Moncton, New Brunswick - Francophones in Atlantic Canada will have access to new university-level distance training courses via the Internet thanks to Government of Canada support for a distance education pilot project at the Université de Moncton. The $908,000 contribution by the Government of Canada was announced today by the Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of State for Human Resources Development, on behalf of the Honourable Joseph McGuire, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and the Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry. "This project is an opportunity for Atlantic Canada's Francophone community to improve its skills through new distance education courses," said Minister of State Bradshaw. "The development of our distance learning and training infrastructure will enable our communities to acquire the tools they need to ensure their economic development." The distance education pilot project, submitted by the Université de Moncton, is designed to develop 25 new distance training courses in certain priority niches, i.e. business administration, law, information management, and forestry. The development of these courses will give a significant number of students an opportunity to access training in specific fields that would normally not be available to students living outside the areas served by the Université de Moncton's three campuses or unable to study full time for various reasons. "Our institution is pleased to participate fully in the development of Francophone content and to play a leading role in educational technologies," said Université de Moncton president, Yvon Fontaine. "With this project we can focus on the major potential of on-line learning to offer high-quality distance education that is more accessible and adapted to the needs of our clients. This project was approved under the Government of Canada's Action Plan for Official Languages, as part of the distance learning and training component that ACOA and Industry Canada are responsible for delivering in Atlantic Canada. The Government of Canada's Action Plan for Official Languages, announced in March 2003, included an accountability and coordination framework as well as investments of more than $750 million in education, official-language minority community development and the federal public service. For Electronic Media: Francophones in Atlantic Canada will have access to new university-level distance training courses via the Internet thanks to Government of Canada support for a distance education pilot project at the Université de Moncton. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of State for Human Resources Development, on behalf of the Honourable Joseph McGuire, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and the Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry. According to Minister Bradshaw, these pilot projects will help Francophones in Atlantic Canada improve their skills through new distance education courses. The Government of Canada contributed $908 000 under the Government of Canada Action Plan for Official Languages, announced in March 2003. -30- Valérie Poulin Director of Communications Office of the Honourable Joseph McGuire Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (613) 941-7241 Christiane Fox Office of the Honourable David L. Emerson Minister of Industry (613) 995-9001 Étienne Allard Senior Communications Officer Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (506) 851-2893 Paul-Émile Benoît Director of Communications Université de Moncton (506) 858-4129 Backgrounder Development of New On-line Training Courses Université de Moncton, Moncton Campus Project description The purpose of the project, submitted by the Moncton Campus of the Université de Moncton, is to develop new distance training courses in certain priority niches, i.e. business administration, law, information management, and forestry. The development of these courses will give a significant number of students an opportunity to access training in specific fields that would normally not be available to students living outside of the areas served by the Université de Moncton's three campuses or unable to study full time for various reasons. The courses to be offered by the Université de Moncton are the only courses of this type offered by a French-language university in the Atlantic Provinces. Without this project, students wanting to take training in the areas prioritized by the university would have no other choice but to take courses at one of the institution's three campuses in Shippagan, Moncton or Edmundston. The Université de Moncton, founded in 1963, plays a prominent role in training Atlantic Canada's Acadian and Francophone community. It is also the primary Francophone research and development institution in the region, with 30 research chairs, institutes and centres. In 1999, the Université de Moncton made the decision to increase its focus on distance education. That same year, it received $5.7 million to equip its three campuses with the infrastructure necessary to integrate technologies into its on-campus and distance teaching and to develop the needed expertise.
