Legislation
New Brunswick has four public universities and three private universities established by individual statute. The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission Act establishes the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC), which has responsibility for all public universities in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The statute provides the Commission with the responsibility of (a) reviewing all new program and proposed program modification proposals and (b) monitoring the institutions' quality assurance mechanisms. The Commission is directly accountable to the Council of Atlantic Premiers.
Besides these institutions, the Degree Granting Act establishes the New Brunswick government as the sole authority in the designation of degree-granting institutions in the province. The Act outlines the procedures to be followed by private institutions to issue degree credentials. There Department publishes a list of institutions designated to offer specific degrees through that legislation. The Act also provides the Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour with the authority to conduct periodic institutional and program assessments to determine compliance with the act and regulations. The MPHEC conducts the institutional and program assessments required under the Degree Granting Act process.
Affiliation
New Brunswick's public universities have no formal affiliations with other institutions. Private universities have affiliations with organizations such as the Acadia Divinity College, the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches, and the Wesleyan Church.
External and Internal Reviews
The quality of New Brunswick's university programs is addressed in three additional ways. First, programs are evaluated by the universities' own processes of self-study and review conducted in accordance with internal policies and procedures. Second, the MPHEC reviews all new program proposals and all significant changes to existing programs. The Commission focuses on continuous quality improvement of programs and teaching. The overall objective of program reviews is to ascertain the suitability of the program given its objectives, structure, institutional appropriateness, resources, stated student outcomes, and their relevance. Detailed program proposal guidelines are provided to institutions.
The third quality assurance activity is the MPHEC's monitoring of quality assessment procedures used by universities. This is especially important given that the cornerstone of quality assurance is self-assessment by the institutions. The specific objective of the MPHEC monitoring function is to ascertain that the procedures used by institutions to assess the quality of existing programs are performing adequately. The process is formative; institutional policies and practices are reviewed with a view to providing assistance and advice to institutions.
The process pays particular attention to each university's mission and values. MPHEC's quality assurance procedures start with internal reviews by the universities. For details on these procedures, contact the individual institutions.
Professional Accreditation
Many of Canada's regulated professions have associations that conduct accreditation reviews of university programs pertaining to their professions. In these instances, accreditation teams from the professions review reports provided by the universities and may establish criteria for curriculum, provide some staff, and conduct on-site visits in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the professions.
Other Organizations Related to Quality Assurance in Universities
All public universities in New Brunswick are members of Universities Canada. Although the association does not perform formal quality assurance functions, it does maintain membership criteria that address the primary missions of institutions; the range of program offerings; the breadth and depth of programs; the nature of members' relationship with parent institutions; the size of enrolment; institutional focus on scholarship, academic inquiry, and research; and compliance with the principles of academic freedom and responsibility. Institutions applying for membership must host an Universities Canada Visiting Committee that reports to the Universities Canada Board of Directors on a variety of items and recommends a decision on whether the applying institution is providing education of university standard.
The Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada (AAAC) is a national organization composed of professional associations involved in promoting good practices by its members in accreditation of educational programs.