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Quality of PEQAB-Reviewed Degrees

All baccalaureate degrees offered by Ontario’s Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) and its Institutes of Technology & Advanced Learning (ITALs) are four year (120 credit) or three year (90 credit) degrees and are quality assured by an government agency, the Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board (PEQAB), after being referred by the Minister of Colleges and Universities, Ontario. The quality standards are as dictated by the Ontario Qualification Framework (OQF), specifically section 11. Baccalaureate/Bachelor’s Degree Honours, which is identical to the corresponding section of the University Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations (UUDLEs). Each College degree program has been initially quality-assured, and re-assessed for renewal on a five to seven year basis, by a panel of independent subject matter experts according to this OQF standard and the procedures approved by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada in the Ministerial Statement on Quality Assurance of Degree Education in Canada (2007). PEQAB procedures include a full written application against the standards, a site visit by the expert panel, an independent assessment of student work in the final years of the program--to determine that the degree level learning outcomes are being achieved, a written report by the expert panel, an institutional response, consideration of all the above by PEQAB, and formal consent by the Minister.

All degrees though private colleges and universities in Ontario or based in other jurisdictions undergo this same PEQAB Program Review process. In addition private institutions first undergo PEQAB Organization Reviews, designed to determine whether these as institutions are positioned to offer quality degree programs in Ontario, prior to consideration of any proposed degree programs. The PEQAB Secretariat is available to provide further information at peqab@ontario.ca.

Background

The Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000 for the first time enabled Ontario’s Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology and its Institutes of Technology & Advanced Learning to apply for Ministerial consent to offer applied baccalaureate degree programs. Presently, 14 Ontario Colleges have Ministerial consent to offer around 120 baccalaureate degrees.

Following passage of the Act, the government approved a “pilot project” of up to 24 applied degree programs for which the colleges would submit proposals for assessment. The overarching aim of the pilot project was to determine the capacity of the colleges to develop proposals for high-quality degree programs. In a letter dated October 18, 2001, the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities asked the Board to administer the competition, taking into account criteria stated in that letter as well as the Board’s own criteria. The Minister indicated that the competition would take place in two rounds, with consent for up to 12 programs that best met the criteria in each round. 

In anticipation of the pilot project, the Board had developed a Handbook for Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology: Pilot Project that outlined the Board’s standards, benchmarks and procedures for this category of degree program. The applications were assessed against the standards and benchmarks contained in the Handbook. It was revised slightly for the second round. 

The deadline for the first round of submissions was December 3, 2001. The colleges submitted 22 applications to the Minister, of which, after review, 12 were recommended by the Board to the Minister for consent in a letter dated March 7, 2002, the Minister granted consent for each of those 12 programs. 

The deadline for the second round was May 6, 2002. The colleges submitted 30 applications to the Minister, six of them re-submissions from the first round. 

It became clear during the review of second round submissions that variations in academic standards among the applications required the Board to clarify its minimum expectations with respect to three of its benchmarks: Benchmark 2.6 (Admissions, Promotions and Graduation Requirements) and Benchmarks 4.3 and 4.4(a) (Faculty Qualifications Policy). The changes are reflected in the Handbook currently available on this web site. Drawing these clarifications to the attention of the Minister, the Board recommended that consent be granted with the condition that programs should meet those minimum expectations. 

During the review, it also became clear that more than 12 applications could be recommended in the second round if some other minor revisions or clarifications were made to the submissions. Thus, on October 21, 2002, the Minister gave fresh direction to the Board, asking it to recommend “all of those programs beyond twelve that meet or can be revised to meet the Board’s criteria and standards within a short period of time.” 

On October 22, 2002, the Board discussed the Minister’s new direction and reviewed all programs that in its view had not yet satisfied its criteria but might be improved to meet the standards with minimum revisions. In doing so, it distinguished between information from applicants that would require further expert assessment and other information. Additional information was not sought from applicants in cases where the Board concluded that revisions would require expert assessment. 

On November 4, 2002, the Board reviewed the Colleges’ responses and formulated its recommendations to the Minister. As a result, the Board recommended 23 programs from the second round. The Board’s recommendations are contained in the Board chair’s letter to the Minister dated November 12, 2002. All of the Board’s recommendations were accepted by the Minister. 

In total, the pilot project involved review of 52 proposals or re-submitted proposals, of which 35 from 19 colleges were recommended to the Minister for consent. The Board drew on the expert advice of 165 program quality assessors during the pilot project.