Five Post-Secondaries in Northern Alberta Pen Historic MOU
Friday, March 14th, 2025
Education in northern Alberta is now more connected than ever thanks to a collaborative agreement between five post-secondary institutions.
Keyano College, Lakeland College, Northern Lakes College, Northwestern Polytechnic (NWP), and Portage College today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to broaden educational pathways for students in Alberta’s northernmost communities.
The agreement fosters strategic collaboration between the colleges and polytechnic to ensure enhanced student access, mobility, and learner outcomes.
This marks the first official post-secondary partnership of its kind in northern Alberta and will deliver a strengthened skills and training approach that will stretch 700kms east to west from Lloydminster to Grande Prairie, roughly 560km north to south from Fort McMurray to Vermillion, and everywhere in between.
The MoU is the first step in formalizing transfer agreements and credential recognition between the institutions, which collectively have 34 distinctive campuses across the region. At its core, the partnership aims to ensure that post-secondary education in northern Alberta remains accessible, relevant, and sustainable. This initiative will enable students to stay in the region throughout their educational journey and support graduate retention for career success in the North.
The collaboration between institutions, industry, and government is welcome news. Along with creating a more cohesive and connected post-secondary network, existing and future students will benefit from greater choice and flexibility in their educational journey. In turn, this will strengthen northern Alberta’s employment pipeline with in-demand programs that will help attract and retain local talent.
