After a study found that transferability of credits and credentials between post-secondary institutions continues to be complicated and often difficult for students, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges is calling for a more streamlined process.
Transferring from one college to another, from college to university, or university to college often means students lose credits already earned. Sometimes it means starting all over again.
ACCC president and CEO James Knight said transferability of credits and credentials is “a pressing issue for Canada.”
“Spending extra unnecessary years in school is a cost burden both for individuals and for governments,” Knight said in a release. “Tax revenues are sacrificed when careers are delayed. Employers suffer when they cannot find the skilled graduates they need to grow their businesses.”
A study just released by the ACCC that draws on two Statistics Canada surveys probes the complexity of provincial agreements that exist between colleges and universities and also examines student mobility through post-secondary education.
A committee established by the ACCC is working with key education stakeholders to establish a pan-Canadian framework that would define “clear pathways” for students as they progress through post-secondary education.
“With 70 percent of jobs requiring post-secondary credentials, we must make it easier for students to transfer credits between institutions,” said Knight. “It will enable young people to graduate with employment-ready advanced skills more quickly, and allow displaced workers to accelerate the acquisition of new skills.”
Many sectors of Canada’s economy are currently facing advanced skills shortages, expected to get worse as the number of Canadians reaching retirement age continues to rise, according to the study. In light of this, greater efficiency is needed in producing highly educated and qualified candidates to fill those positions in a timely manner.
Improving processes for transferring credits from one institution to another is one priority outlined by the Council of Minister of Education, Canada (CMEC) and at international levels through the Bologna and Copenhagen Processes and the Lisbon Strategy.
The ACCC first established a task force dedicated to a pan-Canadian protocol on the transferability of learning in 1997. The goal was to put in place a framework for the protocol to be launched at the Quebec City World Congress of Colleges and Polytechnics in May 1999. The initiative received backing from groups such as the Council of Ministers of Education and various other government ministers and agencies.
In all, 107 institutions endorsed the protocol with representatives from all provinces and territories. All signatories agreed to “maximize recognition” of all formal education, workplace training, and other experience.
The protocol includes such measures as establishing a national database of articulation agreements, establishing a pan-Canadian committee on mobility and transferability between colleges, developing a discussion paper to review institutional funding formulas, and even establishing a tripartite committee on the transferability of North American students between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.
“Improved student mobility and post-secondary pathways will result in reduced costs for learners, institutions, and governments, and will enable colleges and universities to be more responsive to the changing needs of employers and learners,” the ACCC study said.
“Education stakeholders must come together to identify a national solution to address transferability and mobility challenges so that postsecondary systems can work cooperatively to put the needs of learners first.”
