Education Act, Section 23

Boards are required to concentrate their educational programming on students who are six years of age or older and younger than 19 years of age, as of September 1. Any and all adult programs offered by a board are subject to the following conditions:

  • No public post-secondary institutions offer similar programs within the board’s jurisdiction.
  • No courses, programs or vocational training for adults are offered to students residing outside the province of Alberta.
  • All adult programs are offered on a cost-recovery basis using full-cost accounting.
  • Any adult programs are delivered through separate organizational units that include the maintenance of separate records and accountability information.
  • All records and accountability information are available on demand for inspection by Alberta Education.
  • Any adult vocational training is licensed through the Private Vocational Training Act.
  • No board under the Education Act may use the term “college” in connection with its educational or other activities.
  • No funding provided to support ECS to Grade 12 programs is diverted to support any courses, programs or vocational training for adults.

The following definitions apply to the requirements for adult programming:

  • “Adult” means an individual who on September 1 of the current school year is 19 years of age or older.
  • “Adult program” means a set of courses offered to adults that may lead to a post-secondary credential such as, but not limited to, a diploma or certificate.
  • “Adult vocational training” means a program of instruction provided to adults in a vocation.
  • “Vocation” means a particular occupation, business, profession or calling.
  • “Jurisdiction” means the geographical area in the province where education services are delivered, and resident students are governed, by an operating school board.
  • “Separate organizational unit” means an entity for program delivery for which there is a separate program code through which all expenses and revenues for the program are tracked.
  • “Full-cost accounting” means a model that provides details on all the costs associated with producing a product or service.