ATHABASCA – Athabasca University will hold a hybrid convocation ceremony next June that will include an in-person celebration, in Edmonton, a move that has prompted a strongly worded letter from Athabasca County reeve Brian Hall to the AU Board of Governors.
Barely a week following the signing of a new investment management agreement (IMA) between the university and the province, AU announced last week the annual recognition of graduates, traditionally hosted in the Town of Athabasca, will instead take place at the Edmonton Expo Centre June 15-16, 2023.
In his letter dated Dec. 8 Hall expressed his “deep concern that in the week since the AU Board signed the IMA with the Government, on at least three occasions the actions of the University seem to contradict the spirit of that agreement”.
“The announcement yesterday that AU intends to host Convocation at the Edmonton Expo Centre is incompatible with the IMA goal of expanding AU’s physical presence in Athabasca.
“Convocation is AU’s flagship event in Athabasca and the only major event that Athabasca University ordinarily presents annually.
“The university has successfully hosted convocation at the Athabasca campus for 34 years (excepting virtual events due to COVID, and once when fires threatened the region.”
AU is selling the event to grads as an opportunity to “choose your own adventure”.
“This means that our graduates can choose how they want to celebrate, whether it is in person at the Edmonton Expo Centre or by joining us virtually from the location of their choosing.
“We’re taking a hybrid approach to convocation to bring back the in-person traditions that our graduates and team members love, while building on the inclusivity that a virtual celebration offers to those who are unable to attend in-person but who still want to be part of the celebration,” a post on the AU website announced Dec. 7.
Hall’s letter also takes issue with several statements and actions AU has made since the IMA was signed that he called “nothing but inflammatory rhetoric” that “adds nothing to the dialogue and relations within the University community or between the university and the regional community”.
“Most problematic is the statement that the IMA” gives us the ability to continue to work near-virtually,” with the tired narrative that a near-virtual environment will help AU compete for talent” … is the IMA an inconvenient document to work around in every way possible?”
The convocation announcement was also discussed at length during the Board of Governors meeting Dec. 10 and the university will be looking at bringing at least aspects of the convocation back to Athabasca in 2024, which may include busing students who choose to make the trip.
That will be discussed more as the 2024 convocation approaches and numbers are a little firmer.
“I would say when we get to the 2024 prep, we'll probably want to budget what it would cost to do that in Athabasca and ask the local government for assistance; that's what their messages have been for three days now but I'm talking about 2024,” said board chair Byron Nelson during the meeting.
Kristine Williamson, AU’s VP of University Relations, told board members that in years where only an in-person event was offered to students only about 20-25 per cent of eligible graduates attended, whereas virtual events saw upwards of 50 per cent attend, so it was difficult to predict what the numbers would be for a hybrid event.
Board member Lori Van Rooijen, who was appointed as a public member Oct. 10, asked if there had been any communication with the community regarding the 2023 convocation and if those numbers had been shared.
"I guess you could probably understand why the community is a bit upset. You've just signed this new agreement that says you're going to focus in on Athabasca and the announcement goes out and says you're not having convocation in Athabasca,” she said. “Did you have a conversation with the community and let them know about this before? Did you provide any of the statistics to them that you just provided us on who attends in person, or the rationale of why you want to do virtual so that you get more students participating in this event?”
She added a lack of communication with the community has created a “significant PR issue”.
“It's a reputational issue and I would really like to see a plan for going forward to how you're going to resolve the relationship with the Athabasca community because it's not good,” said Van Rooijen.
Williamson responded that since the IMA has now been put to rest, building a plan with partners in the community is at the forefront and that the decision to hold convocation in Edmonton as a hybrid virtual event in 2023 was made this summer.
“We consulted with our learners and consulted the data and survey information that we have about what's the best option for those who've worked so hard to celebrate this milestone but that's also why we also wanted to create an opportunity to collaborate with the community for an alumni homecoming event,” she said.
Van Rooijen said she liked the idea but lamented that the community wasn’t engaged in the decision.
“I just think that would have been good had you had that conversation with the community so that they weren't sending all of us letters about how disappointed they are,” she said. “I just think it's maybe a bit of a lesson learned that we need, and I'm using the royal word we, that we need to work together to establish a better relationship with the community.”
