UFV Adult Ed degree partners with prairie institutions for laddering options

New partnerships between the University of the Fraser Valley and Saskatchewan Polytechnic and Red River College will allow students from those institutions to receive advanced placement in UFV’s Adult Education degree program.

The UFV Adult Education degree is designed for mid-career professionals who are teaching, administering, or developing instructional programs for adults, and/or providing educational support for adult learners.

There are many types of adult education, and instructors who teach adults in some of these disciplines are experts in their field, but may not have formal training in instruction of adults. The Adult Ed degree is designed to help them develop and improve in instructional skills. Most of the students taking advantage of the new partnerships with Sask Polytech and Red River College will be current faculty members at those institutions looking to improve their instructional skills.

The agreement that lets graduates of Sask Polytech’s Faculty Certificate Program (FCP) receive advanced standing in UFV’s four-year Bachelor of Arts in Adult Education (BA-ADED) degree program. Under the agreement, Sask Polytech instructors who have an FCP certificate can transfer 24 credits to the 120-credit degree program.

In addition to transferring their FCP credits, Sask Polytech faculty who enroll in UFV’s BA Adult Ed program may be eligible to transfer credits from diplomas, degrees, trades, and other certificates they may have earned. In total, students can transfer a total of 90 credits.

Similarly, students in Red River College’s Adult Education certificate program will be eligible to transfer 33 credits into UFV’s Adult Ed degree and also apply previously eared credentials to the program.

The agreement requires transfer students to complete 10 courses at UFV. These are taken online in a blended (hybrid) model with students participate through video teleconferencing.

“This agreement helps us realize our role at UFV as the only provider of an undergraduate degree in adult education in Western Canada,” says Dr. Seonaigh MacPherson, UFV Adult Education department head. “We provide opportunities for college and university vocational and trades instructors to complete undergraduate degrees. Our unique blended delivery model enables rich knowledge exchanges with colleagues from other institutions across Canada and allied adult educators from the private and public sectors.”

“This articulation agreement recognizes the significant skills and knowledge that Sask Polytech faculty have developed as adult educators,” says Dr. Anne Neufeld, Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Provost and Vice-President, Academic. “It provides them with an opportunity to broaden their expertise in a highly flexible and expedient way.”