Founded in 1970 by the Government of Alberta, Athabasca University (AU) is Canada’s pioneer and foremost public open and digital research university. Serving more than 40,000 students across Canada and over 90 countries worldwide, AU revolutionized higher education by removing traditional barriers of time, space, and prior academic credentials. Headquartered along the scenic Athabasca River in northern Alberta—with major learning and research hubs in Edmonton and Calgary—Athabasca University is organized into four dynamic academic faculties: the Faculty of Business (which launched the world’s first fully online Executive MBA in 1994), the Faculty of Science and Technology (home to the CIPS-accredited School of Computing and Information Systems), the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Faculty of Health Disciplines. Furthermore, AU is uniquely accredited both in Canada by the Alberta Ministry of Advanced Education and in the United States by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), making it the first Canadian public university to hold comprehensive US regional accreditation. With an open admission policy for undergraduates, monthly year-round course starts, and a flexible pay-as-you-go tuition framework, Athabasca empowers global learners to achieve fully accredited Canadian university degrees on their own schedules.

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