Olds College

The following is an article by Olds College

Olds College Land Agent Program and Land Administration Certificate; Alberta's newest Reform Party

Ok, so we are not resurrecting the political party but here at Olds College we are going through a reform process; Curriculum Reform to be specific. With the Land Agent Diploma program starting in 1982 and the Land Administration Certificate starting in 2002, Olds College has been delivering courses in four, seven week blocks annually. This has allowed us to provide a range of skill specific training to our graduates in an intense, fast paced format. While our graduates have been very successful in industry this process has made the linking of curriculum between courses problematic. It has also raised issues for students wishing to make use of our transfer arrangements with other educational institutions who are not delivering courses in the same format.

To address these issues, effective September 2009, Olds College will be delivering all courses over a 15 week semester with two semesters per year. This new format allows for expanded opportunities for training graduates for industry while focusing on hands-on learning. The goal will be to ensure the new courses are effectively sequenced over the semesters and years and to ensure each course effectively supports the next without creating any overlap between courses. This extensive curriculum restructuring not only will improve transfer arrangements between the college and its educational partners but it also has provided room in the curriculum to offer entirely new courses and enhance existing courses. An example of new courses would include "Oil and Gas Industry Evolution" a "cradle to grave" type of course which looks at the evolution of the industry in Canada and the issues it faces and "Alternate Energy Acquisition" which looks at the eventuality of acquiring access to land for wind and solar power generation . Another new course focusing on Project Management will also be forthcoming. With the advent of curriculum reform we are now able to look at opportunities for delivering our program, either through regular in-class instruction or through on-line delivery, to other provinces or territories in Canada in a form that is compatible with educational institutions in those areas.

Olds College has always been a leader in the training of surface land agents and surface land administrators in western Canada. Curriculum reform now offers us an opportunity to continue to provide industry with the type of quality graduates you have come to expect.

Please contact Doug Peters, Coordinator Land Agent and Land Administration Programs via email dpeters@oldscollege.ca for more information.