Quote:
Originally Posted by powderjunkie
|
There's just so so many reasons why this is stupid. Just off the top of my head
- It's an online university! Remote work is perfect for their niche!
- There isn't housing or services for 500 more families in Athabasca, town of 2800
- Conservatively, I bet half of the staff will probably just choose to not relocate to Athabasca and get another job. Where would their partners find work in Athabasca?
- Relocation costs, constructive dismissal costs, oooooof
- Did anyone consider the impact on students???
- Do they even have office space for 500 more staff on campus?
- If staff don't relocate, you are not going to find talent with the type of education and experience you need to run a high quality University in...town of 2100, Athabasca.
- What ever happened to FREEDOM and less Government meddling? Or does that not apply to Universities?
At the end of the day, AU has identified a need in the market for a relatively high quality online Canadian University. They can thrive in this environment. Covid, remote work, and remote learning are the perfect opportunities for them to leverage those advantages and they should be encouraged to lean in that, not become some sub-par random University in a town of 2800 that nobody wants to go to.
If they're forced to go to this model the University will fail and there won't be *any* economic benefit for Alberta or the town of Athabasca.