Study preparation program at Blue Quills

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Athabasca University is delivering its new on-site Academic Preparation Program for the first time to students at Blue Quills First Nations College in St. Paul.

The program's goal is to boost students' self-confidence and improve their study skills. Developed by the university's Student Services department, it teaches students time management, organization, reading and memory skills, note taking and exam preparation.

"The program can be adapted to the particular needs of any group," says Virginia Nilsson, university learning assistance psychologist and the program's co-ordinator. "For the first time in Alberta, a multi-media program to prepare students for the challenge of post-secondary study can be delivered on-site, virtually anywhere there is a demand. It is particularly suited for those people who have been out of school for a number of years."

Students can apply what they learn because the program is taught during the academic year. Athabasca University improves students' study habits and they use the course content to practice. The program uses books, films, lectures, small group discussions, as well as exercises and quizzes to allow students to learn in ways best suited to individual styles.

But instilling self-confidence in students is often the biggest challenge says Leo Jacobs, who teaches the program at First Nations College. Students at the college are predominantly Native.

"I can understand the obstacles the students have to overcome to be successful in post-secondary studies because I have experienced them myself," he explains.

His desire to help fellow Native people succeed in post-secondary studies prompted him to accept the offer to teach Athabasca University's program this fall.

Jacobs' own success story inspires the students he teaches because as a ward of the government as a teenager, he had struggled through high school, later pursuing management training, at night, while working as a mechanic in Edmonton. Following a successful move to a management position in a large trucking company, he completed a B.Ed in industrial and vocational training at the University of Alberta, and returned to teach at the high school where he once battled to complete Grade 12. He is currently working on an M.Ed. at the U of A.

Athabasca University is an open, distances education institution serving more than 10,000 students across Canada. The university offers degrees in administration, arts and general studies, and university certificated in administration and public administration. Students can choose from more than 150 courses.

For more information about the Academic Preparation Program, contact Student Services, Athabasca University, at 675-6148.