Ministers Responsible for Advanced Education Endorse a Statement on Quality Assurance of Degree Education in Canada

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto, April 2, 2007 -- Provincial and territorial ministers responsible for advanced education are pleased to announce the endorsement of a statement on quality assurance (attached).  The statement contains three elements:

 

  1. The Canadian Degree Qualifications Framework
  2. Procedures and Standards for New Degree Program Quality Assessment
  3. Procedures and Standards for Assessing New Degree-Granting Institutions

 

Ministers affirm that the primary purposes for endorsing the statement are

 

  • To provide assurance to the public, students, employers, and postsecondary institutions at home and abroad that new programs and new institutions of higher learning meet appropriate standards and that performance against the standards will be assessed by appropriate means

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  • To provide a context for identifying how degree credentials compare in level and standard to those in other jurisdictions, with a view to facilitating the search for continuous improvement, the education and training of an internationally competitive workforce, and international recognition of the quality of Canadian credentials

    •  

  • To improve student access to further study at the postsecondary level by establishing a degree-level standards context in which policies on the transfer of credits and credential recognition may be developed and, in fairness to students who choose non-traditional providers, to focus discussion of credit transfer and credential recognition on the academic standards that the programs involved have met

 

Degree qualifications frameworks are either in place or are being developed in many countries.  They focus on the learning outcome competencies of graduates at each degree level that are transferable to work, further study, or other activities.  Those general competencies are not subject-dependent. Such frameworks do not impose a common content on programs but articulate the general competencies expected of anyone graduating with a degree at the same level.

The Canadian Degree Qualifications Framework was developed by all provinces and territories and is based in part on similar statements used in other countries.  It is meant to describe each degree level in ways that facilitate quality assurance and comparability.

CMEC is an intergovernmental body composed of the ministers responsible for elementary-secondary and advanced education from the provinces and territories.  Through CMEC, ministers share information and undertake projects in areas of mutual interest and concern.

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Information
Fiona Deller
Tel.:  416-962-8100, ext. 256
E-mail:  f.deller@cmec.ca
Web site:  www.cmec.ca

Marilyn Patton
Tel.:  780-427-8921
E-mail:  Marilyn.Patton@gov.ab.ca