Academic Quality Assurance Policy and Procedures

View Academic Quality Assurance Policy and Procedures

Revision History:

June 2, 2025: The General Faculty Council approved the revised Academic Quality Assurance Policies and Procedures. 

Summary of changes:

  • Reorganized policy structure for improved clarity and flow
  • Clarified that only approved academic degree programs are required to undergo Academic Quality Assurance (AQA) reviews(§5).
  • Added language that curriculum must “meet current knowledge of the discipline” (§11(3)).
  • Updated criteria for external reviewers to allow for “a senior position common” in a given discipline (§12).
  • Clarified that Deans may request to modify, but not cancel, reviews for programs undergoing external accreditation (§13).
  • Aligned AQA review cycle with the CAQC audit schedule—now reviewed every seven years instead of five (§14).
  • Changes to Procedures:
    • Where a unit offers both undergraduate and a parallel graduate degree, they must complete these reviews at the same time, resulting in a Self Study Report that includes both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Standalone graduate programs must be reviewed separately. (§1).
    • Removed elements, such as the “Site Visit Facilitator,” “Review Commentary” document, and outdated flowchart, which were replaced with clearer checklists in Appendices C and D.
    • Updated order of procedural steps to reflect actual process workflow (§4).
    • Updated Self Study Committee composition to require a minimum of two tenured or continuing appointees (§4.2).
    • Clarified process timelines and responsibilities, including submission deadlines for Self Study Reports (§4.3) and Dean review timelines (§4.9).
    • Refined the list of required stakeholder meetings during site visits for clarity (§4.1).
    • Updates to Self-Study and External Review Report required content (§Appendix A-B).

Sep 18, 2024: Editorial Revision.

Dec 18, 2023: Editorial Revision.

Mar 4, 2022: Editorial Revision.

Dec 9, 2019: Editorial Revision.

Nov 5, 2018: Editorial Revision.

February 6, 2017: Format Changes Completed.

Resource: Quality Assurance