Quality assurance

How quality assurance works in Canada

Canadian universities share a common culture of quality and excellence, and a commitment to ensuring that high standards are achieved and maintained in their academic programs. Universities Canada is not a national accreditation body.

Canada’s system of university quality assurance is multi-layered, comprehensive and rigorous.

As higher education in Canada falls under the jurisdiction of the country’s 10 provinces and three territories, Canadian universities generally receive the authority to grant degrees from provincial legislation (a few universities still retain charters).

Under this authority, each Canadian university is autonomous in academic matters and determines its own quality assurance standards and procedures. These institutional policies and procedures are formal and transparent, and are coupled with an external review by the relevant provincial quality assurance authorities. For some professional programs, institutional policies and processes also undergo professional accreditation.

In addition, there is support for a Canadian Degree Qualifications Framework and a commitment to a common framework of quality standards across all Canadian provinces. This means that Canadian universities have a shared understanding of the value of one another’s academic credentials and that our high quality standards are recognized internationally.

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