Canadian Council on Learning | Conseil Canadien sur l'Apprentissage

Quality post-secondary education in Canada: How can we know?

“We know that quality PSE exists in Canada; the problem is proving it”

November 24, 2009 Ottawa—Although the majority of Canadians think our country’s post-secondary education (PSE) sector is doing a good or excellent job delivering quality education many are not sure what is meant by quality in PSE, says a new article by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL).

“Up to Par: The Challenge of Demonstrating Quality in Canadian Post-secondary Education,” argues that Canadians are in need of better tools to identify and assess quality in their universities, colleges and trades programs.

“We know that quality PSE exists in Canada; the problem is proving it,” says Paul Cappon, President and CEO of CCL. "Other countries have developed and implemented standards in an effort to maintain and improve the quality of their PSE sectors. We have to do the same.”

To remain competitive and avoid the risk of falling behind other countries, Canada must itself adopt a proactive stance and formulate clear and common goals and priorities.

As the article explains, defining and demonstrating quality in Canadian PSE will allow Canada to develop the standards necessary to measure the sector, report on its different facets, improve on its weaknesses and celebrate its successes.

Clearer standards and information about quality may make it easier for post-secondary institutions to compete in a global post-secondary marketplace and for domestic students to evaluate the many post-secondary options available to them in Canada.

The paper is the first of a new series of monographs from CCL called Challenges in Canadian Post-secondary Education that will focus on critical issues confronting Canada’s PSE sector.

The series is available on CCL's website at: www.ccl-cca.ca/UpToPar.

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The Canadian Council on Learning is an independent, not-for-profit corporation funded through an agreement with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Its mandate is to provide evidence-based information to Canadians so they can make the best decisions about learning throughout all stages of life, from early childhood through to the senior years.

For more information please contact:

Sheena Powell,
Canadian Council on Learning
1410-50 O'Connor Street,
Ottawa, ON K1P 6L2
613.786.3230 ext. 217
infocclcca@gmail.com
www.ccl-cca.ca

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