MacEwan University

While I’ve never taken a course here, I have been here from the time when I was a child and it was Grant MacEwan Community College until now for various reasons: swim camp, swim meets, guest lectures, special events, book launches and more! The buildings are all new and useful. The downtown campus is very well located for transit access and there is ample paid parking as well as walking paths to get here.
It all feels relatively new and useful as a venue for events and activities.

First, I didn’t attend this university.
I was in Edmonton for a wedding with my giant family. We were looking for somewhere affordable to stay. During the summer, the residence is available to the public for renting! My gang booked a 4 bedroom suite. It had 2 bathrooms (awesome), seating area and a kitchenette (microwave, large fridge and stovetop).
They turned it into a regular hotel, towels and all! It’s nothing fancy, but it did the job. Free wi-​fi too!
A great location! You’re within walking distance of all the necessities.

After transferring from the South Campus I spent a good portion of my early twenties at this location of Macewan. The student services at this campus are excellent. I found it fairly painless to get in to see the advisors for loan and program change questions and there are alot more time slots available to see counselors then at the other campus locations. I think Macewan has a stand out counselling program and speaking as a person with anxiety disorder I have to say they did a great job of helping me stay grounded during my time in post secondary.
Downtown houses alot of the degree programs as well as the Special Needs Education Assistant program, Police Studies, and the Emergency Communications and Response program just to name a few. I found the teachers very approachable and willing to invest extra time into you if you were struggling with certain concepts but I think the registrars office could do alot better job of interacting with the students. I would get emails from staff about fee’s that did not provide phone numbers or office locations so that the only option was to correspond with them online.
I always like that you could get deals on cheap WEM and movie passes at the student association office but it would have been nice to see more sales in the book store. I always though that the Macewan clothing was a bit over priced. Speaking of over priced the campus food options while plentiful are much more expensive then if you were to walk the few extra blocks to City Center Mall and eat there.
All in all I really enjoyed the things I learnt as well as the people I met during my time at Macewan. I think if things remain the same in terms of government funding for post secondary in a few years Macewan will more than likely surpass the UofA in terms of not only enrollment but student satisfaction and career prospects as well.

From my dentist’s office you can see those distinct tower quartets that constitute GMACs main campus. A fellow patient astutely inquired as to the function of those towers and if they didn’t have a function it was a waste of money. My response? That’s where they keep all supplies in case there is a zombie apocalypse! And note dear friends if there ever was a zombie apocalypse, I’ll be up on those towers shooting zombies like Priest in Resident Evil 2!
This being said it’s alright inside. Good lighting, good places to sit. The classrooms are ok, but I find a fair number of their rooms cramped in the seating department. The underground parking is nice and only $ 4 during the weekend, so its reasonable. Why is it that Tim Horton’s appears to be the only thing open on the weekends? There are people on campus during this time. Seems like lost revenue to me.

I only went here for one semester but enjoyed my time immensly. The prof was hilarious, was in biology class so it made it even more awesome. I enjoy the fitness facility here as well. The pool is awesome. Parking sucks but there are times when you can fins an open freebie spot. BONUS.

Alma Mater, I miss this place! This place is the warmest environment I have ever been in. If your goal can be executed at MacEwan, please go here.

This campus location is awesome. There are many places to curl up for a nap, sit in the sun with friends, grab a coffee or study in silence.
This campus is huge and bright. I really miss it actually.
I went here for two years before moving to the big orange campus on the west end and I certainly miss it very much.
Classes, professors and education criteria aside, this campus rocks for many reasons that ACTUALLY matter to students.
The cafeteria is massive and has more options than any other campus under the Grant MacEwan name. You can be healthy (Subway) or greasy (Pizza 73) or drunk (Towers Bar).
If you head to the 2^nd floor you can find a pathway between 2 buildings where you can lay in the sun like a cat and soak up the warmth. Purrr…
This campus is pretty new and it still has that feeling. It is clean and easy to get around as well. There is a great gym here as well that can be visited by students in off peak hours.
I enjoyed my two years at this campus, and eventually, all the Grant MacEwan schools will be at this location, which will be really nice. I don’t think I can extend my schooling long enough to go back downtown, but I sure wish I could.

Right after I got accepted to the University of Alberta, and before September semester commenced, I took several 100 level courses at Grant MacEwan to get credits and to save some money. Overall, I was really impressed with instructors, course outlines, and the atmosphere at MacEwan in general. Unlike university, there are no large auditoriums here, and most classrooms are small. This means that there are fewer students in the class, thus the instructors can devote their undivided attention to almost every single person in class, and engage students in group discussions. To timid students this may sound terrifying, but it isn’t, and it’s something everybody gets used to. Plus, practice makes perfect, and with time, group discussions, presentations and the fact that the instructor makes students active in the classroom, don’t pose any threat but rather make one feel empowered. Also, not all professors are alike: while some strive to engage their students as much as possible, others simply read from their notes and leave students to their multiple choice exams. I have taken three courses at MacEwan: Psychology, English and Statistics, and although all three professors had different styles of teaching, all of them were great. Professor Chaudhuri who taught my English class may have been the strictest professor I have ever encountered, but he was the one I learned from the most.
Now onto the campus itself… Grant MacEwan is very modern. Most of the rooms are renovated and equipped with comfortable tables and chairs. The hallways are wide and bright. The upstairs library is magnificent! There are lots of study rooms available for those who crave some peace and quiet. And overall, MacEwan doesn’t feel intimidating or scary; it is an urban type place that is open and airy. The newly added Nursing building looks like a state of the art creation with its floor to ceiling windows and modern exterior.
The only negative thing I can think of is that it is virtually impossible to find parking by MacEwan; even if you only need 5 minutes to return the book to the library.

As of September 24, 2009 this college became a university. I know a lot of people who wish this change took place sooner because they would rather be at Grant MacEwan than the U of A. I would agree.
When you are at Grant MacEwan you do not even feel like you are in a school. It is very modern looking and it’s large amount of windows makes everything seem less stressful. I really like how they have small classes instead of huge auditoriums, it allows for a better learning experience. It has one huge library and a bunch of small study rooms if you are having group study sessions. The best part about this university is that it allows for a more intimate setting. You aren’t just a random face out of 300 in a classroom and your professor will actually remember you. It is also easier to meet people. It also has a fitness center and indoor swimming pool and about a year ago they added a nursing building.
There is so much talk about how a degree from the U of A will be better for you in the long run but I think you will get the better education with a more enjoyable experience at Grant MacEwan. It also has a lot of cool down to earth professors that make going to class desirable.

MacEwan is a very good College. I actually attend the West End campus for the Professional Writing program, but I’ve had many night classes at this downtown campus.
This is still a fairly new and modern-​looking building. It can get confusing at times, because it’s actually several buildings all attached to one another.
The library here is awesome. There are probably at least 60+ computer terminals, and they all have Internet access. There’s at least 10+ Apple computers here too, and they all have the Adobe design programs on them.
The food court used to be really bad, with only the Aramark cafeteria, but now there’s Booster Juice, Pizza 73, Tim Horton’s, and Subway. The convenience store has just about everything you can think of, even sandwiches, salads, and wraps from Zenari’s.
I’ve found student services to be quite helpful, and you can even buy discount movie tickets at the SA office. There’s usually one influential person invited to the College every year. I’ve seen both David Suzuki and Margaret Atwood speak. I’ve also seen a show by Wayne Lee the hypnotist and a presentation by a famous ghost tracker.
The bookstore is pretty expensive for anything, including textbooks (even used). I’d suggest using the Used Textbook Registry – you can find this at the SA office or website.

This is an excellent post secondary school. When I first attended school here, it was classified as a community college. It still has that feel to it but now offers university degrees. There are so many options available now — you can start a degree program here and transfer, or complete your degree at MacEwan.
They offer a number of diploma and certificate programs that are in high demand. I took Journalism here about a decade ago and am looking to go back and take Holistic Health.
Classes are not held in auditoriums and the teachers don’t require microphones. The instructors generally are interactive and more than willing to answer any questions you may have. They also have scheduled office hours if you need to figure something out. There’s a huge LRC (Learning Resource Centre) with computers, books, microfiche, anything you’d expect from a library. There’s also a room where the CML (Computer Managed Learning) tests are taken. The staff are great and can help you find what you need. Their system for searching the LRC through the computer is very user friendly as well.