The dual credit program at Olds College and Olds High School is a model that could be followed in the rest of the province, Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt says.
Schmidt made that comment to reporters after a speech to the Olds & District Chamber of Commerce this past Thursday.
Under the dual credit program, Olds High School or Olds College students can earn credits in various high school or college courses at the same time.
“I was blown away when I found out the high school completion rates here in Olds. I can't remember the number, 98 per cent or something, way above the Alberta average. So what's happening here is the model for the rest of the province to follow,” Schmidt said.
“When we see success like we see here in Olds, that's a signal to us that something is working really well and we need to give it serious consideration for expansion,” he added.
He followed that statement up during an interview with reporters afterward.
“The partnership between the high school and the college is really innovative,” Schmidt said.
“I think the completion rates are outstanding, and I think that's a model we should look at and see what we can implement in other centres around the province to improve high school completion rates and that transition from high school to post-secondary education all across the province, because we know that Alberta has the lowest transition rate from high school to post-secondary (education) in the whole country, and there's a lot of work we need to do to bring that up,” he said.
Schmidt said the same applies regarding a partnership announced earlier this year between Olds College, the Alberta Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) and the provincial government.
It enables a series of training videos to be produced so front-line hospitality and tourism workers can improve their skills remotely, rather than sitting in a classroom all the time.
That training program will also be offered on a dual-credit basis so high school students can benefit from it as well.
Schmidt said that program is innovative and worth duplicating elsewhere in Alberta too.
“As far as I know, the hospitality and tourism program is unique here in Olds,” he told reporters.
“I'm sure that Olds would serve as a model for any other college to replicate if the demand was there,” Schmidt said.
"I was blown away when I found out the high school completion rates here in Olds. I can't remember the number, 98 per cent or something, way above the Alberta average. So what's happening here is the model for the rest of the province to follow." MARLIN SCHMIDTADVANCED EDUCATION MINISTER
