Alberta is in the process of rolling out its new centralized online application and transcript transfer system for students applying to the province’s postsecondary education institutions. If all goes according to plan, all of Alberta’s public colleges and universities will be using the system, called ApplyAlberta, by this fall.
The University of Lethbridge recently welcomed a group of high school students to participate in a test of the system, and it apparently passed with flying colours.
Alberta will thus become the third province with a centralized application system. Ontario was far and away the first in Canada with such a system – for universities – with the creation of the Ontario Universities Application Centre back in 1971. B.C. also has a centralized application system through myBCcampus.
Such systems are great for students, reducing the need to fill out multiple forms and making it easier for them to keep track of the admissions process. It also makes it much easier and less costly for universities to manage multiple applications and admissions.
As well, such systems are a great source of information. OUAC, for example, produces various statistical reports that are useful to governments for public policy purposes and that are also invaluable to universities for institutional planning.
