[6] Athabasca University was created by the Alberta government in 1970 as part of an expansion of higher education to cope with rising enrolment at the time.

Another early suggestion was an "Alberta academy" that would take credits students had earned at multiple universities, evaluate them for transfer, and perhaps award degrees.

In April 1971, Timothy C. Byrne was appointed the first president of Athabasca University, and he assumed office in June that year.

The newly elected Conservative government was opposed to building a new university in Edmonton, but architectural plans were permitted to continue.

A proposal was made to the government to test the new model for three to five years, and if it succeeded, AU would become a fully independent university.

[7] Trial and error characterized the pilot period, as there was no similar model to follow for the mandate Athabasca University was given.

AU became aware of what the Open University was doing when, during the final year of the project, a representative went to Milton Keynes to discover any methods its staff might have devised to speed up production.

[7] An early test project for a learning resource centre had books and tapes relevant to the courses available at branches of public libraries throughout Alberta.

[7] Inviting students to register in a course and then forcing them to wait an unconscionable length of time for delivery of units was obviously not a way to establish a reputation as a reliable institution.

[7] The first collaboration the university embarked on was with Keyano College, which eventually led to the opening of a regional learning office in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

[7] In the mid-seventies, two young Canadians, one of whom was the son of a prominent Edmonton family, were indicted in an English court for attempting to smuggle drugs into the country.

Each registered in one of Athabasca University's first three courses, becoming the first two in a long list of prison inmates to join its student body.

[7]In 1985, AU reached an agreement with the Correctional Service of Canada for the payment of tuition and program delivery fees for federal inmates taking courses through the university.

[11] Through established transfer agreements, Athabasca University also recognizes previous education that obtained through colleges, technical institutes, or professional organizations.

[13] Athabasca University is the first Canadian post-secondary institution to enter into a formal collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Inc.

[17] In June 2014, Athabasca University formally partnered with the CFLPA as the official education provider for their players – both past and present.

[23] Athabasca University reports to the government through the Minister of Advanced Education and is publicly funded through the Province of Alberta.

[26] CARUs offer a range of academic and professional programs, which generally lead to undergraduate and graduate level credentials and have a strong research focus.

Some notable people have studied through Athabasca University, including Alberta politician Debby Carlson,[36] Olympic bobsleigh racer Christian Farstad,[37] former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, professional hockey player Alyn McCauley,[38] and cross-country skier Milaine Thériault.

[39] AU serves over 38,000 students (over 7,900 full-load equivalents) and offers over 900 courses in more than 50 undergraduate and graduate programs in a range of arts, science and professional disciplines.

[40] In 2012, it was revealed that Athabasca University was among institutions of higher education involved in illegal donations to the provincial Progressive Conservative party of Alberta.

Facing financial pressures in 2015, Athabasca University underwent an independent third-party review to report to ascertain long-term solutions.

[42] The report[43] found that there was a significant student demand for flexible, online post-secondary options, but that Athabasca University needed a clear and shared vision for the future.

Important priorities were enacted, including a partnership with Amazon Web Services to transform and update its Information Technology infrastructure.

On 13 September 2004 the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta approved an order in council establishing "The Students' Association of Athabasca University".