Campus expands access to SIAST programs

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With each passing day, the world becomes more and more complex. New advances are constantly being made in all aspects of society, and the employment opportunities of this new century will increasingly require specialized knowledge of these emerging technologies and processes. It is no surprise, then, that the demand for post-secondary education has never been higher.

While university, college and technical institute enrolment continues to rise, though, many of the province's rural residents have been unable to pursue their educational goals. Saskatchewan is a vast land, and a great many of its people do not have the luxury of living within easy reach of the mostly urban-based educational institutions. Until now, the only option for such people, other than moving to the community where a desired program is offered, has been correspondence courses, which are limited in scope and require students to direct their own learning.

Realizing that the very technology that has necessitated a greater reliance on education might also be used to deliver educational programs, officials at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) began, in 1997, to develop the province's first 'Virtual Campus.' After four years and countless hours of work, the Virtual Campus was officially unveiled in November 2001, opening up educational opportunities for a large and previously untapped segment of the population.

"We just did our launch a couple months ago, because we now have a number of courses available online," said Virtual Campus director Barb Bremner. "We're also building a great number for this year, so there will be more and more as we move along."

The concept behind this initiative is quite simple-using internet-connected computers, individuals anywhere in Saskatchewan (or, for that matter, the world) can enrol and participate in fully accredited SIAST courses, without ever leaving the comfort of their own homes. For he first year of the Virtual Campus' operation, 12 courses in nursing, business and forestry are available. An Emergency Medical Technician and an Electrical Apprenticeship program are also being offered, the latter of which was recently recognized by the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission with an outstanding technical training award.

"Our Virtual Campus represents a major achievement in enhancing access to skills and technical training across the province," said SIAST president Art Knight. "Students can take part in courses regardless of where they live, and they can schedule participation around work and personal commitments."

"For Aboriginal people, and for the entire province of Saskatchewan, what this really means is increased access and more opportunities," added Bremner. "We're trying to make more courses available for more people using a number of different options. The online world is one of the ideal environments, because it can do a lot more than what a print correspondence course can do. With print correspondence courses, you're simply reading it. It's a pretty passive environment. In an online environment, you can get more actively involved with the content, and you can also have access to other students and the instructor. I think that suits Aboriginal people, who have different, more interactive learning styles. Their traditions favour a more verbal learning style."

SIAST officials are mindful that, as progressive as the Virtual Campus program is, its goals will not be met if it simply replaces one barrier to the pursuit of education (distance) with another (technology). They have therefore taken pains to ensure their online programs are accessible to more than just the owners of new, high-end computer equipment.

"You can use a standard home computer for access, although there may be minimum computer specifications required by the courses. For example, you do need a minimum 33.6 kb modem. We keep our course requirements pretty low on the compute side, though, because we realize we're dealing with a rural community that doesn't have great access," explained Bremner.

"We're not working a great deal of video into our courses, because bandwidth wouldn't allow for the average person to get it. We don't want to say, 'You have to come to a campus to get it,' because that would decrease the access opportunities that we're trying to improve. Our course designers actually check all the programs on a low-end computer with a low-end modem to ensure they are accessible to people with the broadest possible range of equipment.

"We're also working provincially with other institutions," Bremner pointed out. "Some of the regional colleges are building sites where, if you don't have a home computer but live in a smaller community, you can gain access right in your community. We're trying to bridge that divide, where if somebody can't get access at home they can go to one of these regional colleges and use their computers."

Virtual Campus is already paying dividends.

"It's already so popular, some of its courses are operating at capacity," said Knight. "In fact, some even have waiting lists. That tells me that we're on the right track in terms of meeting students' needs for greater accessibility and flexibility. Today, it doesn't matter if you work three/on and four/off. It doesn't matter if you're the only person in a 50-kilometre radius with a particular training need. If we offer a course through the Virtual Campus, you can learn."