Students/Employers/Degree Granting Institutions/General Public: Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I comment on an application?
2. What’s the role of the PEQAB secretariat?
3. How do the Board's standards and procedures relate to those used in other Canadian provinces and in other countries?
4. How are the Board's degree-level standards related to those of Ontario universities?
5. How do college degrees compare to degrees from a university?

1. Can I comment on an application?

Yes. At the time an application is submitted, the Board will post it on its website and indicate a deadline for comment on the application from interested parties. Those seeking further information about the application should address the applicant. Comments bearing on the assessment of the application against the Board’s criteria will be handled as follows:

• Comments bearing on the assessment of the application against the Board's criteria are transmitted to the quality assessors and applicant for consideration.
• Comments bearing on the Board's criteria or operations are transmitted to the Board for consideration.

Unless requested to do so by the Minister, the Board does not consider matters related to public policy. Comments bearing on matters of public policy should be directed to the Universities Unit of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. (Email: PostsecondaryAccountability@ontario.ca, Mailing Address: Mowat Block, 900 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1L2 Canada). Return to FAQs

2. What’s the role of the PEQAB secretariat?

The Chair and the Board are supported by a secretariat. Among other responsibilities, the secretariat undertakes research; drafts the Board's criteria, policies and procedures and coordinates the Board's relations with Ministry officials and regulatory bodies. Each application for ministerial consent is managed by a member of the secretariat who assists the college and expert assessors in understanding the Board's criteria and procedures to facilitate the comprehensive review of applications. Return to FAQs

3. How do the Board's standards and procedures relate to those used in other Canadian provinces and in other countries?

To promote international recognition and transferability of degrees, the bodies responsible for quality assurance, including PEQAB, take care to use common categories, descriptions, and procedures where possible. The Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) endorsed a common framework for degrees in Canada and a common set of standards and principles for the review of new degrees and new degree-granting institutions. Information about the pan-Canadian framework and standards can be accessed on the CMEC website. In addition, as per the Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000, PEQAB criteria are required to be in accordance with educational standards recognized in Ontario and other jurisdictions. To fulfill this legislated requirement, the Board regularly undertakes a comprehensive review of all of its criteria to ensure it reflects standards recognized in Ontario and elsewhere. Return to FAQs

4. How are the Board's degree-level standards related to those of Ontario universities?

As of January 2006, PEQAB and the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance (formerly the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies and the Undergraduate Program Review Audit Committee), the principal assessment body of the Council of Ontario Universities, share a common set of degree-level standards/expectations. These standards/expectations are also incorporated in the Ontario Qualifications Framework (OQF).

Each university is expected to develop its own institutional expression of the undergraduate and graduate degree level expectations and to apply them to each academic program. The assessment of whether graduates achieved these degree level expectations takes place through an audit during the Cyclical Program Review. As part of the PEQAB review process, all applicants for consent are required to specify the program/degree learning outcomes for each degree. At consent renewal, PEQAB assesses whether graduates have achieved these outcomes. Return to FAQs

5. How do college degrees compare to degrees from a university?

A degree from an Ontario college of applied arts and technology offered under the Minister’s consent is reviewed against the same standard as an honours bachelor degree offered by an Ontario University. The Ontario Qualifications Framework (OQF) outlines the full range of credentials offered by Ontario postsecondary education institutions and the knowledge and skills expected of graduates. The framework includes two levels of baccalaureate degrees. For bachelor/baccalaureate degrees: honours there are three types of degrees: academically-oriented, professionally-oriented and in an applied area of study. Pursuant to the Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000, Ontario colleges may offer only degrees in applied areas of study. Degrees in applied areas of study and honours bachelor degrees offered by Ontario universities both occupy the category identified as the Baccalaureate/Bachelor’s Degree: Honours.Degrees under the same category of the OQF are at the same level and conform to the same requirements and features outlined in the framework. PEQAB’s degree level descriptions and requirements (as outlined in its degree level standard) are consistent with the features outlined in the OQF. The degree standards outlined in the OQF are the same as those adopted by Ontario universities for their degrees. Return to FAQs