'People value the presence of the university': Athabasca region closely watching staffing location dispute
County officials hope the province and Athabasca University administrators are able to come to a meaningful resolution that keeps the school in the northern Alberta community.
Brian Hall, Athabasca County reeve, said not only is the town watching the tense exchange between the university and the province but the entire region is.
"The folks that come and work for the university change the dynamic of the community," he said. "We certainly feel it."
The university acts as an important economic driver for the community, Hall said. He hopes the government and university can come to a resolution that preserves some local in-person positions to help the local economy without losing the post-secondary institution.
"The community has asked to preserve jobs that existed here," Hall said. "(Our) goals and the university's goals are not mutually exclusive."
"(We don't want) a return to 1984, but to protect a number of jobs that are very reasonably done from the community and from the facilities that Athabasca University has here," he added.
Hall said that before the pandemic, the school had around 500 people on-site, but that has shrunk to about 300 overtime.
"It's a beautiful campus," Hall said. "Athabasca is a great place to live."
In 2011, a new $30 million space was built to house the 72,000-square-foot Academic Research Centre, which aims to promote excellence in distance learning.
Hall said community members rallied together to get that campus expansion built to help solidify the university's ability to grow and provide opportunities for local employment.
"That's the result of community support," he told CTV News Edmonton. "At that moment, there was a risk that the community identified that the university would outgrow its space."
"People value the presence of the university and want them to be here."
According to Hall, the university is one of the cheapest for the government to fund, given its success as Canada's largest online university.
Alberta's Advanced Education minister previously asked the university for a concrete plan by June 30 outlining how the school's physical presence in Athabasca would be expanded.
Demetrios Nicolaides told The Canadian Press that university administrators provided him with a plan devoid of any financial asks or cost implications with moving staff.
The province was willing to help the university with whatever it wanted, including money, to relocate 500 employees to the small town.
On Thursday, the minister said in a statement to CTV News Edmonton that the offer remains on the table, and he is open to "alternatives," as the September deadline for Athabasca University to submit a comprehensive strategic plan to the province looms.
"We originally deferred to the university to create a plan to strengthen their presence within the town," Nicolaides said. "But they failed to answer questions posed by government and did not have a clear timeline or plan to have senior administrative functions based in the town."
"In the absence of a plan, we have been forced to develop our own roadmap," he added. "Alberta's government looks forward to collaborating with and supporting the university in any ways necessary, to achieve the goals we have set out for them, as we await their new plan to be submitted by Sept. 30."
Failure to move the staff back to the community would mean the school risks losing its $3.4 million monthly provincial grant, which the school's president has indicated represents a quarter of total funding — that, if lost, could sink the post-secondary.
Peter Scott, Athabasca University president, said in a video statement posted to the university's website last week that moving staff back to Athabasca would "add absolutely nothing to the university."
Currently, 24 per cent of the university's staff live and work in the Athabasca region, helping 40,000 students that predominantly learn online.
"The minister is essentially taking taxpayer dollars and our learners' tuition to fix something that's not broken," he said.
"Athabasca University is a successful remote-work organization. It isn't clear to me why the minister would target an online, digital university and tamper, seek to micromanage its successful cost-effective model."
Bryan Alary, a university spokesperson, said in a statement to CTV News Edmonton that Scott looks forward to meeting with the province to discuss the issue.
"Athabasca University (AU) remains hopeful that the minister is open to finding a mutually agreeable path forward for AU and its learners as this issue has created significant stress for our AU community," Alary said.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Chelan Skulski and The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.