(UPDATED) Helana Guergis earns an MBA while serving in cabinet?

In her testimony Monday before a parliamentary committee, Conservative minister Helena Guergis (who will not be suing Air Canada and Charlottetown Airport employees for exposing her behaviour, by the way) mentioned in passing that she held an MBA. And indeed, this is confirmed in her biography on her official Web site, which lists her as holding an MBA from the University of Alberta:


I found this interesting as I recalled that, last March, Guergis' educational credentials were called into question. In the last election in the fall of 2008, Guergis' campaign literature said she was "completing her Master's in Business Administration." In an article following-up on the literature by the local Enterprise Bulletin newspaper in early March, 2009, after some initial resistance, a Guergis staffer told the paper that the minister had been pursuing the degree, but wasn't actively at present (h/t):

Helena Guergis, Simcoe-Grey MP and cabinet minister, has put her aspirations for a graduate degree on hold.

In a profile in her campaign literature last fall, Guergis said she was "completing her Master's in Business Administration."

Her office was tight-lipped about her progress on that degree when it was contacted twice by theEnterprise-Bulletin in a follow-up to the election campaign.

Guergis would not return calls, but her office spokesperson Valerie Knight told the E-B that "I have great concern with your editor expressing so much interest in Minister Guergis personal life."
In the first contact, Knight denied that Guergis was studying for the degree.

"I answered your question the first time, perhaps you did not receive it? She is not," Knight wrote in an email.

After the second attempt to interview Guergis, when the Enterprise-Bulletinproduced the campaign literature, Knight clarified her original comment. She explained that Guergis had been studying for the degree, but wasn't pursuing it at present.

No further information was provided as to where Guergis was taking the program, how far she was from completing it or whether she would continue her quest for the degree at a later date.

Looking around the Web though, we can see that in Guergis biographies as far back as October 26, 2009 (note the last modified date) she is listed as having completed the U of A program.

It would seem, therefore, that at some point between March of 2009 and October 2009, Guergis decided to once again pursue and complete her MBA studies. An impressive achievement, given her busy duties both as Member of Parliament for Simcoe-Grey, and as Minister of State for the Status of Women.

One wonders how she was able to find the time, what with all the travel. I hear she's had to go to some real hell-holes. Her time management skills must be quite impressive.

UPDATE: Hill Times reporter Harris MacLeod raises a very valid point about Guergis' undergraduate degree credentials:

It says nothing on the official website about this, but the minister’s Wikipedia page says she completed an Ontario Real Estate program from Georgia College. Now I’m not trying to be elitist about Ms. Guergis’s education (or lack thereof) but my sense is said real estate certificate would likely not be enough to gain entry into a masters program.

And indeed, a check of the admissions page for the University of Alberta's MBA program indicates a four-year undergrad degree is a pre-requisite (emphasis mine):

Admission to the Alberta MBA Program requires a strong, broadly-based undergraduate degree. Since we value the diversity of backgrounds, we accept students from all disciplines. To be considered, an applicant should hold a four-year undergraduate degree from a recognized institution with a minimum grade point average of 3.0/4.0. Unfortunately, applied undergraduate degrees do not meet graduate admission requirements. Only official transcripts from post-secondary educational institutions will be accepted for application purposes. Two official transcript degree certificates must be sent directly from the issuing institution to the Alberta MBA Program office. If the transcripts and degree certificates are in a language other than English, official translated copies are also required.

Which raises the question: Does the "Ontario Real Estate Program" at Georgian College qualify as "a strong, broadly-based undergraduate degree" or does Guergis have another undergraduate degree we're not aware of?

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