Lakeland College is collaborating with Northern Lakes College to offer its Academic Upgrading program to students at the Lloydminster campus.
Starting in September, the program will be available to adults who have a grade four to nine education level and want to receive their high school diploma or start a career. Coordinator for Continuing Education for Lakeland College Raelean Hickson says there is a need for this type of education in the community.
“There’s a gap in the community and our surrounding communities, where students may have completed the classes that they need or that they require, but they don’t necessarily have the academic standing to then move on in post secondary.”
The program will be offered online through Northern Lakes, but the space to learn will be at Lakeland. Hickson says even though it is online there will be an instructor at the Lloydminster campus assisting students along the way.
“There is an instructor who is online at that time, for that duration of the class. There’s blocks, so in the morning you would have a science block and you would be expected to be in class from 8:30 until a break at 9:30, for example.”
The program will offer courses such as communications, science, social studies and math. There will be two dates available for the courses, September 4 to January 31 and February 1 through June 30. Hickson says anyone interested in the program can apply online through Northern Lakes College.
“They would go through the process of the application online to determine whether they’re eligible for which classes. So whatever grade level they’re required to complete that’s assessed and then they’re placed in that grade level by Northern Lakes College.”
She adds that funding is available to students, but eligibility will be determined by the college.
An information session will be hosted by Lakeland College at the Lloydminster Campus on May 15 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for people wanting to know more about the program.