Virtual Education Wiki - User contributions [en]

Canada

2008-12-03T13:57:42Z

Karsenti: /* Eminent Canadian experts in e-learning */

== Partners situated in Canada ==

None. However, [[Tony Bates]] of the [[Advisory Committee| International Advisory Committee]] is from Canada.

== Canada in a nutshell ==

Canada is a large country occupying over half of the continent of North America, touching three oceans - Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic. Its population was estimated in the [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=101 2006 census] as around 31.5 million but other estimates such as the [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ca.html CIA Factbook] give up to and over 33 million currently. (Rapid immigration is one source of the discrepancy but not, it seems, the only one - the issue has generated some debate.)

Thus there would seem to be a strong argument that a Commonwealth country of this size would have many points of relevance, generally and in education, to many larger countries in the European Union. While true generally (e.g. for industrial policy) ''it is not at all true for education'' - the provinces are the relevant entities. See later for details.

Many if not most Canadian universities have competence in e-learning at least in pockets. Several major e-learning systems past and present have come from Canada, some from academia but most not - for example, in recent years [http://www.webct.com WebCT] and [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn], and many years ago the CoSy and [http://www.firstclass.com FirstClass] conferencing systems used at the [[Open University]]. We give the main ones below of relevance to an EU audience.

Canada is divided into 13 provinces and territories of which the most important and relevant in e-learning terms are the following:

* British Columbia, population 4.1 million, thus rather smaller than [[Scotland]] but rather larger than [[Wales]] and similar in size to [[Ireland]] - the base of the [[University of British Columbia]] ([[UBC]]) and [[Simon Fraser University]] ([[SFU]]), two notable institutions in e-learning; and also of [[Thompson Rivers University]] ([[TRU]]) which now operates the [[Open Learning Agency]] for British Columbia. Another example is [[Royal Roads University]].
* Alberta, population 3.2 million, thus a bit more than [[Wales]] - the base of [[Athabasca University]], Canada's Open University (a smaller version of the UK [[Open University]]), but also of the much smaller but nimble [[Mount Royal College]].
* Ontario, population 12.1 million, thus not really comparable to any UK home nation (but approaching that of the [[Netherlands]]) - with several illustrious institutions. Some have a long history in distance education (e.g. University of Guelph, which has over 60 online courses [http://www.open.uoguelph.ca/start/]), and others (e.g. the University of Waterloo, and the University of Ottawa) have extensive blended learning initiatives. The [[Ontario Institute for Studies in Education]] ([[OISE]]) contains eminent researchers in schools e-learning known across Europe and beyond.
* Quebec, in particular the [[Télé-université de Québec]].

The [[Canadian Virtual University]] ([[CVU]]) is a group of Canadian universities specializing in online and distance education and a list of these can be found on the site.

''Document of relevance'': [http://www.learn4good.com/distance_learn/distance_learn_canada.htm Learn4Good.com] sums up Canadian distance learning courses and programmes provided by Higher Education.

== Canada education policy ==

In Canada, almost alone among countries in the world, education at all levels is so completely devolved to the provinces that there is not and cannot be a Minister of Education for Canada. (The wikipedia article on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada Education in Canada] gives more details including of the residual federal responsibilities. See also [[CMEC]].)

== Canada's education system ==
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada)

With the earlier caveat about the devolved approach to education, here are the basic facts.

Education in Canada is generally divided into '''Elementary''' (Primary School, Public School), followed by '''Secondary''' (High School) and '''Post Secondary''' (University, College). Within the provinces under the ministry of education, there are district school boards administering the educational programmes.

=== Elementary and Secondary Education ===

Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick, where the compulsory age is 18. In some provinces early leaving exemptions can be granted under certain circumstances at 14.

Canada generally has 180 to 190 school days in the year, officially starting from September (after Labour Day) to the end of June (usually the last Friday of the month, Wednesday in some Ontario schools).

Canada spends about 7% of its GDP on education. Since the adoption of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1982, education in both English and French has been available in most places across Canada (if the population of children speaking the minority language justifies it), although French Second Language education/French Immersion is availble to Anglophone students across Canada.

Originally all the provinces had educational systems divided by religion, but most provinces have abolished these. Ontario, Alberta, and certain cities in Saskatchewan are exceptions to this, as they still maintain publicly funded Separate district school boards (usually Catholic but occasionally Protestant). In Quebec, the Catholic/Protestant divide was replaced with a French/English one in 1998. Québécois must attend a French School up until the end of high school unless one of their parents previously attended an English-language school somewhere in Canada (immigrants from other countries cannot use this exception). However this rule applies only to public schools, therefore immigrants to Quebec can send their children to English ''private'' schools.

Most Canadian education systems continue up to grade 12 (age 17 to 18). In Quebec, the typical high school term ends after Secondary V, the same as to grade 11 (age 16 to 17); following this, students who wish to pursue their studies to the university level have to attend CEGEP which is a unique educational institution, between high school and junior colleges. Cegeps are often referred to as "junior colleges".

Normally, for each type of publicly funded school (such as Public English or Public French), the province is divided into districts (or divisions). Normally, all publicly funded schools are under the authority of their local district school board. These school boards would follow a common curriculum set up by the province the board resides in. Only Alberta allows public charter schools, which are independent of any district board - instead, they each have their own board, which reports directly to the province.

Primary education and secondary education combined are sometimes referred to as K-12 (Kindergarten through Grade 12). It should be noted that this structure can vary from school to school, and from province to province. For instance, Prince Edward Island school systems is the only province that does not provide Kindergarten. In contrast, Ontario is the only province which provides two levels of Kindergarten (Junior and Senior).

In Canada, secondary schooling, known as high school, "école secondaire" or secondary school, differs depending on the province in which one resides. Additionally, grade structure may vary within a province and even within a school division. Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick (where the compulsory ages are 18). Students may continue to attend high school until the ages of 19 to 21 (the cut-off age for high school varies between province). Those 19 and over may attend adult school. Also if high schoolers are expelled or suspended for a period of time over 2 months or so they could attend night school at the high school.

Ontario had a "Grade 13" known as Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) year, but this was abolished by the provincial government to cut costs. OAC was last offered for the 2002-2003 school year. As a result, the curriculum has been compacted, and the more difficult subjects, such as mathematics, are comparatively harder than before. However, the system is now approximately equivalent to what has been the case outside of Quebec and Ontario for many years. Secondary education in Quebec continues to Grade 11 (Secondary V), and is typically followed by CEGEP, a two or three year college program taken after high school. Pre-university CEGEP programs are two years in Quebec (university for Quebecers is three years), and vocational or professional programs are three years in duration.

=== Post-secondary ===

Post-secondary education in Canada is also the responsibility of the individual provinces and territories. Those governments provide the majority of funding to their public post-secondary institutions, with the remainder of funding coming from tuition fees, the federal government, and research grants. Compared to other countries in the past, Canada has had the highest tertiary school enrollment as a percentage of their graduating population.

Nearly all post-secondary institutions in Canada have the authority to grant academic credentials (i.e., diplomas or degrees). Generally speaking, universities grant degrees (e.g., bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees) while colleges, which typically offer vocationally-oriented programmes, grant diplomas and certificates. However, some colleges offer applied arts degrees that lead to or are equivalent to degrees from a university.

Post-secondary education in Quebec begins with CEGEP (collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel), following graduation from Grade 11 (or Secondary V). Students complete a two- or three-year general program leading to admission to a university, or a professional program leading directly into the labour force. In most cases, bachelor's degree programmes in Quebec are three years instead of the usual four; however, in many cases, students attending a university in Quebec that did not graduate from CEGEP must complete an additional year of coursework. When Ontario had five years of high school, a three-year bachelor's degree was common, but these degrees are being phased out in favour of the four-year degree.

The main variation between the provinces, with respect to universities, is the amount of funding they receive. Universities in Quebec receive the most funding and have the lowest tuitions. Universities in Atlantic Canada generally receive the least funding and some, like Acadia University, are almost wholly reliant on private funding.

The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), is the military academy of the Canadian Forces and is a full degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution with degree granting powers.

'''Private schools'''

In Canada there is no obligation for parents to place their children in the public school system, and about 8% of students are in the private system. Nevertheless, there are more and more private schools in urban areas (high schools, especially). It is not unusual for the wealthy and prominent in Canada to send their children to public schools, especially in the lower grades. A far larger portion of private schools are religious based institutions. Private schools are also used to study outside the country. For example one in Italy has an Ontario curriculum.

Each province deals differently with private religious schools. In Ontario the Catholic system continues to be fully publicly funded, but other faiths receive no such funding. Ontario has several private Jewish, Muslim, and Christian schools, but all are funded through tuition fees. Since the Catholic schools system is entrenched in the constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that this system is not unconstitutional. However, the United Nations has ruled that Ontario's system is unfair. In 2002 the government introduced a controversial proposal to partially fund all private schools, but this was criticized for undermining the public education system and the proposal was eliminated after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election.

In other provinces privately operated religious schools are funded. In British Columbia the government pays 50% of the cost of religious schools provided that they meet rigorous provincial standards. The province has a number of Sikh, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim schools. Alberta also has a network of charter schools, which are fully funded public (not private) schools offering distinct approaches to education within the public school system (note that the province does not grant charters to religious schools). These charter schools have to follow the provincial curriculum and meet all standards, but are given considerable freedom in other areas. In all other provinces private religious schools receive some funding, but not as much as the public system.

== Higher education ==

The higher education systems in Canada's ten provinces have different historical development, organization (e.g., structure, governance, and funding), and goals (e.g., participation, access, and mobility). This makes it impossible to summarise the overall system. The reader is referred to the wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Education_in_Canada.

=== Universities in Canada ===
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Canada)

Canada has somewhat over 70 universities including the large multi-campus Université du Québec which includes [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] ([[UQAM]]) , the host of the [[Télé-université]] ([[Téluq]]) There is an elite group, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Thirteen_(Canadian_universities) Group of 13], comprising the most prestigious and research-active universities, but e-learning competence is found across the span of universities in Canada.

A selection of those better known beyond Canada including for e-learning (research and/or implementation) would be something like the following:

* [[Athabasca University]]
* [http://www.umontreal.ca University of Montreal] (Montréal, Québec)
* Capilano University (North Vancouver)
* [[Royal Roads University]] (Victoria)
* [[Simon Fraser University]] (Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, British Columbia)
* [[Thompson Rivers University]] (Kamloops)
* [[University of British Columbia]] (University Endowment Lands, Okanagan)
* [[University of New Brunswick]] (Fredericton & Saint John)
* McMaster University (Hamilton)
* Ryerson University (Toronto)
* University of Guelph (Guelph)
* University of Toronto (Toronto (Downtown, Scarborough), Mississauga)
* University of Waterloo (Waterloo)
* University of Western Ontario (London)
* University of Windsor (Windsor)
* York University (Toronto)
* McGill University (Montreal)
* Concordia University (Montreal)
* [[Université du Québec à Montréal]], UQAM (Montreal) including [[Télé-université]], Téluq
* University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon)

===Polytechnics in Canada ===

This term is seldom used in Canada (for example, École polytechnique de Montréal, which trains almost 5000 engineers. This term is also used to describe some colleges.

==== Colleges in Canada ====

There are many colleges in Canada - for a partial list see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_in_Canada.

Most are not known outside Canada, whether or not for e-learning, but one that is known is [[Mount Royal College]].

==== CEGEP ====
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEGEP)

A CEGEP (French: Cégep) is a post-secondary education institution exclusive to the province of Quebec in Canada. CEGEP is a French acronym for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, meaning "College of General and Vocational Education". They are comparable to community colleges, but are required to enter university, which is why secondary school and undergrad degrees both are one less year in Quebec.

The purpose of CEGEPs is to make post-secondary education more accessible in Quebec, as well as to provide proper academic preparation for university. There are both public and private subsidized CEGEPs with the public CEGEPs having little or no tuition fee. The CEGEP system was started in 1967 by the Quebec provincial government and originally had 12 CEGEPs. Today there are 48 CEGEPs in Quebec, of which 5 are English language CEGEPs. There are also 50 private colleges, including 6 English language colleges. While CEGEP refers technically to only public colleges, in common usage the term is sometimes applied also to private colleges offering some of the same programmes.

They are not seen at this stage as relevant to Re.ViCa but we look forward to input on this issue.

== Higher education reform ==

=== The Bologna Process ===

Interestingly the Rectors of Canadian universities are closely interested in the [[Bologna Process]]. A June 2008 [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/statements/2008/bologna_process_06_20_e.pdf statement] from [[AUCC]] is given below.

----
Higher education, like most sectors, is transforming itself in step with the ever-advancing trends
of the global knowledge economy. A high profile example of this is the reform agenda being
implemented by Europe’s universities through the Bologna Process. While the Bologna Process is a uniquely European initiative, its influence and impact
on higher education is being felt throughout the world.

Canadian universities continue to be recognized globally for the quality of higher education
delivered. They are, however, not immune to developments of the magnitude of the
Bologna Process. It is therefore appropriate at this time to respond to this emerging European
initiative by at once seizing its related opportunities and facing its challenges.

The internationalization of Canada’s universities includes facilitating the two-way flow of
students through international student recruitment and student exchange as well as bringing an
international dimension to the curriculum. It is in these areas of student mobility and curricular
reform where the Bologna Process will have its greatest impact on Canadian universities.

AUCC members therefore, through this statement, acknowledge the significance of the emerging
European Higher Education Area and hereby commit to undertaking a course of action to address
the implications of the Bologna Process for Canadian universities and plan a path forward for
engaging with our European partners, both old and new, in a spirit that mirrors Europe’s own
renewal in higher education.

AUCC, through its Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations and the Board of
Directors, has been examining for some time how Canadian universities can best respond to the
changes under way in Europe. It began by identifying the following three key implications of
these changes for Canadian universities.

Competition in international student recruitment is the primary implication. The Bologna
Process, among its other goals, is also a sophisticated exercise in marketing European higher
education. As the Bologna countries seek to make Europe a more attractive study destination
through its degree harmonization and support for increased academic mobility, they are likely to
increase their international student market share at the expense of other leading host countries,
including Canada.

Secondly, the impact of the increasing number of three-year undergraduate degrees from
Bologna countries on Canadian credential evaluation policies and practices needs to be assessed.
The coming influx of three year degrees presents obvious challenges for admission decisions in
graduate studies at Canadian institutions and raises questions about the effect this will have on
our graduate programs.

Finally, student mobility, through short-term exchanges and study abroad opportunities for
Canadian students is an area in which AUCC believes it is imperative to act to take advantage of
the emerging landscape of higher education in Europe. The prevalence of the transparency tools
in the Bologna Process, such as the European Credit Transfer System and the Diploma
Supplement, along with funding programs such as Erasmus Mundus, represent a potential for
increased Canada-Europe student mobility and enhanced international curricula through joint
degree programs.

As AUCC pursues further action in relation to the Bologna Process, all activities will be
informed by the guiding principle of the autonomy of individual Canadian universities to
respond to these issues according to their own particular needs and strategies.
This exercise is also guided by the acknowledgement of the challenges in pursuing any collective
approach aimed at aligning with the European model, given the diversity and complexity of
Canadian higher education.

AUCC recognizes, however, that responding to the Bologna Process also represents a unique
opportunity to examine ‘lessons learned’ and best practices in addressing Canada’s internal
system of credit transfers and mobility among institutions across jurisdictions.

In the spirit of renewed engagement in higher education beyond our borders and given the circumstances related to the emerging Bologna Process, AUCC commits to:
* Keeping a close watching brief on the progress of the Bologna Process with respect to implementation of reforms and political direction in Europe.
* Closely monitoring the engagement of other non-Bologna countries such as the United States, Australia and China along with other actors within Canada, such as governmental partners and other higher education stakeholders.
* Continuing to raise awareness among its membership of key issues related to the Bologna Process through a continued national dialogue within the association, research on good practices and the organization of various information sessions and workshops.
* Pursuing a policy dialogue with European partners such as the European University Association, to identify ways of seizing the opportunities to enhance Canada-Europe cooperation, especially student mobility, and address any challenges for Canadian universities in the broader Bologna context.
----

=== Other activities ===

None known. This is not to say that all is perfect with Canada's universities. Even local commentators accept that things must change.

== Administration and finance ==

Although the provinces have responsibility for universities including providing funds, the federal government retains a funding role - and a vital one. A [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/reports/2006/fed_role_02_23_e.pdf position paper] from AUCC describes the situation.

----
In Canada, as in most other well-established federal
systems, including the United States, Australia,
Switzerland and Germany, constitutional jurisdiction
for education rests with the regional, provincial or
state governments. However, in all of these federations,
the central governments have come to play major roles
in support of higher education. They have done so in
large part because of the strategic importance of these
institutions in educating people for the knowledge
economy and in performing research. In Australia,
for example, the federal government is now the
primary source of funds, not only for university
research but also for the operating budgets of the
universities. In the United States, by contrast, the
state governments remain the primary source of
operating funding for public universities and fouryear
colleges, but the federal government is the most
important source of university research funding and
effectively reduces some of the pressure on university
operating budgets by paying for faculty time devoted
to federally-funded research.

Despite the Constitution’s exclusive grant of powers to
the provincial legislatures to “make Laws in relation to
Education” and “in and for each Province”, the federal
government in Canada has shown an interest in higher
education since the early years of Confederation and
especially, since the First World War.
The overriding goal of federal investments in
higher education, particularly since the Second
World War, has been to maximize universities’
contributions to economic growth, competitiveness
and social development in Canada as a whole. To
this end, the investments have sought:
* to support growth in institutional capacity to provide access to growing numbers of students;
* to promote accessibility for students through student assistance measures;
* to develop university research and graduate education and, especially in recent years, to build internationally competitive research capacity in the universities; and
* to promote Canada’s interests internationally in relation to, and through, higher education.

With regard to the last of these objectives, the
federal government has made a number of investments
over the years, including the Canada Corps
University Partnership Program and Human Resources
and Social Development Canada’s International
Academic Mobility Programs. In general, however,
these have lacked overall policy coherence and
sustained commitment.

On the student assistance, research and graduate
education objectives, the federal government has made
major investments over the period since the Second
World War, and especially since 1997, in recognition
of the strategic importance of university education and
research in a knowledge economy. In particular, the
large research investments since 1997 have had a very
positive impact on the health of Canada’s university
research environment. At the same time, international
competitors have also been investing in university
research and major challenges remain in this country.
The first of the objectives, increasing universities’
institutional capacity to take on more students,
was at the heart of federal investments in the period
from 1945 to 1967, first through direct grants to
universities and then through the cost-shared program.

With the creation of the EPF transfers from 1977
to 1995 and even more so, the creation of the unconditional
and undifferentiated CHST transfers in
1995, the federal government has paid little overt
attention to this objective. No portion of the CHST
or the subsequent CST is designated specifically for
postsecondary education.
----

== Quality assurance ==

Canadian universities are notoriously reluctant to accept any level of direction from outside the institution, be it from provincial or federal goverment. This applies also to quality issues. Thus the regimes typical now in Europe and much of the rest of the British Commonwealth are not found - yet - in Canada. Some local commentators fear that the Bologna Process will be used by the Canadian government to impose uniformity on universities including a uniform quality process - see for example the May 2008 outpouring [http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pub/commentary/080509.html A load of Bologna] by Alex Ussher.

However the AUCC seems to accept that some better coordination and peer review is necessary to reassure students and government. Their [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/pol_pract/index_e.html statement on the matter] notes:

: In Canada, education, including higher education, is a constitutional responsibility of the country's 10 provinces and 3 territories. The universities, which at this time are located only in the provinces, derive their authority from provincial legislation.

: Each Canadian university is autonomous in academic matters including the determination of its own quality assurance policies and procedures. In addition, as the result of their longstanding commitment to a common framework of standards across provincial jurisdictions, Canadian universities have a shared understanding of the value of each other's academic credentials.

: Robust institutional quality assurance policies and processes are the foundation of the Canadian higher education quality assurance regime. These policies may stand alone, and some may be based in legislation. They may operate in an environment which includes another level of quality assurance, for example the policies and processes that provide a second level of quality assurance in the higher education systems in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. For some programs, institutional policies may be supplemented by standards of professional accreditation.

A [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/reg_prov_qas/index_e.html separate note] lists the provincial quality regimes. There is also a [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/principles/index_e.html set of principles].

All rather vague from a European point of view.

== Canada's HEIs in the information society ==

=== Towards the information society ===

(We await discussion on how to handle this section.)

=== Information society strategy ===

In this subsection we discuss the Canadian NREN ([[CANARIE]]) and the potential Major E-Learning Initiatives.

==== CANARIE ====

''CANARIE'' Inc., based in Ottawa, is the advanced network organization for Canada. It facilitates the development and use of its network as well as the advanced products, applications and services that run on it. The CANARIE Network is the National Research and Education Network ([[NREN]]) for Canada - serving universities, colleges, schools, government labs, research institutes, hospitals and other organizations in a wide variety of fields in both the public and private sectors.

However, CANARIE has a wider brief, in some ways similar to agencies such as [[SURF]] and [[JISC]]. It furthers this by promoting and participating in strategic collaborations among key sectors, and by partnering with peer networks and organizations around the world, CANARIE Inc. stimulates and supports research, innovation and growth, bringing economic, social, and cultural benefits to Canadians.

The national organization was created in 1993 by the private sector and academia under the leadership of the Government of Canada.

CANARIE Inc. is supported by membership fees, with major funding of its programmes and activities provided by the Government of Canada through Industry Canada.

In the past, CANARIE has funded many e-learning developments.

Its web site is at http://www.canarie.ca/about/index.html (English) and http://www.canarie.ca/about_f/index.html (French).

'''Existing case study'''

There is a comprehensive but somewhat out of date case study of CANARIE at http://www.matic-media.co.uk/ukeu/EUNI-chap10-CANARIE-2004.doc - it was first written in 2001 but updated in summer 2004 (by [[Paul Bacsich]] and [[Sara Frank Bristow]]).

The Editor's Introduction to that notes:

: Between 1993 and March 2004, CANARIE – a small, non-profit organisation – received government funding of C$360 million (£161 million) for over 225 projects focussed on e-learning, e-content, e-business and e-health. Many would credit CANARIE for assuring Canada’s reputation as a world-leading broadband adopter and innovator (and, more relevant to e-university developments, with helping the country to become a lead developer of learning object repository infrastructure). CANARIE has also helped connect over 2,000 schools, colleges and universities to its advanced CA*NET 4 network, and has created thousands of jobs nationwide.

: When this CANARIE Report was written, CANARIE was an organisation “in full swing”, with government funding assured for over two more years. Nearly all of its projects saw completion by March 2004, however, and many of those discussed below finished long before that. During a presentation in June 2004, CANARIE president and CEO Andrew Bjerring noted that CANARIE’s original mandate had been to “visit the future and report back” – now that the future has arrived, it seems, it is the role of CANARIE itself that requires clarification.

: At the time of writing [2004], CANARIE maintains some modest funding for completing the roll-out of CA*net 4 as scheduled, but all other project funding is on hold. Several of Canada’s federal departments are said to be collaborating on what might become a national strategic vision to help frame the future of organisations like CANARIE, and perhaps lead to the creation of an agency not unlike the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) e-Learning Strategy Unit in the UK. Until the emergence of this new strategic plan, hoped to be in the autumn of 2004, however, there will be no further funding for the CANARIE projects described below. Thus it remains to be seen whether CANARIE will succeed at reinventing itself in today’s context.

This depressing conclusion seems still to be the case. A search of the CANARIE web site for "e-learning" reveals no hits later than 2003.

==== Major E-Learning Initiatives ====

See [[Major e-learning initiatives in Canada]].

== References ==

=== Canadian companies who have developed e-learning systems ===

* WebCT was developed at the University of British Columbia by Murray Goldberg as an "unofficial" e-learning system, finally being bought by a company which became WebCTm, in turn acquired by [http://www.blackboard.com/us/index.bbb Blackboard].

* [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn] is another Canadian-based learning management system, but this did not come out of academic circles.

* The FirstClass system was developed in the late 1980s by http://www.softarc.com/ [SoftArc] for use in the Ontario School Board - the product was then sold on to various companies and gradually failed to keep up with developments.

* Even earlier, the CoSy system was developed at the University of Guelph and used by the [[Open University]] for some years in the 1980s and into the early 1990s.

* It is not a company yet but the [http://www.kuali.org/communities/ks/ Kuali Student] system being developed by a consortium around the [http://www.sfu.ca/ University of British Columbia] is exciting interst in the US and now the UK.

(Readers are refered to the relevant wikipedia articles - of wildly varying quality and length, but at least giving some of the history. For a hopefully more measured historical view see the Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments History of Virtual Learning Environments].)

=== Eminent Canadian experts in e-learning ===

Such lists are always invidious but the following three have a focus close to our mission - on post-secondary deployment - as well as research, and would be known to many UK experts in e-learning:

* [[Tony Bates]], Consultant - formerly of the [[Open University]], then the [[Open Learning Agency]] and then [[University of British Columbia]], more recently an advisor to the [[Open University of Catalonia]], the [[Portuguese Open University]] and to EU projects including [[Re.ViCa]] - with a [http://www.tonybates.ca comprehensive web site]
* [[Terry Anderson]], Professor of Distance Education, Athabasca University - with his [http://www.athabascau.ca/html/staff/academic/terrya.html university site]
* [[Thierry Karsenti]], Professor of information and communication technology in Education, [[University of Montreal]] - with his [http://www.thierrykarsenti.ca university site]. Pr. Karsenti also holds the Canada Research Chair in ICT and Education.
* Linda Harasim [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Harasim], Professor, School of Education, Simon Fraser University, and author of several books, including 'Learning Networks'[http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&id=NFkaDHideBcC&dq=Linda+harasim+Learning+Networks&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=OV7c_SzkDs&sig=ornccw09QiH2LSM5x5kgZBscdx0&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result]

There are of course many active researchers in e-learning also and several Francophones of whom [http://ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/Default.aspx?alias=ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/gilbertpaquette Gilbert Paquette] is the doyen. Unlike many countries, Canada has or at least had an active tradition of research into e-learning in the FE and Skills area.

And in the schools e-learning area Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/scardamalia.html Marlene Scardamalia] and Emeritus Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/bereiter.html Carl Bereiter] are leaders.

----
> [[Countries]]

[[Category:North America]]

Canada

2008-12-03T13:57:09Z

Karsenti: /* Eminent Canadian experts in e-learning */

== Partners situated in Canada ==

None. However, [[Tony Bates]] of the [[Advisory Committee| International Advisory Committee]] is from Canada.

== Canada in a nutshell ==

Canada is a large country occupying over half of the continent of North America, touching three oceans - Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic. Its population was estimated in the [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=101 2006 census] as around 31.5 million but other estimates such as the [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ca.html CIA Factbook] give up to and over 33 million currently. (Rapid immigration is one source of the discrepancy but not, it seems, the only one - the issue has generated some debate.)

Thus there would seem to be a strong argument that a Commonwealth country of this size would have many points of relevance, generally and in education, to many larger countries in the European Union. While true generally (e.g. for industrial policy) ''it is not at all true for education'' - the provinces are the relevant entities. See later for details.

Many if not most Canadian universities have competence in e-learning at least in pockets. Several major e-learning systems past and present have come from Canada, some from academia but most not - for example, in recent years [http://www.webct.com WebCT] and [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn], and many years ago the CoSy and [http://www.firstclass.com FirstClass] conferencing systems used at the [[Open University]]. We give the main ones below of relevance to an EU audience.

Canada is divided into 13 provinces and territories of which the most important and relevant in e-learning terms are the following:

* British Columbia, population 4.1 million, thus rather smaller than [[Scotland]] but rather larger than [[Wales]] and similar in size to [[Ireland]] - the base of the [[University of British Columbia]] ([[UBC]]) and [[Simon Fraser University]] ([[SFU]]), two notable institutions in e-learning; and also of [[Thompson Rivers University]] ([[TRU]]) which now operates the [[Open Learning Agency]] for British Columbia. Another example is [[Royal Roads University]].
* Alberta, population 3.2 million, thus a bit more than [[Wales]] - the base of [[Athabasca University]], Canada's Open University (a smaller version of the UK [[Open University]]), but also of the much smaller but nimble [[Mount Royal College]].
* Ontario, population 12.1 million, thus not really comparable to any UK home nation (but approaching that of the [[Netherlands]]) - with several illustrious institutions. Some have a long history in distance education (e.g. University of Guelph, which has over 60 online courses [http://www.open.uoguelph.ca/start/]), and others (e.g. the University of Waterloo, and the University of Ottawa) have extensive blended learning initiatives. The [[Ontario Institute for Studies in Education]] ([[OISE]]) contains eminent researchers in schools e-learning known across Europe and beyond.
* Quebec, in particular the [[Télé-université de Québec]].

The [[Canadian Virtual University]] ([[CVU]]) is a group of Canadian universities specializing in online and distance education and a list of these can be found on the site.

''Document of relevance'': [http://www.learn4good.com/distance_learn/distance_learn_canada.htm Learn4Good.com] sums up Canadian distance learning courses and programmes provided by Higher Education.

== Canada education policy ==

In Canada, almost alone among countries in the world, education at all levels is so completely devolved to the provinces that there is not and cannot be a Minister of Education for Canada. (The wikipedia article on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada Education in Canada] gives more details including of the residual federal responsibilities. See also [[CMEC]].)

== Canada's education system ==
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada)

With the earlier caveat about the devolved approach to education, here are the basic facts.

Education in Canada is generally divided into '''Elementary''' (Primary School, Public School), followed by '''Secondary''' (High School) and '''Post Secondary''' (University, College). Within the provinces under the ministry of education, there are district school boards administering the educational programmes.

=== Elementary and Secondary Education ===

Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick, where the compulsory age is 18. In some provinces early leaving exemptions can be granted under certain circumstances at 14.

Canada generally has 180 to 190 school days in the year, officially starting from September (after Labour Day) to the end of June (usually the last Friday of the month, Wednesday in some Ontario schools).

Canada spends about 7% of its GDP on education. Since the adoption of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1982, education in both English and French has been available in most places across Canada (if the population of children speaking the minority language justifies it), although French Second Language education/French Immersion is availble to Anglophone students across Canada.

Originally all the provinces had educational systems divided by religion, but most provinces have abolished these. Ontario, Alberta, and certain cities in Saskatchewan are exceptions to this, as they still maintain publicly funded Separate district school boards (usually Catholic but occasionally Protestant). In Quebec, the Catholic/Protestant divide was replaced with a French/English one in 1998. Québécois must attend a French School up until the end of high school unless one of their parents previously attended an English-language school somewhere in Canada (immigrants from other countries cannot use this exception). However this rule applies only to public schools, therefore immigrants to Quebec can send their children to English ''private'' schools.

Most Canadian education systems continue up to grade 12 (age 17 to 18). In Quebec, the typical high school term ends after Secondary V, the same as to grade 11 (age 16 to 17); following this, students who wish to pursue their studies to the university level have to attend CEGEP which is a unique educational institution, between high school and junior colleges. Cegeps are often referred to as "junior colleges".

Normally, for each type of publicly funded school (such as Public English or Public French), the province is divided into districts (or divisions). Normally, all publicly funded schools are under the authority of their local district school board. These school boards would follow a common curriculum set up by the province the board resides in. Only Alberta allows public charter schools, which are independent of any district board - instead, they each have their own board, which reports directly to the province.

Primary education and secondary education combined are sometimes referred to as K-12 (Kindergarten through Grade 12). It should be noted that this structure can vary from school to school, and from province to province. For instance, Prince Edward Island school systems is the only province that does not provide Kindergarten. In contrast, Ontario is the only province which provides two levels of Kindergarten (Junior and Senior).

In Canada, secondary schooling, known as high school, "école secondaire" or secondary school, differs depending on the province in which one resides. Additionally, grade structure may vary within a province and even within a school division. Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick (where the compulsory ages are 18). Students may continue to attend high school until the ages of 19 to 21 (the cut-off age for high school varies between province). Those 19 and over may attend adult school. Also if high schoolers are expelled or suspended for a period of time over 2 months or so they could attend night school at the high school.

Ontario had a "Grade 13" known as Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) year, but this was abolished by the provincial government to cut costs. OAC was last offered for the 2002-2003 school year. As a result, the curriculum has been compacted, and the more difficult subjects, such as mathematics, are comparatively harder than before. However, the system is now approximately equivalent to what has been the case outside of Quebec and Ontario for many years. Secondary education in Quebec continues to Grade 11 (Secondary V), and is typically followed by CEGEP, a two or three year college program taken after high school. Pre-university CEGEP programs are two years in Quebec (university for Quebecers is three years), and vocational or professional programs are three years in duration.

=== Post-secondary ===

Post-secondary education in Canada is also the responsibility of the individual provinces and territories. Those governments provide the majority of funding to their public post-secondary institutions, with the remainder of funding coming from tuition fees, the federal government, and research grants. Compared to other countries in the past, Canada has had the highest tertiary school enrollment as a percentage of their graduating population.

Nearly all post-secondary institutions in Canada have the authority to grant academic credentials (i.e., diplomas or degrees). Generally speaking, universities grant degrees (e.g., bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees) while colleges, which typically offer vocationally-oriented programmes, grant diplomas and certificates. However, some colleges offer applied arts degrees that lead to or are equivalent to degrees from a university.

Post-secondary education in Quebec begins with CEGEP (collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel), following graduation from Grade 11 (or Secondary V). Students complete a two- or three-year general program leading to admission to a university, or a professional program leading directly into the labour force. In most cases, bachelor's degree programmes in Quebec are three years instead of the usual four; however, in many cases, students attending a university in Quebec that did not graduate from CEGEP must complete an additional year of coursework. When Ontario had five years of high school, a three-year bachelor's degree was common, but these degrees are being phased out in favour of the four-year degree.

The main variation between the provinces, with respect to universities, is the amount of funding they receive. Universities in Quebec receive the most funding and have the lowest tuitions. Universities in Atlantic Canada generally receive the least funding and some, like Acadia University, are almost wholly reliant on private funding.

The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), is the military academy of the Canadian Forces and is a full degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution with degree granting powers.

'''Private schools'''

In Canada there is no obligation for parents to place their children in the public school system, and about 8% of students are in the private system. Nevertheless, there are more and more private schools in urban areas (high schools, especially). It is not unusual for the wealthy and prominent in Canada to send their children to public schools, especially in the lower grades. A far larger portion of private schools are religious based institutions. Private schools are also used to study outside the country. For example one in Italy has an Ontario curriculum.

Each province deals differently with private religious schools. In Ontario the Catholic system continues to be fully publicly funded, but other faiths receive no such funding. Ontario has several private Jewish, Muslim, and Christian schools, but all are funded through tuition fees. Since the Catholic schools system is entrenched in the constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that this system is not unconstitutional. However, the United Nations has ruled that Ontario's system is unfair. In 2002 the government introduced a controversial proposal to partially fund all private schools, but this was criticized for undermining the public education system and the proposal was eliminated after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election.

In other provinces privately operated religious schools are funded. In British Columbia the government pays 50% of the cost of religious schools provided that they meet rigorous provincial standards. The province has a number of Sikh, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim schools. Alberta also has a network of charter schools, which are fully funded public (not private) schools offering distinct approaches to education within the public school system (note that the province does not grant charters to religious schools). These charter schools have to follow the provincial curriculum and meet all standards, but are given considerable freedom in other areas. In all other provinces private religious schools receive some funding, but not as much as the public system.

== Higher education ==

The higher education systems in Canada's ten provinces have different historical development, organization (e.g., structure, governance, and funding), and goals (e.g., participation, access, and mobility). This makes it impossible to summarise the overall system. The reader is referred to the wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Education_in_Canada.

=== Universities in Canada ===
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Canada)

Canada has somewhat over 70 universities including the large multi-campus Université du Québec which includes [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] ([[UQAM]]) , the host of the [[Télé-université]] ([[Téluq]]) There is an elite group, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Thirteen_(Canadian_universities) Group of 13], comprising the most prestigious and research-active universities, but e-learning competence is found across the span of universities in Canada.

A selection of those better known beyond Canada including for e-learning (research and/or implementation) would be something like the following:

* [[Athabasca University]]
* [http://www.umontreal.ca University of Montreal] (Montréal, Québec)
* Capilano University (North Vancouver)
* [[Royal Roads University]] (Victoria)
* [[Simon Fraser University]] (Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, British Columbia)
* [[Thompson Rivers University]] (Kamloops)
* [[University of British Columbia]] (University Endowment Lands, Okanagan)
* [[University of New Brunswick]] (Fredericton & Saint John)
* McMaster University (Hamilton)
* Ryerson University (Toronto)
* University of Guelph (Guelph)
* University of Toronto (Toronto (Downtown, Scarborough), Mississauga)
* University of Waterloo (Waterloo)
* University of Western Ontario (London)
* University of Windsor (Windsor)
* York University (Toronto)
* McGill University (Montreal)
* Concordia University (Montreal)
* [[Université du Québec à Montréal]], UQAM (Montreal) including [[Télé-université]], Téluq
* University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon)

===Polytechnics in Canada ===

This term is seldom used in Canada (for example, École polytechnique de Montréal, which trains almost 5000 engineers. This term is also used to describe some colleges.

==== Colleges in Canada ====

There are many colleges in Canada - for a partial list see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_in_Canada.

Most are not known outside Canada, whether or not for e-learning, but one that is known is [[Mount Royal College]].

==== CEGEP ====
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEGEP)

A CEGEP (French: Cégep) is a post-secondary education institution exclusive to the province of Quebec in Canada. CEGEP is a French acronym for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, meaning "College of General and Vocational Education". They are comparable to community colleges, but are required to enter university, which is why secondary school and undergrad degrees both are one less year in Quebec.

The purpose of CEGEPs is to make post-secondary education more accessible in Quebec, as well as to provide proper academic preparation for university. There are both public and private subsidized CEGEPs with the public CEGEPs having little or no tuition fee. The CEGEP system was started in 1967 by the Quebec provincial government and originally had 12 CEGEPs. Today there are 48 CEGEPs in Quebec, of which 5 are English language CEGEPs. There are also 50 private colleges, including 6 English language colleges. While CEGEP refers technically to only public colleges, in common usage the term is sometimes applied also to private colleges offering some of the same programmes.

They are not seen at this stage as relevant to Re.ViCa but we look forward to input on this issue.

== Higher education reform ==

=== The Bologna Process ===

Interestingly the Rectors of Canadian universities are closely interested in the [[Bologna Process]]. A June 2008 [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/statements/2008/bologna_process_06_20_e.pdf statement] from [[AUCC]] is given below.

----
Higher education, like most sectors, is transforming itself in step with the ever-advancing trends
of the global knowledge economy. A high profile example of this is the reform agenda being
implemented by Europe’s universities through the Bologna Process. While the Bologna Process is a uniquely European initiative, its influence and impact
on higher education is being felt throughout the world.

Canadian universities continue to be recognized globally for the quality of higher education
delivered. They are, however, not immune to developments of the magnitude of the
Bologna Process. It is therefore appropriate at this time to respond to this emerging European
initiative by at once seizing its related opportunities and facing its challenges.

The internationalization of Canada’s universities includes facilitating the two-way flow of
students through international student recruitment and student exchange as well as bringing an
international dimension to the curriculum. It is in these areas of student mobility and curricular
reform where the Bologna Process will have its greatest impact on Canadian universities.

AUCC members therefore, through this statement, acknowledge the significance of the emerging
European Higher Education Area and hereby commit to undertaking a course of action to address
the implications of the Bologna Process for Canadian universities and plan a path forward for
engaging with our European partners, both old and new, in a spirit that mirrors Europe’s own
renewal in higher education.

AUCC, through its Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations and the Board of
Directors, has been examining for some time how Canadian universities can best respond to the
changes under way in Europe. It began by identifying the following three key implications of
these changes for Canadian universities.

Competition in international student recruitment is the primary implication. The Bologna
Process, among its other goals, is also a sophisticated exercise in marketing European higher
education. As the Bologna countries seek to make Europe a more attractive study destination
through its degree harmonization and support for increased academic mobility, they are likely to
increase their international student market share at the expense of other leading host countries,
including Canada.

Secondly, the impact of the increasing number of three-year undergraduate degrees from
Bologna countries on Canadian credential evaluation policies and practices needs to be assessed.
The coming influx of three year degrees presents obvious challenges for admission decisions in
graduate studies at Canadian institutions and raises questions about the effect this will have on
our graduate programs.

Finally, student mobility, through short-term exchanges and study abroad opportunities for
Canadian students is an area in which AUCC believes it is imperative to act to take advantage of
the emerging landscape of higher education in Europe. The prevalence of the transparency tools
in the Bologna Process, such as the European Credit Transfer System and the Diploma
Supplement, along with funding programs such as Erasmus Mundus, represent a potential for
increased Canada-Europe student mobility and enhanced international curricula through joint
degree programs.

As AUCC pursues further action in relation to the Bologna Process, all activities will be
informed by the guiding principle of the autonomy of individual Canadian universities to
respond to these issues according to their own particular needs and strategies.
This exercise is also guided by the acknowledgement of the challenges in pursuing any collective
approach aimed at aligning with the European model, given the diversity and complexity of
Canadian higher education.

AUCC recognizes, however, that responding to the Bologna Process also represents a unique
opportunity to examine ‘lessons learned’ and best practices in addressing Canada’s internal
system of credit transfers and mobility among institutions across jurisdictions.

In the spirit of renewed engagement in higher education beyond our borders and given the circumstances related to the emerging Bologna Process, AUCC commits to:
* Keeping a close watching brief on the progress of the Bologna Process with respect to implementation of reforms and political direction in Europe.
* Closely monitoring the engagement of other non-Bologna countries such as the United States, Australia and China along with other actors within Canada, such as governmental partners and other higher education stakeholders.
* Continuing to raise awareness among its membership of key issues related to the Bologna Process through a continued national dialogue within the association, research on good practices and the organization of various information sessions and workshops.
* Pursuing a policy dialogue with European partners such as the European University Association, to identify ways of seizing the opportunities to enhance Canada-Europe cooperation, especially student mobility, and address any challenges for Canadian universities in the broader Bologna context.
----

=== Other activities ===

None known. This is not to say that all is perfect with Canada's universities. Even local commentators accept that things must change.

== Administration and finance ==

Although the provinces have responsibility for universities including providing funds, the federal government retains a funding role - and a vital one. A [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/reports/2006/fed_role_02_23_e.pdf position paper] from AUCC describes the situation.

----
In Canada, as in most other well-established federal
systems, including the United States, Australia,
Switzerland and Germany, constitutional jurisdiction
for education rests with the regional, provincial or
state governments. However, in all of these federations,
the central governments have come to play major roles
in support of higher education. They have done so in
large part because of the strategic importance of these
institutions in educating people for the knowledge
economy and in performing research. In Australia,
for example, the federal government is now the
primary source of funds, not only for university
research but also for the operating budgets of the
universities. In the United States, by contrast, the
state governments remain the primary source of
operating funding for public universities and fouryear
colleges, but the federal government is the most
important source of university research funding and
effectively reduces some of the pressure on university
operating budgets by paying for faculty time devoted
to federally-funded research.

Despite the Constitution’s exclusive grant of powers to
the provincial legislatures to “make Laws in relation to
Education” and “in and for each Province”, the federal
government in Canada has shown an interest in higher
education since the early years of Confederation and
especially, since the First World War.
The overriding goal of federal investments in
higher education, particularly since the Second
World War, has been to maximize universities’
contributions to economic growth, competitiveness
and social development in Canada as a whole. To
this end, the investments have sought:
* to support growth in institutional capacity to provide access to growing numbers of students;
* to promote accessibility for students through student assistance measures;
* to develop university research and graduate education and, especially in recent years, to build internationally competitive research capacity in the universities; and
* to promote Canada’s interests internationally in relation to, and through, higher education.

With regard to the last of these objectives, the
federal government has made a number of investments
over the years, including the Canada Corps
University Partnership Program and Human Resources
and Social Development Canada’s International
Academic Mobility Programs. In general, however,
these have lacked overall policy coherence and
sustained commitment.

On the student assistance, research and graduate
education objectives, the federal government has made
major investments over the period since the Second
World War, and especially since 1997, in recognition
of the strategic importance of university education and
research in a knowledge economy. In particular, the
large research investments since 1997 have had a very
positive impact on the health of Canada’s university
research environment. At the same time, international
competitors have also been investing in university
research and major challenges remain in this country.
The first of the objectives, increasing universities’
institutional capacity to take on more students,
was at the heart of federal investments in the period
from 1945 to 1967, first through direct grants to
universities and then through the cost-shared program.

With the creation of the EPF transfers from 1977
to 1995 and even more so, the creation of the unconditional
and undifferentiated CHST transfers in
1995, the federal government has paid little overt
attention to this objective. No portion of the CHST
or the subsequent CST is designated specifically for
postsecondary education.
----

== Quality assurance ==

Canadian universities are notoriously reluctant to accept any level of direction from outside the institution, be it from provincial or federal goverment. This applies also to quality issues. Thus the regimes typical now in Europe and much of the rest of the British Commonwealth are not found - yet - in Canada. Some local commentators fear that the Bologna Process will be used by the Canadian government to impose uniformity on universities including a uniform quality process - see for example the May 2008 outpouring [http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pub/commentary/080509.html A load of Bologna] by Alex Ussher.

However the AUCC seems to accept that some better coordination and peer review is necessary to reassure students and government. Their [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/pol_pract/index_e.html statement on the matter] notes:

: In Canada, education, including higher education, is a constitutional responsibility of the country's 10 provinces and 3 territories. The universities, which at this time are located only in the provinces, derive their authority from provincial legislation.

: Each Canadian university is autonomous in academic matters including the determination of its own quality assurance policies and procedures. In addition, as the result of their longstanding commitment to a common framework of standards across provincial jurisdictions, Canadian universities have a shared understanding of the value of each other's academic credentials.

: Robust institutional quality assurance policies and processes are the foundation of the Canadian higher education quality assurance regime. These policies may stand alone, and some may be based in legislation. They may operate in an environment which includes another level of quality assurance, for example the policies and processes that provide a second level of quality assurance in the higher education systems in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. For some programs, institutional policies may be supplemented by standards of professional accreditation.

A [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/reg_prov_qas/index_e.html separate note] lists the provincial quality regimes. There is also a [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/principles/index_e.html set of principles].

All rather vague from a European point of view.

== Canada's HEIs in the information society ==

=== Towards the information society ===

(We await discussion on how to handle this section.)

=== Information society strategy ===

In this subsection we discuss the Canadian NREN ([[CANARIE]]) and the potential Major E-Learning Initiatives.

==== CANARIE ====

''CANARIE'' Inc., based in Ottawa, is the advanced network organization for Canada. It facilitates the development and use of its network as well as the advanced products, applications and services that run on it. The CANARIE Network is the National Research and Education Network ([[NREN]]) for Canada - serving universities, colleges, schools, government labs, research institutes, hospitals and other organizations in a wide variety of fields in both the public and private sectors.

However, CANARIE has a wider brief, in some ways similar to agencies such as [[SURF]] and [[JISC]]. It furthers this by promoting and participating in strategic collaborations among key sectors, and by partnering with peer networks and organizations around the world, CANARIE Inc. stimulates and supports research, innovation and growth, bringing economic, social, and cultural benefits to Canadians.

The national organization was created in 1993 by the private sector and academia under the leadership of the Government of Canada.

CANARIE Inc. is supported by membership fees, with major funding of its programmes and activities provided by the Government of Canada through Industry Canada.

In the past, CANARIE has funded many e-learning developments.

Its web site is at http://www.canarie.ca/about/index.html (English) and http://www.canarie.ca/about_f/index.html (French).

'''Existing case study'''

There is a comprehensive but somewhat out of date case study of CANARIE at http://www.matic-media.co.uk/ukeu/EUNI-chap10-CANARIE-2004.doc - it was first written in 2001 but updated in summer 2004 (by [[Paul Bacsich]] and [[Sara Frank Bristow]]).

The Editor's Introduction to that notes:

: Between 1993 and March 2004, CANARIE – a small, non-profit organisation – received government funding of C$360 million (£161 million) for over 225 projects focussed on e-learning, e-content, e-business and e-health. Many would credit CANARIE for assuring Canada’s reputation as a world-leading broadband adopter and innovator (and, more relevant to e-university developments, with helping the country to become a lead developer of learning object repository infrastructure). CANARIE has also helped connect over 2,000 schools, colleges and universities to its advanced CA*NET 4 network, and has created thousands of jobs nationwide.

: When this CANARIE Report was written, CANARIE was an organisation “in full swing”, with government funding assured for over two more years. Nearly all of its projects saw completion by March 2004, however, and many of those discussed below finished long before that. During a presentation in June 2004, CANARIE president and CEO Andrew Bjerring noted that CANARIE’s original mandate had been to “visit the future and report back” – now that the future has arrived, it seems, it is the role of CANARIE itself that requires clarification.

: At the time of writing [2004], CANARIE maintains some modest funding for completing the roll-out of CA*net 4 as scheduled, but all other project funding is on hold. Several of Canada’s federal departments are said to be collaborating on what might become a national strategic vision to help frame the future of organisations like CANARIE, and perhaps lead to the creation of an agency not unlike the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) e-Learning Strategy Unit in the UK. Until the emergence of this new strategic plan, hoped to be in the autumn of 2004, however, there will be no further funding for the CANARIE projects described below. Thus it remains to be seen whether CANARIE will succeed at reinventing itself in today’s context.

This depressing conclusion seems still to be the case. A search of the CANARIE web site for "e-learning" reveals no hits later than 2003.

==== Major E-Learning Initiatives ====

See [[Major e-learning initiatives in Canada]].

== References ==

=== Canadian companies who have developed e-learning systems ===

* WebCT was developed at the University of British Columbia by Murray Goldberg as an "unofficial" e-learning system, finally being bought by a company which became WebCTm, in turn acquired by [http://www.blackboard.com/us/index.bbb Blackboard].

* [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn] is another Canadian-based learning management system, but this did not come out of academic circles.

* The FirstClass system was developed in the late 1980s by http://www.softarc.com/ [SoftArc] for use in the Ontario School Board - the product was then sold on to various companies and gradually failed to keep up with developments.

* Even earlier, the CoSy system was developed at the University of Guelph and used by the [[Open University]] for some years in the 1980s and into the early 1990s.

* It is not a company yet but the [http://www.kuali.org/communities/ks/ Kuali Student] system being developed by a consortium around the [http://www.sfu.ca/ University of British Columbia] is exciting interst in the US and now the UK.

(Readers are refered to the relevant wikipedia articles - of wildly varying quality and length, but at least giving some of the history. For a hopefully more measured historical view see the Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments History of Virtual Learning Environments].)

=== Eminent Canadian experts in e-learning ===

Such lists are always invidious but the following three have a focus close to our mission - on post-secondary deployment - as well as research, and would be known to many UK experts in e-learning:

* [[Tony Bates]], Consultant - formerly of the [[Open University]], then the [[Open Learning Agency]] and then [[University of British Columbia]], more recently an advisor to the [[Open University of Catalonia]], the [[Portuguese Open University]] and to EU projects including [[Re.ViCa]] - with a [http://www.tonybates.ca comprehensive web site]
* [[Terry Anderson]], Professor of Distance Education, Athabasca University - with his [http://www.athabascau.ca/html/staff/academic/terrya.html university site]
* [[Thierry Karsenti]], Professor of information and communication technology in Education, [University of Montreal] - with his [http://www.thierrykarsenti.ca university site]. Pr. Karsenti also holds the Canada Research Chair in ICT and Education.
* Linda Harasim [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Harasim], Professor, School of Education, Simon Fraser University, and author of several books, including 'Learning Networks'[http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&id=NFkaDHideBcC&dq=Linda+harasim+Learning+Networks&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=OV7c_SzkDs&sig=ornccw09QiH2LSM5x5kgZBscdx0&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result]

There are of course many active researchers in e-learning also and several Francophones of whom [http://ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/Default.aspx?alias=ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/gilbertpaquette Gilbert Paquette] is the doyen. Unlike many countries, Canada has or at least had an active tradition of research into e-learning in the FE and Skills area.

And in the schools e-learning area Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/scardamalia.html Marlene Scardamalia] and Emeritus Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/bereiter.html Carl Bereiter] are leaders.

----
> [[Countries]]

[[Category:North America]]

Canada

2008-12-03T13:54:06Z

Karsenti: /* Post-secondary */

== Partners situated in Canada ==

None. However, [[Tony Bates]] of the [[Advisory Committee| International Advisory Committee]] is from Canada.

== Canada in a nutshell ==

Canada is a large country occupying over half of the continent of North America, touching three oceans - Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic. Its population was estimated in the [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=101 2006 census] as around 31.5 million but other estimates such as the [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ca.html CIA Factbook] give up to and over 33 million currently. (Rapid immigration is one source of the discrepancy but not, it seems, the only one - the issue has generated some debate.)

Thus there would seem to be a strong argument that a Commonwealth country of this size would have many points of relevance, generally and in education, to many larger countries in the European Union. While true generally (e.g. for industrial policy) ''it is not at all true for education'' - the provinces are the relevant entities. See later for details.

Many if not most Canadian universities have competence in e-learning at least in pockets. Several major e-learning systems past and present have come from Canada, some from academia but most not - for example, in recent years [http://www.webct.com WebCT] and [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn], and many years ago the CoSy and [http://www.firstclass.com FirstClass] conferencing systems used at the [[Open University]]. We give the main ones below of relevance to an EU audience.

Canada is divided into 13 provinces and territories of which the most important and relevant in e-learning terms are the following:

* British Columbia, population 4.1 million, thus rather smaller than [[Scotland]] but rather larger than [[Wales]] and similar in size to [[Ireland]] - the base of the [[University of British Columbia]] ([[UBC]]) and [[Simon Fraser University]] ([[SFU]]), two notable institutions in e-learning; and also of [[Thompson Rivers University]] ([[TRU]]) which now operates the [[Open Learning Agency]] for British Columbia. Another example is [[Royal Roads University]].
* Alberta, population 3.2 million, thus a bit more than [[Wales]] - the base of [[Athabasca University]], Canada's Open University (a smaller version of the UK [[Open University]]), but also of the much smaller but nimble [[Mount Royal College]].
* Ontario, population 12.1 million, thus not really comparable to any UK home nation (but approaching that of the [[Netherlands]]) - with several illustrious institutions. Some have a long history in distance education (e.g. University of Guelph, which has over 60 online courses [http://www.open.uoguelph.ca/start/]), and others (e.g. the University of Waterloo, and the University of Ottawa) have extensive blended learning initiatives. The [[Ontario Institute for Studies in Education]] ([[OISE]]) contains eminent researchers in schools e-learning known across Europe and beyond.
* Quebec, in particular the [[Télé-université de Québec]].

The [[Canadian Virtual University]] ([[CVU]]) is a group of Canadian universities specializing in online and distance education and a list of these can be found on the site.

''Document of relevance'': [http://www.learn4good.com/distance_learn/distance_learn_canada.htm Learn4Good.com] sums up Canadian distance learning courses and programmes provided by Higher Education.

== Canada education policy ==

In Canada, almost alone among countries in the world, education at all levels is so completely devolved to the provinces that there is not and cannot be a Minister of Education for Canada. (The wikipedia article on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada Education in Canada] gives more details including of the residual federal responsibilities. See also [[CMEC]].)

== Canada's education system ==
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada)

With the earlier caveat about the devolved approach to education, here are the basic facts.

Education in Canada is generally divided into '''Elementary''' (Primary School, Public School), followed by '''Secondary''' (High School) and '''Post Secondary''' (University, College). Within the provinces under the ministry of education, there are district school boards administering the educational programmes.

=== Elementary and Secondary Education ===

Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick, where the compulsory age is 18. In some provinces early leaving exemptions can be granted under certain circumstances at 14.

Canada generally has 180 to 190 school days in the year, officially starting from September (after Labour Day) to the end of June (usually the last Friday of the month, Wednesday in some Ontario schools).

Canada spends about 7% of its GDP on education. Since the adoption of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1982, education in both English and French has been available in most places across Canada (if the population of children speaking the minority language justifies it), although French Second Language education/French Immersion is availble to Anglophone students across Canada.

Originally all the provinces had educational systems divided by religion, but most provinces have abolished these. Ontario, Alberta, and certain cities in Saskatchewan are exceptions to this, as they still maintain publicly funded Separate district school boards (usually Catholic but occasionally Protestant). In Quebec, the Catholic/Protestant divide was replaced with a French/English one in 1998. Québécois must attend a French School up until the end of high school unless one of their parents previously attended an English-language school somewhere in Canada (immigrants from other countries cannot use this exception). However this rule applies only to public schools, therefore immigrants to Quebec can send their children to English ''private'' schools.

Most Canadian education systems continue up to grade 12 (age 17 to 18). In Quebec, the typical high school term ends after Secondary V, the same as to grade 11 (age 16 to 17); following this, students who wish to pursue their studies to the university level have to attend CEGEP which is a unique educational institution, between high school and junior colleges. Cegeps are often referred to as "junior colleges".

Normally, for each type of publicly funded school (such as Public English or Public French), the province is divided into districts (or divisions). Normally, all publicly funded schools are under the authority of their local district school board. These school boards would follow a common curriculum set up by the province the board resides in. Only Alberta allows public charter schools, which are independent of any district board - instead, they each have their own board, which reports directly to the province.

Primary education and secondary education combined are sometimes referred to as K-12 (Kindergarten through Grade 12). It should be noted that this structure can vary from school to school, and from province to province. For instance, Prince Edward Island school systems is the only province that does not provide Kindergarten. In contrast, Ontario is the only province which provides two levels of Kindergarten (Junior and Senior).

In Canada, secondary schooling, known as high school, "école secondaire" or secondary school, differs depending on the province in which one resides. Additionally, grade structure may vary within a province and even within a school division. Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick (where the compulsory ages are 18). Students may continue to attend high school until the ages of 19 to 21 (the cut-off age for high school varies between province). Those 19 and over may attend adult school. Also if high schoolers are expelled or suspended for a period of time over 2 months or so they could attend night school at the high school.

Ontario had a "Grade 13" known as Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) year, but this was abolished by the provincial government to cut costs. OAC was last offered for the 2002-2003 school year. As a result, the curriculum has been compacted, and the more difficult subjects, such as mathematics, are comparatively harder than before. However, the system is now approximately equivalent to what has been the case outside of Quebec and Ontario for many years. Secondary education in Quebec continues to Grade 11 (Secondary V), and is typically followed by CEGEP, a two or three year college program taken after high school. Pre-university CEGEP programs are two years in Quebec (university for Quebecers is three years), and vocational or professional programs are three years in duration.

=== Post-secondary ===

Post-secondary education in Canada is also the responsibility of the individual provinces and territories. Those governments provide the majority of funding to their public post-secondary institutions, with the remainder of funding coming from tuition fees, the federal government, and research grants. Compared to other countries in the past, Canada has had the highest tertiary school enrollment as a percentage of their graduating population.

Nearly all post-secondary institutions in Canada have the authority to grant academic credentials (i.e., diplomas or degrees). Generally speaking, universities grant degrees (e.g., bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees) while colleges, which typically offer vocationally-oriented programmes, grant diplomas and certificates. However, some colleges offer applied arts degrees that lead to or are equivalent to degrees from a university.

Post-secondary education in Quebec begins with CEGEP (collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel), following graduation from Grade 11 (or Secondary V). Students complete a two- or three-year general program leading to admission to a university, or a professional program leading directly into the labour force. In most cases, bachelor's degree programmes in Quebec are three years instead of the usual four; however, in many cases, students attending a university in Quebec that did not graduate from CEGEP must complete an additional year of coursework. When Ontario had five years of high school, a three-year bachelor's degree was common, but these degrees are being phased out in favour of the four-year degree.

The main variation between the provinces, with respect to universities, is the amount of funding they receive. Universities in Quebec receive the most funding and have the lowest tuitions. Universities in Atlantic Canada generally receive the least funding and some, like Acadia University, are almost wholly reliant on private funding.

The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), is the military academy of the Canadian Forces and is a full degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution with degree granting powers.

'''Private schools'''

In Canada there is no obligation for parents to place their children in the public school system, and about 8% of students are in the private system. Nevertheless, there are more and more private schools in urban areas (high schools, especially). It is not unusual for the wealthy and prominent in Canada to send their children to public schools, especially in the lower grades. A far larger portion of private schools are religious based institutions. Private schools are also used to study outside the country. For example one in Italy has an Ontario curriculum.

Each province deals differently with private religious schools. In Ontario the Catholic system continues to be fully publicly funded, but other faiths receive no such funding. Ontario has several private Jewish, Muslim, and Christian schools, but all are funded through tuition fees. Since the Catholic schools system is entrenched in the constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that this system is not unconstitutional. However, the United Nations has ruled that Ontario's system is unfair. In 2002 the government introduced a controversial proposal to partially fund all private schools, but this was criticized for undermining the public education system and the proposal was eliminated after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election.

In other provinces privately operated religious schools are funded. In British Columbia the government pays 50% of the cost of religious schools provided that they meet rigorous provincial standards. The province has a number of Sikh, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim schools. Alberta also has a network of charter schools, which are fully funded public (not private) schools offering distinct approaches to education within the public school system (note that the province does not grant charters to religious schools). These charter schools have to follow the provincial curriculum and meet all standards, but are given considerable freedom in other areas. In all other provinces private religious schools receive some funding, but not as much as the public system.

== Higher education ==

The higher education systems in Canada's ten provinces have different historical development, organization (e.g., structure, governance, and funding), and goals (e.g., participation, access, and mobility). This makes it impossible to summarise the overall system. The reader is referred to the wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Education_in_Canada.

=== Universities in Canada ===
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Canada)

Canada has somewhat over 70 universities including the large multi-campus Université du Québec which includes [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] ([[UQAM]]) , the host of the [[Télé-université]] ([[Téluq]]) There is an elite group, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Thirteen_(Canadian_universities) Group of 13], comprising the most prestigious and research-active universities, but e-learning competence is found across the span of universities in Canada.

A selection of those better known beyond Canada including for e-learning (research and/or implementation) would be something like the following:

* [[Athabasca University]]
* [http://www.umontreal.ca University of Montreal] (Montréal, Québec)
* Capilano University (North Vancouver)
* [[Royal Roads University]] (Victoria)
* [[Simon Fraser University]] (Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, British Columbia)
* [[Thompson Rivers University]] (Kamloops)
* [[University of British Columbia]] (University Endowment Lands, Okanagan)
* [[University of New Brunswick]] (Fredericton & Saint John)
* McMaster University (Hamilton)
* Ryerson University (Toronto)
* University of Guelph (Guelph)
* University of Toronto (Toronto (Downtown, Scarborough), Mississauga)
* University of Waterloo (Waterloo)
* University of Western Ontario (London)
* University of Windsor (Windsor)
* York University (Toronto)
* McGill University (Montreal)
* Concordia University (Montreal)
* [[Université du Québec à Montréal]], UQAM (Montreal) including [[Télé-université]], Téluq
* University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon)

===Polytechnics in Canada ===

This term is seldom used in Canada (for example, École polytechnique de Montréal, which trains almost 5000 engineers. This term is also used to describe some colleges.

==== Colleges in Canada ====

There are many colleges in Canada - for a partial list see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_in_Canada.

Most are not known outside Canada, whether or not for e-learning, but one that is known is [[Mount Royal College]].

==== CEGEP ====
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEGEP)

A CEGEP (French: Cégep) is a post-secondary education institution exclusive to the province of Quebec in Canada. CEGEP is a French acronym for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, meaning "College of General and Vocational Education". They are comparable to community colleges, but are required to enter university, which is why secondary school and undergrad degrees both are one less year in Quebec.

The purpose of CEGEPs is to make post-secondary education more accessible in Quebec, as well as to provide proper academic preparation for university. There are both public and private subsidized CEGEPs with the public CEGEPs having little or no tuition fee. The CEGEP system was started in 1967 by the Quebec provincial government and originally had 12 CEGEPs. Today there are 48 CEGEPs in Quebec, of which 5 are English language CEGEPs. There are also 50 private colleges, including 6 English language colleges. While CEGEP refers technically to only public colleges, in common usage the term is sometimes applied also to private colleges offering some of the same programmes.

They are not seen at this stage as relevant to Re.ViCa but we look forward to input on this issue.

== Higher education reform ==

=== The Bologna Process ===

Interestingly the Rectors of Canadian universities are closely interested in the [[Bologna Process]]. A June 2008 [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/statements/2008/bologna_process_06_20_e.pdf statement] from [[AUCC]] is given below.

----
Higher education, like most sectors, is transforming itself in step with the ever-advancing trends
of the global knowledge economy. A high profile example of this is the reform agenda being
implemented by Europe’s universities through the Bologna Process. While the Bologna Process is a uniquely European initiative, its influence and impact
on higher education is being felt throughout the world.

Canadian universities continue to be recognized globally for the quality of higher education
delivered. They are, however, not immune to developments of the magnitude of the
Bologna Process. It is therefore appropriate at this time to respond to this emerging European
initiative by at once seizing its related opportunities and facing its challenges.

The internationalization of Canada’s universities includes facilitating the two-way flow of
students through international student recruitment and student exchange as well as bringing an
international dimension to the curriculum. It is in these areas of student mobility and curricular
reform where the Bologna Process will have its greatest impact on Canadian universities.

AUCC members therefore, through this statement, acknowledge the significance of the emerging
European Higher Education Area and hereby commit to undertaking a course of action to address
the implications of the Bologna Process for Canadian universities and plan a path forward for
engaging with our European partners, both old and new, in a spirit that mirrors Europe’s own
renewal in higher education.

AUCC, through its Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations and the Board of
Directors, has been examining for some time how Canadian universities can best respond to the
changes under way in Europe. It began by identifying the following three key implications of
these changes for Canadian universities.

Competition in international student recruitment is the primary implication. The Bologna
Process, among its other goals, is also a sophisticated exercise in marketing European higher
education. As the Bologna countries seek to make Europe a more attractive study destination
through its degree harmonization and support for increased academic mobility, they are likely to
increase their international student market share at the expense of other leading host countries,
including Canada.

Secondly, the impact of the increasing number of three-year undergraduate degrees from
Bologna countries on Canadian credential evaluation policies and practices needs to be assessed.
The coming influx of three year degrees presents obvious challenges for admission decisions in
graduate studies at Canadian institutions and raises questions about the effect this will have on
our graduate programs.

Finally, student mobility, through short-term exchanges and study abroad opportunities for
Canadian students is an area in which AUCC believes it is imperative to act to take advantage of
the emerging landscape of higher education in Europe. The prevalence of the transparency tools
in the Bologna Process, such as the European Credit Transfer System and the Diploma
Supplement, along with funding programs such as Erasmus Mundus, represent a potential for
increased Canada-Europe student mobility and enhanced international curricula through joint
degree programs.

As AUCC pursues further action in relation to the Bologna Process, all activities will be
informed by the guiding principle of the autonomy of individual Canadian universities to
respond to these issues according to their own particular needs and strategies.
This exercise is also guided by the acknowledgement of the challenges in pursuing any collective
approach aimed at aligning with the European model, given the diversity and complexity of
Canadian higher education.

AUCC recognizes, however, that responding to the Bologna Process also represents a unique
opportunity to examine ‘lessons learned’ and best practices in addressing Canada’s internal
system of credit transfers and mobility among institutions across jurisdictions.

In the spirit of renewed engagement in higher education beyond our borders and given the circumstances related to the emerging Bologna Process, AUCC commits to:
* Keeping a close watching brief on the progress of the Bologna Process with respect to implementation of reforms and political direction in Europe.
* Closely monitoring the engagement of other non-Bologna countries such as the United States, Australia and China along with other actors within Canada, such as governmental partners and other higher education stakeholders.
* Continuing to raise awareness among its membership of key issues related to the Bologna Process through a continued national dialogue within the association, research on good practices and the organization of various information sessions and workshops.
* Pursuing a policy dialogue with European partners such as the European University Association, to identify ways of seizing the opportunities to enhance Canada-Europe cooperation, especially student mobility, and address any challenges for Canadian universities in the broader Bologna context.
----

=== Other activities ===

None known. This is not to say that all is perfect with Canada's universities. Even local commentators accept that things must change.

== Administration and finance ==

Although the provinces have responsibility for universities including providing funds, the federal government retains a funding role - and a vital one. A [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/reports/2006/fed_role_02_23_e.pdf position paper] from AUCC describes the situation.

----
In Canada, as in most other well-established federal
systems, including the United States, Australia,
Switzerland and Germany, constitutional jurisdiction
for education rests with the regional, provincial or
state governments. However, in all of these federations,
the central governments have come to play major roles
in support of higher education. They have done so in
large part because of the strategic importance of these
institutions in educating people for the knowledge
economy and in performing research. In Australia,
for example, the federal government is now the
primary source of funds, not only for university
research but also for the operating budgets of the
universities. In the United States, by contrast, the
state governments remain the primary source of
operating funding for public universities and fouryear
colleges, but the federal government is the most
important source of university research funding and
effectively reduces some of the pressure on university
operating budgets by paying for faculty time devoted
to federally-funded research.

Despite the Constitution’s exclusive grant of powers to
the provincial legislatures to “make Laws in relation to
Education” and “in and for each Province”, the federal
government in Canada has shown an interest in higher
education since the early years of Confederation and
especially, since the First World War.
The overriding goal of federal investments in
higher education, particularly since the Second
World War, has been to maximize universities’
contributions to economic growth, competitiveness
and social development in Canada as a whole. To
this end, the investments have sought:
* to support growth in institutional capacity to provide access to growing numbers of students;
* to promote accessibility for students through student assistance measures;
* to develop university research and graduate education and, especially in recent years, to build internationally competitive research capacity in the universities; and
* to promote Canada’s interests internationally in relation to, and through, higher education.

With regard to the last of these objectives, the
federal government has made a number of investments
over the years, including the Canada Corps
University Partnership Program and Human Resources
and Social Development Canada’s International
Academic Mobility Programs. In general, however,
these have lacked overall policy coherence and
sustained commitment.

On the student assistance, research and graduate
education objectives, the federal government has made
major investments over the period since the Second
World War, and especially since 1997, in recognition
of the strategic importance of university education and
research in a knowledge economy. In particular, the
large research investments since 1997 have had a very
positive impact on the health of Canada’s university
research environment. At the same time, international
competitors have also been investing in university
research and major challenges remain in this country.
The first of the objectives, increasing universities’
institutional capacity to take on more students,
was at the heart of federal investments in the period
from 1945 to 1967, first through direct grants to
universities and then through the cost-shared program.

With the creation of the EPF transfers from 1977
to 1995 and even more so, the creation of the unconditional
and undifferentiated CHST transfers in
1995, the federal government has paid little overt
attention to this objective. No portion of the CHST
or the subsequent CST is designated specifically for
postsecondary education.
----

== Quality assurance ==

Canadian universities are notoriously reluctant to accept any level of direction from outside the institution, be it from provincial or federal goverment. This applies also to quality issues. Thus the regimes typical now in Europe and much of the rest of the British Commonwealth are not found - yet - in Canada. Some local commentators fear that the Bologna Process will be used by the Canadian government to impose uniformity on universities including a uniform quality process - see for example the May 2008 outpouring [http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pub/commentary/080509.html A load of Bologna] by Alex Ussher.

However the AUCC seems to accept that some better coordination and peer review is necessary to reassure students and government. Their [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/pol_pract/index_e.html statement on the matter] notes:

: In Canada, education, including higher education, is a constitutional responsibility of the country's 10 provinces and 3 territories. The universities, which at this time are located only in the provinces, derive their authority from provincial legislation.

: Each Canadian university is autonomous in academic matters including the determination of its own quality assurance policies and procedures. In addition, as the result of their longstanding commitment to a common framework of standards across provincial jurisdictions, Canadian universities have a shared understanding of the value of each other's academic credentials.

: Robust institutional quality assurance policies and processes are the foundation of the Canadian higher education quality assurance regime. These policies may stand alone, and some may be based in legislation. They may operate in an environment which includes another level of quality assurance, for example the policies and processes that provide a second level of quality assurance in the higher education systems in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. For some programs, institutional policies may be supplemented by standards of professional accreditation.

A [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/reg_prov_qas/index_e.html separate note] lists the provincial quality regimes. There is also a [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/principles/index_e.html set of principles].

All rather vague from a European point of view.

== Canada's HEIs in the information society ==

=== Towards the information society ===

(We await discussion on how to handle this section.)

=== Information society strategy ===

In this subsection we discuss the Canadian NREN ([[CANARIE]]) and the potential Major E-Learning Initiatives.

==== CANARIE ====

''CANARIE'' Inc., based in Ottawa, is the advanced network organization for Canada. It facilitates the development and use of its network as well as the advanced products, applications and services that run on it. The CANARIE Network is the National Research and Education Network ([[NREN]]) for Canada - serving universities, colleges, schools, government labs, research institutes, hospitals and other organizations in a wide variety of fields in both the public and private sectors.

However, CANARIE has a wider brief, in some ways similar to agencies such as [[SURF]] and [[JISC]]. It furthers this by promoting and participating in strategic collaborations among key sectors, and by partnering with peer networks and organizations around the world, CANARIE Inc. stimulates and supports research, innovation and growth, bringing economic, social, and cultural benefits to Canadians.

The national organization was created in 1993 by the private sector and academia under the leadership of the Government of Canada.

CANARIE Inc. is supported by membership fees, with major funding of its programmes and activities provided by the Government of Canada through Industry Canada.

In the past, CANARIE has funded many e-learning developments.

Its web site is at http://www.canarie.ca/about/index.html (English) and http://www.canarie.ca/about_f/index.html (French).

'''Existing case study'''

There is a comprehensive but somewhat out of date case study of CANARIE at http://www.matic-media.co.uk/ukeu/EUNI-chap10-CANARIE-2004.doc - it was first written in 2001 but updated in summer 2004 (by [[Paul Bacsich]] and [[Sara Frank Bristow]]).

The Editor's Introduction to that notes:

: Between 1993 and March 2004, CANARIE – a small, non-profit organisation – received government funding of C$360 million (£161 million) for over 225 projects focussed on e-learning, e-content, e-business and e-health. Many would credit CANARIE for assuring Canada’s reputation as a world-leading broadband adopter and innovator (and, more relevant to e-university developments, with helping the country to become a lead developer of learning object repository infrastructure). CANARIE has also helped connect over 2,000 schools, colleges and universities to its advanced CA*NET 4 network, and has created thousands of jobs nationwide.

: When this CANARIE Report was written, CANARIE was an organisation “in full swing”, with government funding assured for over two more years. Nearly all of its projects saw completion by March 2004, however, and many of those discussed below finished long before that. During a presentation in June 2004, CANARIE president and CEO Andrew Bjerring noted that CANARIE’s original mandate had been to “visit the future and report back” – now that the future has arrived, it seems, it is the role of CANARIE itself that requires clarification.

: At the time of writing [2004], CANARIE maintains some modest funding for completing the roll-out of CA*net 4 as scheduled, but all other project funding is on hold. Several of Canada’s federal departments are said to be collaborating on what might become a national strategic vision to help frame the future of organisations like CANARIE, and perhaps lead to the creation of an agency not unlike the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) e-Learning Strategy Unit in the UK. Until the emergence of this new strategic plan, hoped to be in the autumn of 2004, however, there will be no further funding for the CANARIE projects described below. Thus it remains to be seen whether CANARIE will succeed at reinventing itself in today’s context.

This depressing conclusion seems still to be the case. A search of the CANARIE web site for "e-learning" reveals no hits later than 2003.

==== Major E-Learning Initiatives ====

See [[Major e-learning initiatives in Canada]].

== References ==

=== Canadian companies who have developed e-learning systems ===

* WebCT was developed at the University of British Columbia by Murray Goldberg as an "unofficial" e-learning system, finally being bought by a company which became WebCTm, in turn acquired by [http://www.blackboard.com/us/index.bbb Blackboard].

* [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn] is another Canadian-based learning management system, but this did not come out of academic circles.

* The FirstClass system was developed in the late 1980s by http://www.softarc.com/ [SoftArc] for use in the Ontario School Board - the product was then sold on to various companies and gradually failed to keep up with developments.

* Even earlier, the CoSy system was developed at the University of Guelph and used by the [[Open University]] for some years in the 1980s and into the early 1990s.

* It is not a company yet but the [http://www.kuali.org/communities/ks/ Kuali Student] system being developed by a consortium around the [http://www.sfu.ca/ University of British Columbia] is exciting interst in the US and now the UK.

(Readers are refered to the relevant wikipedia articles - of wildly varying quality and length, but at least giving some of the history. For a hopefully more measured historical view see the Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments History of Virtual Learning Environments].)

=== Eminent Canadian experts in e-learning ===

Such lists are always invidious but the following three have a focus close to our mission - on post-secondary deployment - as well as research, and would be known to many UK experts in e-learning:

* [[Tony Bates]], Consultant - formerly of the [[Open University]], then the [[Open Learning Agency]] and then [[University of British Columbia]], more recently an advisor to the [[Open University of Catalonia]], the [[Portuguese Open University]] and to EU projects including [[Re.ViCa]] - with a [http://www.tonybates.ca comprehensive web site]
* [[Terry Anderson]], Professor of Distance Education, Athabasca University - with his [http://www.athabascau.ca/html/staff/academic/terrya.html university site]
* Linda Harasim [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Harasim], Professor, School of Education, Simon Fraser University, and author of several books, including 'Learning Networks'[http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&id=NFkaDHideBcC&dq=Linda+harasim+Learning+Networks&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=OV7c_SzkDs&sig=ornccw09QiH2LSM5x5kgZBscdx0&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result]

There are of course many active researchers in e-learning also and several Francophones of whom [http://ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/Default.aspx?alias=ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/gilbertpaquette Gilbert Paquette] is the doyen. Unlike many countries, Canada has or at least had an active tradition of research into e-learning in the FE and Skills area.

And in the schools e-learning area Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/scardamalia.html Marlene Scardamalia] and Emeritus Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/bereiter.html Carl Bereiter] are leaders.

----
> [[Countries]]

[[Category:North America]]

University of Montreal

2008-12-03T13:50:58Z

Karsenti: Description of University of Montreal

'''Université de Montréal'''. (UdeM) is a public francophone university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two[4] affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique (School of Engineering) and HEC Montréal (School of Business). It offers more than 650 undergraduate programs and graduate programs, including 71 doctoral programs.

The university is Quebec's largest research institution and the third largest in Canada,[5] allocating close to $447.2 million to research conducted in more than 150 research centers as of 2007.[6] It is also part of the Group of Thirteen universities. More than 55,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs, making it the second largest university in Canada in terms of student enrollment.[2] It is currently ranked 91st in the top 100 universities in the world by Times Higher Education.[7]

'''Université de Montréal'''. The name is the same in both English and French. "[http://www.direction.umontreal.ca/recteur/documents/rapport-annuel/rap_an2007en.pdf 2007 Annual Report] (English). ''Université de Montréal'' Accessed October 20, 2008.. ('''UdeM''') is a [[Public_university#Canada|public]] [[francophone]] university in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], [[Canada]]. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two. [http://www.umontreal.ca/english/overview/overview.html General overview of Université de Montréal]. affiliated schools: the ''[[École Polytechnique de Montréal|École Polytechnique]]'' (School of Engineering) and [[HEC Montréal]] (School of Business). It offers more than 650 undergraduate programs and graduate programs, including 71 doctoral programs.

The university is [[Quebec]]'s largest research institution and the third largest in [[Canada]],. [http://www.researchinfosource.com/media/2008Top50List.pdf Research Infosource Inc. - Canada's Top 50 Research Universities 2008]. allocating close to [[Canadian dollar|$]]447.2 million to research conducted in more than 150 research centers as of 2007.. [http://www.direction.umontreal.ca/recteur/documents/rapport-annuel/rap_an2007en.pdf 2007 Annual Report] (English), "Research Income by University", p. 27. It is also part of the [[Group of Thirteen (Canadian universities)|Group of Thirteen]] universities. More than 55,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs, making it the second largest university in Canada in terms of student enrollment.<ref name=stats /> It is currently ranked 91<sup>st</sup> in the top 100 universities in the world by [[Times Higher Education]].. [http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/ QS Top Universities: Top 100 universities in the THE - QS World University Rankings].

==History==
===Early years===

As an institution, the university was first founded when the [[Laval University]] (''Université Laval'') in [[Quebec City]] founded a new branch in Montreal in 1878, which became known as the ''Université de Laval à Montréal''. This initially went against the wishes of Montreal's [[prelate]], who advocated an independent university in his city.. [http://www.125.umontreal.ca/histoire/1878-a.html Université de Montréal - Fêtes du 125e - 125 ans d'histoire (1878-2003). .
Certain parts of the institution's educational facilities, such as those of the [[Séminaire de Québec]], had already been established in Montreal as early as 1876. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008242 The Canadian Encyclopedia - University].
The [[Holy See|Vatican]] granted the university some administrative autonomy in 1889, thus allowing it to choose its own professors and license its own diplomas. However it was not until [[May 8]], [[1919]] that a papal charter from [[Pope Benedict XV]] granted full autonomy to the university. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0003530 The Canadian Encyclopedia - Université de Montréal].
It thus became an independent Catholic university and adopted ''Université de Montréal'' as its name.. [http://125.umontreal.ca/histoire/1878-f.html Université de Montréal - Fêtes du 125e - 125 ans d'histoire (1878-2003). .

At the time of its creation, less than a hundred students were admitted to the university's three faculties: [[theology]], [[law]] and [[medecine]]. [http://www.umontreal.ca/english/overview/brief_history.html Université de Montréal - English - Brief History. . . [http://www.umontreal.ca/infogen/en_bref/historique.html Université de Montréal - Information générale. .
[[Graduate school|Graduate training]] based on [[Germany|German]]-inspired American models of specialized course work and completion of a research thesis was introduced and adopted.
Most of Quebec's [[secondary education]] employed classic course methods of varying quality. This forced the university to open a [[University-preparatory school|preparatory school]] in 1887 to harmonize the education level of its students. Named the "Faculty of Arts", this school would remain in use until 1972 and was the predecessor of Quebec's current [[CEGEP]] system.. [http://125.umontreal.ca/histoire/1878-a.html Université de Montréal - Fêtes du 125e - 125 ans d'histoire (1878-2003). .

===Founding by provincial charter===

Although a branch of [[Laval University]] was planned as Montreal's first French-language university, it was not until [[February 14]], [[1920]], that the first provincial charter founding the university was passed.
The second provincial charter was passed in 1950.
The policy of university education initiated in the 1960s (following the [[Quiet Revolution]]) was a response to popular pressure and the belief that higher education was a key to social justice and economic productivity for individuals as well as society.. http://*www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008242.
The third provincial charter, which was passed in 1967, defined the ''Université de Montréal'' as a public institution, dedicated to higher learning and research, in the administration of which students and teachers would have the right to participate.

===Campus relocation===

From 1876 to 1895, most university classes took place in the ''Grand séminaire de Montréal''. From 1895 to 1942, it was housed in a building on the intersection of the [[Saint Denis Street|Saint Denis]] and [[Sainte Catherine Street|Sainte Catherine]] streets in Montreal's downtown [[Quartier Latin, Montreal|Quartier Latin]].

Unlike other anglophone universities in Montreal, such as [[McGill University]], the university suffered a lack of funding for two major reasons: the relative poverty of the [[French Canadian]] population and the complications ensuing from its remote management from Quebec City. The downtown campus was hit by three different fires between 1919 and 1921, further complicating the university's already precarious finances and forcing it to spend much of its resources on repairing its own infrastructure. [http://125.umontreal.ca/histoire/1919-a.html Université de Montréal - Fêtes du 125e - 125 ans d'histoire (1878-2003). .

By 1930, enough funds had been accumulated to start the construction of a new campus on [[Mount Royal]], adopting new plans designed by [[Ernest Cormier]]. However, the [[Great Depression|financial crisis of the 1930s]] virtually suspended all ongoing construction.. [http://125.umontreal.ca/histoire/1919-d.html Université de Montréal - Fêtes du 125e - 125 ans d'histoire (1878-2003). .
Many speculated that the university would have to sell off its unfinished building projects in order to ensure its own survival. Not before 1939 did the [[Politics of Quebec|provincial government]] directly intervene by injecting public funds.. [http://125.umontreal.ca/histoire/1919-f.html Université de Montréal - Fêtes du 125e - 125 ans d'histoire (1878-2003). .
Campus construction subsequently resumed and the mountain campus was officially inaugurated on [[June 3]], [[1943]].. [http://125.umontreal.ca/histoire/1943-a.html Université de Montréal - Fêtes du 125e - 125 ans d'histoire (1878-2003). .
The university's former downtown facilities would later serve Montreal's second francophone university, the ''[[Université du Québec à Montréal]]'' (UQAM).

===Nuclear research===

{{main|Montreal Laboratory}}

In 1943, the university assisted the [[Western Allies]] by providing laboratory accommodations on its campus. Scientifics there worked to develop a nuclear reactor, notably by conducting various [[heavy water]] experiments. The research was part of the larger [[Manhattan Project]], which aimed to develop the first [[atomic bomb]]. Scientists here managed to produce the first [[atomic battery]] to work outside of the [[United States]]. One of the participating [[French Canadian]] scientists, Pierre Demers, also discovered a series of radioactive elements issued from [[Neptunium]].. [http://125.umontreal.ca/histoire/1943-a.html#b Université de Montréal - Fêtes du 125e - 125 ans d'histoire (1878-2003). .

===Growth and expansion===

[[Image:Exterior of Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal.jpg|200px|thumb|right|École Polytechnique as it stands today.]]

Two distinct schools eventually became affiliated to the university. The first was the ''[[École Polytechnique de Montréal|École Polytechnique]]'', a school of [[engineering]], which was founded in 1873 and became affiliated in 1887. The second was the ''[[HEC Montréal|École des Hautes Études Commerciales]]'', or HEC, which was founded in 1907 and became part of the university in 1915.
The first [[francophone]] school of [[architecture]] in Canada opened in 1907 at the ''École Polytechnique''.. [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009565 The Canadian Encyclopedia - Architectural Education].

Between 1920 and 1925, seven new faculties were added to the initial three: [[Philosophy]], [[Literature]], [[Sciences]], [[Veterinary medicine]], [[Dental surgery]], [[Pharmacy]] and [[Social sciences]].
Notably, the Faculty of [[Social science]]s was founded in 1920 by [[Édouard Montpetit]], the first [[Laïcité|laic]] to lead a faculty.. [http://125.umontreal.ca/histoire/1919-b.html Université de Montréal - Fêtes du 125e - 125 ans d'histoire (1878-2003). . He thereafter fulfilled the role of secretary-general until 1950.

In 1965, the appointment of the university's first secular rector, [[Roger Gaudry]], paved the way for modernization. The university established the first adult education degree program offered by a [[French Canadian]] university in 1968.

An important event that marked the university's history was the [[École Polytechnique massacre]]. On December 6, 1989, a gunman armed with an automatic rifle entered the ''École Polytechnique'' building, killing 14 people, all of whom were women, before taking his own life.

Since 2002, the university has embarked on its largest construction projects since the late 1960s, with five new modern buildings planned for advanced research in [[pharmacology]], [[engineering]], [[aerospace]], [[cancer]] studies and [[biotechnology]].

==Campus==
[[Image:Université de Montréal map2.png‎|thumb|left|200px|Mount Royal campus.]]

The university's main campus is located on the northern slope of [[Mount Royal]] in the [[Outremont (borough)|Outremont]] and [[Côte-des-Neiges]] boroughs. Its landmark [[Roger Gaudry]] [[Pavilion (structure)|pavilion]], which was designed by the noted architect [[Ernest Cormier]], can be seen from around the campus and is known for its imposing tower. It is built mainly in the [[Art Deco]] style, with some elements of [[International style (architecture)|International style]].

The campus is served by the [[Côte-des-Neiges (Montreal Metro)|Côte-des-Neiges]], [[Université-de-Montréal (Montreal Metro)|Université-de-Montréal]], and [[Édouard-Montpetit (Montreal Metro)|Édouard-Montpetit]] [[Montreal Metro|metro]] stations.

Apart from its main Mount Royal campus, the university also maintains four regional facilities in [[Lanaudière]], [[Laval, Quebec|Laval]], [[Longueuil]] and [[Quebec City|Quebec]].. [http://www.campusregionaux.umontreal.ca/ Université de Montréal - Bureau de l'enseignement régional]. The campus in Laval, just north of Montreal, was opened in 2006. It is Laval's first university campus, and is located in the area near the [[Montmorency (Montreal Metro)|Montmorency]] metro station. In order to solve the problem of lack of space on its main campus, the university is also planning to open a new campus in [[Outremont (borough)|Outremont]].. [http://www.siteoutremont.umontreal.ca/ Université de Montréal - Outremont facility project page].

The [[Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal]] (CHUM) and the [[Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine]] are the two teaching hospital networks of the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Medicine, although the latter is also affiliated with other medical institutions such as the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal.

===Student life===

There are various student groups, clubs and associations on the university's campus, the largest of them being the [[FAÉCUM]], a federation of [[students' union]]s.

The campus offers various student-run newspapers, such as ''Quartier Libre'', as well as its own student-run radio station, [[CISM-FM]].

===Athletics===
The university is represented in [[Canadian Interuniversity Sport]] by the [[Carabins]]. The Carabins, whose origins date back to 1922,<ref name=carabins1>[http://www.carabins.umontreal.ca/pages/APropos/historique.aspx?lang=FR-CA Université de Montréal - Carabins - Historique]. currently rank among the top 10 university teams in Canada. The organization has about 300 student athletes organized in 15 different teams and 8 disciplines: badminton, [[Canadian football|football]], golf, swimming, alpine skiing, [[Association football|soccer]], tennis and volleyball. Following the establishment of a Club of Governors in June 2002, the Carabins are now partly financed through private funds. Initially lead by [[Formula One]] [[List of Formula One Grands Prix|Grand Prix]] president Normand Legault, the Club is composed of various business personalities and is currently headed by [[Rona (company)|Rona]] CEO Robert Dutton.

On January 31, 2008, the Carabins announced the creation of its first female hockey team, which after training and preparation should officially start competing by fall 2009.<ref name=carabins1 />

==Institutions==

===Faculties===
[[Image:Faculté de Musique UdeM.JPG‎|thumb|right|200px|Université de Montréal's Faculty of Music]]
*Faculty of Landscape Architecture, Design and Urban Planning
*Faculty of Arts and Sciences
*Faculty of Law
*Faculty of Continuing Education
*Faculty of Graduate Studies
*[[Faculté de médecine de l'Université de Montréal|Faculty of Medicine]]
*Faculty of Dentistry
*[[Faculté de médecine vétérinaire - Université de Montréal|Faculty of Veterinary Medicine]]
*Faculty of Music
*Faculty of Pharmacy
*Faculty of Education
*Faculty of Nursing
*Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies

===Schools===
*[[HEC Montréal]] (School of Management)
*[[École Polytechnique de Montréal|École Polytechnique]] (School of Engineering)
*École d'Optométrie (School of Optometry)

==Faculty and alumni==
===Noted faculty===

* [[Stéphane Dion]], former professor of political science, leader of the [[Liberal Party of Canada]] (2006 - present).
* [[James R. Taylor]], professor emeritus at the department of communication.
* [[Michel Seymour]], professor of philosophy.
* [[Dale C. Thomson]], [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|DFC]], professor and departmental director. Also professor and Vice-Principal of [[McGill University]] and a professor of international relations and Director of the Center of Canadian Studies at [[Johns Hopkins University|Johns Hopkins University's]] [[Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies|School of Advanced International Studies]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] and the [[author]] of several important historical works.

===Noted alumni===

An Order of Merit is appointed to particularly successful alumni on annual basis.. [http://www.diplomes.umontreal.ca/association/evenements.aspx?id=4 Université de Montréal - Gala de l'Ordre du Mérite].

*[[Stéphanie Allard-Gomez]], diplomat
*[[Louise Arbour]], Supreme Court of Canada Justice (1999–2004), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2004–present)
*[[Denys Arcand]], filmmaker
*[[Michel Bastarache]], Supreme Court of Canada Justice (1997–present)
*[[Josephat T. Benoit]], nine-term Mayor of [[Manchester, New Hampshire]]
*[[Jean-Jacques Bertrand]], Premier of Quebec (1968–1970)
*[[André Boisclair]], leader of the Parti Québécois (2005–2007)
*[[Robert Bourassa]], Premier of Quebec (1970–1976, 1985–1994)
*[[Louis R. Chênevert]], [[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]] of [[United Technologies Corporation]]
*[[Marie Deschamps]], Supreme Court of Canada Justice (2002–present)
*[[Maurice Duplessis]], Premier of Quebec (1936–1939, 1944–1959)
*[[Dédé Fortin]], singer
*[[Armand Frappier]], physician and microbiologist
*[[Lomer Gouin]], Premier of Quebec (1905–1920)
*[[Roger Guillemin]], Nobel Prize Laureate (Medicine, 1977)
*[[Abderraouf Jdey]], alleged terrorist
*[[Michaëlle Jean]], journalist, Governor General of Canada
*[[Daniel Johnson, Jr.]], Premier of Quebec (1994)
*[[Daniel Johnson, Sr.]], Premier of Quebec (1966–1968)
*[[Pierre-Marc Johnson]], Premier of Quebec (1985)
*[[Antonio Lamer]], Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice (1990–2000)
*[[Blanche Lamontagne-Beauregard]], first published female poet in Quebec
*[[Bernard Landry]], Premier of Quebec (2001–2003)
*[[Georges-Émile Lapalme]], leader of the Quebec Liberal Party (1950–1958)
*[[Elsie Lefebvre]], PM for the Laurier-Dorion county
*[[Isabelle Mercier]], professional poker player
*[[Claude Meunier]], comedian
*[[Anne Montminy]], competitive diver, lawyer
*[[Jacques Parizeau]], Premier of Quebec (1994–1996)
*[[Pierre-Karl Péladeau]], CEO of Quebecor
*[[Hubert Reeves]], astrophysicist
*[[Paul Sauvé]], Premier of Quebec (1959–1960)
*[[Lucille Teasdale-Corti]], surgeon and international humanitarian aid worker (1929–1996)
*[[Pierre Trudeau|Pierre Eliott Trudeau]], Prime Minister of Canada (1968–1979)

==See also==

* [[Fédération des associations étudiantes du campus de l'Université de Montréal]]
*[[Canal Savoir]]
*[[Education in Montreal]]
*[[List of Quebec universities]]
*[[List of universities with accredited dietetic programs]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further Reading==
* Bizier, Hélène-Andrée. L'Université de Montréal: la quête du savoir. Montréal: Libre expression, 1993.

==External links==
{{Commons|Université de Montréal}}
*[http://www.umontreal.ca Université de Montréal]
*[http://www.imtl.org/search.php?name=Universit%E9+de+Montr%E9al&vsearch=1 Pictures and information on Université de Montréal buildings]

{{Montreal}}
{{Qc_Uni}}
{{G13}}

[[Category:Art Deco buildings in Canada|Universite de Montreal]]
[[Category:Université de Montréal| ]]
[[Category:Nursing schools in Canada|Montreal]]

[[cs:Université de Montréal]]
[[de:Universität Montreal]]
[[es:Universidad de Montreal]]
[[fr:Université de Montréal]]
[[he:אוניברסיטת מונטריאול]]
[[it:Università di Montréal]]
[[nl:Universiteit van Montréal]]
[[ja:モントリオール大学]]
[[no:Université de Montréal]]
[[pl:Uniwersytet Montrealu]]
[[pt:Universidade de Montreal]]
[[ru:Монреальский университет]]
[[uk:Монреальський університет]]
[[zh:蒙特利尔大学]]

Major e-learning initiatives in Canada

2008-12-03T13:27:54Z

Karsenti: /* Overview */

This page discusses candidates for major e-learning initiatives in [[Canada]].

== Overview ==

In recent years the [[Open Learning Agency]] of British Columbia was closed and its open university activities were transferred to the newly created [[Thompson Rivers University]], based in Kamloops (and on a core of a former HE college) in the mountainous interior of British Columbia. Australian experience with dual-mode institutions would suggest that this was a wise move, even if it seems a bit novel to a foreign audience.

The Distance Education and Technology unit at the [[University of British Columbia]] (UBC) has been absorbed into UBC's [http://olt.ubc.ca Office of Learning Technologies].

The [[Télé-université]] in Québec has been integrated into the larger multi-campus [http://www2.uquebec.ca Université de Québec].

On the other hand, [[Athabasca University]], a fully fledged distance teaching university in Alberta, continues to develop and thrive in Canada and internationally, although its use of online courses is largely focused on post-graduate programmes, such as its MBA.

There have also been some false starts in major government-funded e-learning projects. The main federally-funded research programme (TeleLearning) was closed and wound down early on various much disputed grounds (usually NCE projects are renewed for at least a second full period). There is now little trace of the project or of the full archives but a minimal archive is public at http://wildcat.iat.sfu.ca/ and there is a useful overview article on [http://cade.athabascau.ca/vol17.3/foreword.pdf Seven Years of Telelearning Research]. While a depressing tale, it would seem to many readers in EU countries who wish for any kind of national e-learning research programmesto to have such a long programme timescales even to aspire to for research projects, longer even than EU Framework timescales and far longer for example than the usual UK research funding approach.

The charismatic start-up [[TechBC]] was closed and residual activity absorbed into [[Simon Fraser University]] as the [http://www.surrey.sfu.ca/ Surrey Campus] - it seems to be successful in its new guise. The former TechBC web site is now a semi-official archive - see http://www.techbc.ca/ - and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TechBC wikipedia page] is useful. There were many problems affecting TechBC but two evident and accepted ones were technological over-reach and a limited market in the part of Vancouver where it was situated. Those few experts interested in e-learnng failures have found John Trueman's thesis "Our time will come again" fascinating reading and still relevant, for example to current thinking on UK HE start-ups. More information is around for persistent enquirers.

The closure of both the OLA and TechBC were precipitated as a result of a new party coming to power in provincial government in British Columbia and trying to cut spending to balance the provincial budget, but that does not explain why these projects were cut rather than others. And at the same time, the provincial government did create [http://bccampus.ca BCCampus], a co-ordinating service for all educational online programmes, providing funding to institutions for the development of e-learning materials, training and support services to the smaller colleges, and a one-stop portal for students for online programmes. A similar institution, e-Learning Alberta (now [https://register.ecampusalberta.ca/course_search.php eCampusAlberta]), has been created in the adjacent province.

In the Francophone part of Canada, [http://www.umontreal.ca University of Montreal] developed a variety of distance education programs (in the field of ICT and education), in particular in West and Central Africa, but also for First Nation learners. The distance education programs for First Nation learners are of particular importance, especially in the context of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada Canada], a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Moreover, Canada is the world's second largest country by total area context. [http://www.umontreal.ca University of Montreal] also developed and implemented the first, distance education, PhD program, in Francophone universities. This doctorate program focuses on ICT and education and students come from eight different African countries.

A number of smaller players such as [[Mount Royal College]] have done interesing work and several university departments such as OISE at the University of Toronto are active in research aspects of e-learning.

In general, provincial governments and institutions have tended to see online distance education as a sub-category of e-learning, and thus there has been a tendency to integrate distance education units into broader learning and technology initiatives. At the same time, governments have been fostering within institutions the development of e-learning materials, and co-operation and co-ordination in e-learning activities. Having said that, several Canadian institutions still have very little deployment of e-learning even on-campus and some are publicly nervous of it and what it might bring.

== Examples ==

See the separate entries on:

* [[Athabasca University]]
* [[British Columbia Open University]] ([[BCOU]])
* [[CANARIE]]
* [[Canadian Virtual University]] ([[CVU]])
* [[Lansbridge University]]
* [[Mount Royal College]]
* [[Ontario Institute for Studies in Education]] ([[OISE]])
* [[Open Learning Agency]] ([[OLA]])
* [[Royal Roads University]] ([[RRU]])
* [[Simon Fraser University]] ([[SFU]])
* [[TechBC]]
* [[Thompson Rivers University]] ([[TRU]])
* [[Télé-université]] ([[Téluq]])
* [[University of British Columbia]] ([[UBC]])
* [[University of New Brunswick]]
* [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] ([[UQAM]])

----
> [[Canada]]
<br>
> [[Programmes]]

[[Category:Canada| ]]

Major e-learning initiatives in Canada

2008-12-03T13:17:22Z

Karsenti: /* Overview */

This page discusses candidates for major e-learning initiatives in [[Canada]].

== Overview ==

In recent years the [[Open Learning Agency]] of British Columbia was closed and its open university activities were transferred to the newly created [[Thompson Rivers University]], based in Kamloops (and on a core of a former HE college) in the mountainous interior of British Columbia. Australian experience with dual-mode institutions would suggest that this was a wise move, even if it seems a bit novel to a foreign audience.

The Distance Education and Technology unit at the [[University of British Columbia]] (UBC) has been absorbed into UBC's [http://olt.ubc.ca Office of Learning Technologies].

The [[Télé-université]] in Québec has been integrated into the larger multi-campus [http://www2.uquebec.ca Université de Québec].

On the other hand, [[Athabasca University]], a fully fledged distsnce teaching university in Alberta, continues to develop and thrive in Canada and internationally, although its use of online courses is largely focused on post-graduate programmes, such as its MBA.

There have also been some false starts in major government-funded e-learning projects. The main federally-funded research programme (TeleLearning) was closed and wound down early on various much disputed grounds (usually NCE projects are renewed for at least a second full period). There is now little trace of the project or of the full archives but a minimal archive is public at http://wildcat.iat.sfu.ca/ and there is a useful overview article on [http://cade.athabascau.ca/vol17.3/foreword.pdf Seven Years of Telelearning Research]. While a depressing tale, it would seem to many readers in EU countries who wish for any kind of national e-learning research programmesto to have such a long programme timescales even to aspire to for research projects, longer even than EU Framework timescales and far longer for example than the usual UK research funding approach.

The charismatic start-up [[TechBC]] was closed and residual activity absorbed into [[Simon Fraser University]] as the [http://www.surrey.sfu.ca/ Surrey Campus] - it seems to be successful in its new guise. The former TechBC web site is now a semi-official archive - see http://www.techbc.ca/ - and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TechBC wikipedia page] is useful. There were many problems affecting TechBC but two evident and accepted ones were technological over-reach and a limited market in the part of Vancouver where it was situated. Those few experts interested in e-learnng failures have found John Trueman's thesis "Our time will come again" fascinating reading and still relevant, for example to current thinking on UK HE start-ups. More information is around for persistent enquirers.

The closure of both the OLA and TechBC were precipitated as a result of a new party coming to power in provincial government in British Columbia and trying to cut spending to balance the provincial budget, but that does not explain why these projects were cut rather than others. And at the same time, the provincial government did create [http://bccampus.ca BCCampus], a co-ordinating service for all educational online programmes, providing funding to institutions for the development of e-learning materials, training and support services to the smaller colleges, and a one-stop portal for students for online programmes. A similar institution, e-Learning Alberta (now [https://register.ecampusalberta.ca/course_search.php eCampusAlberta]), has been created in the adjacent province.

A number of smaller players such as [[Mount Royal College]] have done interesing work and several university departments such as OISE at the University of Toronto are active in research aspects of e-learning.

In general, provincial governments and institutions have tended to see online distance education as a sub-category of e-learning, and thus there has been a tendency to integrate distance education units into broader learning and technology initiatives. At the same time, governments have been fostering within institutions the development of e-learning materials, and co-operation and co-ordination in e-learning activities. Having said that, several Canadian institutions still have very little deployment of e-learning even on-campus and some are publicly nervous of it and what it might bring.

== Examples ==

See the separate entries on:

* [[Athabasca University]]
* [[British Columbia Open University]] ([[BCOU]])
* [[CANARIE]]
* [[Canadian Virtual University]] ([[CVU]])
* [[Lansbridge University]]
* [[Mount Royal College]]
* [[Ontario Institute for Studies in Education]] ([[OISE]])
* [[Open Learning Agency]] ([[OLA]])
* [[Royal Roads University]] ([[RRU]])
* [[Simon Fraser University]] ([[SFU]])
* [[TechBC]]
* [[Thompson Rivers University]] ([[TRU]])
* [[Télé-université]] ([[Téluq]])
* [[University of British Columbia]] ([[UBC]])
* [[University of New Brunswick]]
* [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] ([[UQAM]])

----
> [[Canada]]
<br>
> [[Programmes]]

[[Category:Canada| ]]

Canada

2008-12-03T09:51:24Z

Karsenti: /* Elementary and Secondary Education */

== Partners situated in Canada ==

None. However, [[Tony Bates]] of the [[Advisory Committee| International Advisory Committee]] is from Canada.

== Canada in a nutshell ==

Canada is a large country occupying over half of the continent of North America, touching three oceans - Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic. Its population was estimated in the [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=101 2006 census] as around 31.5 million but other estimates such as the [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ca.html CIA Factbook] give up to and over 33 million currently. (Rapid immigration is one source of the discrepancy but not, it seems, the only one - the issue has generated some debate.)

Thus there would seem to be a strong argument that a Commonwealth country of this size would have many points of relevance, generally and in education, to many larger countries in the European Union. While true generally (e.g. for industrial policy) ''it is not at all true for education'' - the provinces are the relevant entities. See later for details.

Many if not most Canadian universities have competence in e-learning at least in pockets. Several major e-learning systems past and present have come from Canada, some from academia but most not - for example, in recent years [http://www.webct.com WebCT] and [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn], and many years ago the CoSy and [http://www.firstclass.com FirstClass] conferencing systems used at the [[Open University]]. We give the main ones below of relevance to an EU audience.

Canada is divided into 13 provinces and territories of which the most important and relevant in e-learning terms are the following:

* British Columbia, population 4.1 million, thus rather smaller than [[Scotland]] but rather larger than [[Wales]] and similar in size to [[Ireland]] - the base of the [[University of British Columbia]] ([[UBC]]) and [[Simon Fraser University]] ([[SFU]]), two notable institutions in e-learning; and also of [[Thompson Rivers University]] ([[TRU]]) which now operates the [[Open Learning Agency]] for British Columbia. Another example is [[Royal Roads University]].
* Alberta, population 3.2 million, thus a bit more than [[Wales]] - the base of [[Athabasca University]], Canada's Open University (a smaller version of the UK [[Open University]]), but also of the much smaller but nimble [[Mount Royal College]].
* Ontario, population 12.1 million, thus not really comparable to any UK home nation (but approaching that of the [[Netherlands]]) - with several illustrious institutions. Some have a long history in distance education (e.g. University of Guelph, which has over 60 online courses [http://www.open.uoguelph.ca/start/]), and others (e.g. the University of Waterloo, and the University of Ottawa) have extensive blended learning initiatives. The [[Ontario Institute for Studies in Education]] ([[OISE]]) contains eminent researchers in schools e-learning known across Europe and beyond.
* Quebec, in particular the [[Télé-université de Québec]].

The [[Canadian Virtual University]] ([[CVU]]) is a group of Canadian universities specializing in online and distance education and a list of these can be found on the site.

''Document of relevance'': [http://www.learn4good.com/distance_learn/distance_learn_canada.htm Learn4Good.com] sums up Canadian distance learning courses and programmes provided by Higher Education.

== Canada education policy ==

In Canada, almost alone among countries in the world, education at all levels is so completely devolved to the provinces that there is not and cannot be a Minister of Education for Canada. (The wikipedia article on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada Education in Canada] gives more details including of the residual federal responsibilities. See also [[CMEC]].)

== Canada's education system ==
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada)

With the earlier caveat about the devolved approach to education, here are the basic facts.

Education in Canada is generally divided into '''Elementary''' (Primary School, Public School), followed by '''Secondary''' (High School) and '''Post Secondary''' (University, College). Within the provinces under the ministry of education, there are district school boards administering the educational programmes.

=== Elementary and Secondary Education ===

Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick, where the compulsory age is 18. In some provinces early leaving exemptions can be granted under certain circumstances at 14.

Canada generally has 180 to 190 school days in the year, officially starting from September (after Labour Day) to the end of June (usually the last Friday of the month, Wednesday in some Ontario schools).

Canada spends about 7% of its GDP on education. Since the adoption of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1982, education in both English and French has been available in most places across Canada (if the population of children speaking the minority language justifies it), although French Second Language education/French Immersion is availble to Anglophone students across Canada.

Originally all the provinces had educational systems divided by religion, but most provinces have abolished these. Ontario, Alberta, and certain cities in Saskatchewan are exceptions to this, as they still maintain publicly funded Separate district school boards (usually Catholic but occasionally Protestant). In Quebec, the Catholic/Protestant divide was replaced with a French/English one in 1998. Québécois must attend a French School up until the end of high school unless one of their parents previously attended an English-language school somewhere in Canada (immigrants from other countries cannot use this exception). However this rule applies only to public schools, therefore immigrants to Quebec can send their children to English ''private'' schools.

Most Canadian education systems continue up to grade 12 (age 17 to 18). In Quebec, the typical high school term ends after Secondary V, the same as to grade 11 (age 16 to 17); following this, students who wish to pursue their studies to the university level have to attend CEGEP which is a unique educational institution, between high school and junior colleges. Cegeps are often referred to as "junior colleges".

Normally, for each type of publicly funded school (such as Public English or Public French), the province is divided into districts (or divisions). Normally, all publicly funded schools are under the authority of their local district school board. These school boards would follow a common curriculum set up by the province the board resides in. Only Alberta allows public charter schools, which are independent of any district board - instead, they each have their own board, which reports directly to the province.

Primary education and secondary education combined are sometimes referred to as K-12 (Kindergarten through Grade 12). It should be noted that this structure can vary from school to school, and from province to province. For instance, Prince Edward Island school systems is the only province that does not provide Kindergarten. In contrast, Ontario is the only province which provides two levels of Kindergarten (Junior and Senior).

In Canada, secondary schooling, known as high school, "école secondaire" or secondary school, differs depending on the province in which one resides. Additionally, grade structure may vary within a province and even within a school division. Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick (where the compulsory ages are 18). Students may continue to attend high school until the ages of 19 to 21 (the cut-off age for high school varies between province). Those 19 and over may attend adult school. Also if high schoolers are expelled or suspended for a period of time over 2 months or so they could attend night school at the high school.

Ontario had a "Grade 13" known as Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) year, but this was abolished by the provincial government to cut costs. OAC was last offered for the 2002-2003 school year. As a result, the curriculum has been compacted, and the more difficult subjects, such as mathematics, are comparatively harder than before. However, the system is now approximately equivalent to what has been the case outside of Quebec and Ontario for many years. Secondary education in Quebec continues to Grade 11 (Secondary V), and is typically followed by CEGEP, a two or three year college program taken after high school. Pre-university CEGEP programs are two years in Quebec (university for Quebecers is three years), and vocational or professional programs are three years in duration.

=== Post-secondary ===

Post-secondary education in Canada is also the responsibility of the individual provinces and territories. Those governments provide the majority of funding to their public post-secondary institutions, with the remainder of funding coming from tuition fees, the federal government, and research grants. Compared to other countries in the past, Canada has had the highest tertiary school enrollment as a percentage of their graduating population.

Nearly all post-secondary institutions in Canada have the authority to grant academic credentials (i.e., diplomas or degrees). Generally speaking, universities grant degrees (e.g., bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees) while colleges, which typically offer vocationally-oriented programmes, grant diplomas and certificates. However, some colleges offer applied arts degrees that lead to or are equivalent to degrees from a university.

Post-secondary education in Quebec begins with CEGEP (collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel), following graduation from Grade 11 (or Secondary V). Students complete a two- or three-year general program leading to admission to a university, or a professional program leading directly into the labour force. In most cases, bachelor's degree programmes in Quebec are three years instead of the usual four; however, in many cases, students attending a university in Quebec that did not graduate from CEGEP must complete an additional year of coursework. When Ontario had five years of high school, a three-year bachelor's degree was common, but these degrees are being phased out in favour of the four-year degree.

The main variation between the provinces, with respect to universities, is the amount of funding they receive. Universities in Quebec receive the most funding and have the lowest tuitions. Universities in Atlantic Canada generally receive the least funding and some, like Acadia University, are almost wholly reliant on private funding.

The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), is the military academy of the Canadian Forces and is a full degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution with degree granting powers.

'''Private schools'''

In Canada there is no obligation for parents to place their children in the public school system, and about 8% of students are in the private system. A minority of these are elite private schools. These schools are attended by only a small fraction of students, but do have a great deal of prestige and prominence. It is not unusual for the wealthy and prominent in Canada to send their children to public schools, especially in the lower grades. A far larger portion of private schools are religious based institutions. Private schools are also used to study outside the country. For example one in Italy has an Ontario curriculum.

Each province deals differently with private religious schools. In Ontario the Catholic system continues to be fully publicly funded, but other faiths receive no such funding. Ontario has several private Jewish, Muslim, and Christian schools, but all are funded through tuition fees. Since the Catholic schools system is entrenched in the constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that this system is not unconstitutional. However, the United Nations has ruled that Ontario's system is unfair. In 2002 the government introduced a controversial proposal to partially fund all private schools, but this was criticized for undermining the public education system and the proposal was eliminated after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election.

In other provinces privately operated religious schools are funded. In British Columbia the government pays 50% of the cost of religious schools provided that they meet rigorous provincial standards. The province has a number of Sikh, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim schools. Alberta also has a network of charter schools, which are fully funded public (not private) schools offering distinct approaches to education within the public school system (note that the province does not grant charters to religious schools). These charter schools have to follow the provincial curriculum and meet all standards, but are given considerable freedom in other areas. In all other provinces private religious schools receive some funding, but not as much as the public system.

== Higher education ==

The higher education systems in Canada's ten provinces have different historical development, organization (e.g., structure, governance, and funding), and goals (e.g., participation, access, and mobility). This makes it impossible to summarise the overall system. The reader is referred to the wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Education_in_Canada.

=== Universities in Canada ===
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Canada)

Canada has somewhat over 70 universities including the large multi-campus Université du Québec which includes [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] ([[UQAM]]) , the host of the [[Télé-université]] ([[Téluq]]) There is an elite group, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Thirteen_(Canadian_universities) Group of 13], comprising the most prestigious and research-active universities, but e-learning competence is found across the span of universities in Canada.

A selection of those better known beyond Canada including for e-learning (research and/or implementation) would be something like the following:

* [[Athabasca University]]
* [http://www.umontreal.ca University of Montreal] (Montréal, Québec)
* Capilano University (North Vancouver)
* [[Royal Roads University]] (Victoria)
* [[Simon Fraser University]] (Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, British Columbia)
* [[Thompson Rivers University]] (Kamloops)
* [[University of British Columbia]] (University Endowment Lands, Okanagan)
* [[University of New Brunswick]] (Fredericton & Saint John)
* McMaster University (Hamilton)
* Ryerson University (Toronto)
* University of Guelph (Guelph)
* University of Toronto (Toronto (Downtown, Scarborough), Mississauga)
* University of Waterloo (Waterloo)
* University of Western Ontario (London)
* University of Windsor (Windsor)
* York University (Toronto)
* McGill University (Montreal)
* Concordia University (Montreal)
* [[Université du Québec à Montréal]], UQAM (Montreal) including [[Télé-université]], Téluq
* University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon)

===Polytechnics in Canada ===

This term is seldom used in Canada (for example, École polytechnique de Montréal, which trains almost 5000 engineers. This term is also used to describe some colleges.

==== Colleges in Canada ====

There are many colleges in Canada - for a partial list see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_in_Canada.

Most are not known outside Canada, whether or not for e-learning, but one that is known is [[Mount Royal College]].

==== CEGEP ====
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEGEP)

A CEGEP (French: Cégep) is a post-secondary education institution exclusive to the province of Quebec in Canada. CEGEP is a French acronym for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, meaning "College of General and Vocational Education". They are comparable to community colleges, but are required to enter university, which is why secondary school and undergrad degrees both are one less year in Quebec.

The purpose of CEGEPs is to make post-secondary education more accessible in Quebec, as well as to provide proper academic preparation for university. There are both public and private subsidized CEGEPs with the public CEGEPs having little or no tuition fee. The CEGEP system was started in 1967 by the Quebec provincial government and originally had 12 CEGEPs. Today there are 48 CEGEPs in Quebec, of which 5 are English language CEGEPs. There are also 50 private colleges, including 6 English language colleges. While CEGEP refers technically to only public colleges, in common usage the term is sometimes applied also to private colleges offering some of the same programmes.

They are not seen at this stage as relevant to Re.ViCa but we look forward to input on this issue.

== Higher education reform ==

=== The Bologna Process ===

Interestingly the Rectors of Canadian universities are closely interested in the [[Bologna Process]]. A June 2008 [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/statements/2008/bologna_process_06_20_e.pdf statement] from [[AUCC]] is given below.

----
Higher education, like most sectors, is transforming itself in step with the ever-advancing trends
of the global knowledge economy. A high profile example of this is the reform agenda being
implemented by Europe’s universities through the Bologna Process. While the Bologna Process is a uniquely European initiative, its influence and impact
on higher education is being felt throughout the world.

Canadian universities continue to be recognized globally for the quality of higher education
delivered. They are, however, not immune to developments of the magnitude of the
Bologna Process. It is therefore appropriate at this time to respond to this emerging European
initiative by at once seizing its related opportunities and facing its challenges.

The internationalization of Canada’s universities includes facilitating the two-way flow of
students through international student recruitment and student exchange as well as bringing an
international dimension to the curriculum. It is in these areas of student mobility and curricular
reform where the Bologna Process will have its greatest impact on Canadian universities.

AUCC members therefore, through this statement, acknowledge the significance of the emerging
European Higher Education Area and hereby commit to undertaking a course of action to address
the implications of the Bologna Process for Canadian universities and plan a path forward for
engaging with our European partners, both old and new, in a spirit that mirrors Europe’s own
renewal in higher education.

AUCC, through its Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations and the Board of
Directors, has been examining for some time how Canadian universities can best respond to the
changes under way in Europe. It began by identifying the following three key implications of
these changes for Canadian universities.

Competition in international student recruitment is the primary implication. The Bologna
Process, among its other goals, is also a sophisticated exercise in marketing European higher
education. As the Bologna countries seek to make Europe a more attractive study destination
through its degree harmonization and support for increased academic mobility, they are likely to
increase their international student market share at the expense of other leading host countries,
including Canada.

Secondly, the impact of the increasing number of three-year undergraduate degrees from
Bologna countries on Canadian credential evaluation policies and practices needs to be assessed.
The coming influx of three year degrees presents obvious challenges for admission decisions in
graduate studies at Canadian institutions and raises questions about the effect this will have on
our graduate programs.

Finally, student mobility, through short-term exchanges and study abroad opportunities for
Canadian students is an area in which AUCC believes it is imperative to act to take advantage of
the emerging landscape of higher education in Europe. The prevalence of the transparency tools
in the Bologna Process, such as the European Credit Transfer System and the Diploma
Supplement, along with funding programs such as Erasmus Mundus, represent a potential for
increased Canada-Europe student mobility and enhanced international curricula through joint
degree programs.

As AUCC pursues further action in relation to the Bologna Process, all activities will be
informed by the guiding principle of the autonomy of individual Canadian universities to
respond to these issues according to their own particular needs and strategies.
This exercise is also guided by the acknowledgement of the challenges in pursuing any collective
approach aimed at aligning with the European model, given the diversity and complexity of
Canadian higher education.

AUCC recognizes, however, that responding to the Bologna Process also represents a unique
opportunity to examine ‘lessons learned’ and best practices in addressing Canada’s internal
system of credit transfers and mobility among institutions across jurisdictions.

In the spirit of renewed engagement in higher education beyond our borders and given the circumstances related to the emerging Bologna Process, AUCC commits to:
* Keeping a close watching brief on the progress of the Bologna Process with respect to implementation of reforms and political direction in Europe.
* Closely monitoring the engagement of other non-Bologna countries such as the United States, Australia and China along with other actors within Canada, such as governmental partners and other higher education stakeholders.
* Continuing to raise awareness among its membership of key issues related to the Bologna Process through a continued national dialogue within the association, research on good practices and the organization of various information sessions and workshops.
* Pursuing a policy dialogue with European partners such as the European University Association, to identify ways of seizing the opportunities to enhance Canada-Europe cooperation, especially student mobility, and address any challenges for Canadian universities in the broader Bologna context.
----

=== Other activities ===

None known. This is not to say that all is perfect with Canada's universities. Even local commentators accept that things must change.

== Administration and finance ==

Although the provinces have responsibility for universities including providing funds, the federal government retains a funding role - and a vital one. A [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/reports/2006/fed_role_02_23_e.pdf position paper] from AUCC describes the situation.

----
In Canada, as in most other well-established federal
systems, including the United States, Australia,
Switzerland and Germany, constitutional jurisdiction
for education rests with the regional, provincial or
state governments. However, in all of these federations,
the central governments have come to play major roles
in support of higher education. They have done so in
large part because of the strategic importance of these
institutions in educating people for the knowledge
economy and in performing research. In Australia,
for example, the federal government is now the
primary source of funds, not only for university
research but also for the operating budgets of the
universities. In the United States, by contrast, the
state governments remain the primary source of
operating funding for public universities and fouryear
colleges, but the federal government is the most
important source of university research funding and
effectively reduces some of the pressure on university
operating budgets by paying for faculty time devoted
to federally-funded research.

Despite the Constitution’s exclusive grant of powers to
the provincial legislatures to “make Laws in relation to
Education” and “in and for each Province”, the federal
government in Canada has shown an interest in higher
education since the early years of Confederation and
especially, since the First World War.
The overriding goal of federal investments in
higher education, particularly since the Second
World War, has been to maximize universities’
contributions to economic growth, competitiveness
and social development in Canada as a whole. To
this end, the investments have sought:
* to support growth in institutional capacity to provide access to growing numbers of students;
* to promote accessibility for students through student assistance measures;
* to develop university research and graduate education and, especially in recent years, to build internationally competitive research capacity in the universities; and
* to promote Canada’s interests internationally in relation to, and through, higher education.

With regard to the last of these objectives, the
federal government has made a number of investments
over the years, including the Canada Corps
University Partnership Program and Human Resources
and Social Development Canada’s International
Academic Mobility Programs. In general, however,
these have lacked overall policy coherence and
sustained commitment.

On the student assistance, research and graduate
education objectives, the federal government has made
major investments over the period since the Second
World War, and especially since 1997, in recognition
of the strategic importance of university education and
research in a knowledge economy. In particular, the
large research investments since 1997 have had a very
positive impact on the health of Canada’s university
research environment. At the same time, international
competitors have also been investing in university
research and major challenges remain in this country.
The first of the objectives, increasing universities’
institutional capacity to take on more students,
was at the heart of federal investments in the period
from 1945 to 1967, first through direct grants to
universities and then through the cost-shared program.

With the creation of the EPF transfers from 1977
to 1995 and even more so, the creation of the unconditional
and undifferentiated CHST transfers in
1995, the federal government has paid little overt
attention to this objective. No portion of the CHST
or the subsequent CST is designated specifically for
postsecondary education.
----

== Quality assurance ==

Canadian universities are notoriously reluctant to accept any level of direction from outside the institution, be it from provincial or federal goverment. This applies also to quality issues. Thus the regimes typical now in Europe and much of the rest of the British Commonwealth are not found - yet - in Canada. Some local commentators fear that the Bologna Process will be used by the Canadian government to impose uniformity on universities including a uniform quality process - see for example the May 2008 outpouring [http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pub/commentary/080509.html A load of Bologna] by Alex Ussher.

However the AUCC seems to accept that some better coordination and peer review is necessary to reassure students and government. Their [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/pol_pract/index_e.html statement on the matter] notes:

: In Canada, education, including higher education, is a constitutional responsibility of the country's 10 provinces and 3 territories. The universities, which at this time are located only in the provinces, derive their authority from provincial legislation.

: Each Canadian university is autonomous in academic matters including the determination of its own quality assurance policies and procedures. In addition, as the result of their longstanding commitment to a common framework of standards across provincial jurisdictions, Canadian universities have a shared understanding of the value of each other's academic credentials.

: Robust institutional quality assurance policies and processes are the foundation of the Canadian higher education quality assurance regime. These policies may stand alone, and some may be based in legislation. They may operate in an environment which includes another level of quality assurance, for example the policies and processes that provide a second level of quality assurance in the higher education systems in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. For some programs, institutional policies may be supplemented by standards of professional accreditation.

A [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/reg_prov_qas/index_e.html separate note] lists the provincial quality regimes. There is also a [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/principles/index_e.html set of principles].

All rather vague from a European point of view.

== Canada's HEIs in the information society ==

=== Towards the information society ===

(We await discussion on how to handle this section.)

=== Information society strategy ===

In this subsection we discuss the Canadian NREN ([[CANARIE]]) and the potential Major E-Learning Initiatives.

==== CANARIE ====

''CANARIE'' Inc., based in Ottawa, is the advanced network organization for Canada. It facilitates the development and use of its network as well as the advanced products, applications and services that run on it. The CANARIE Network is the National Research and Education Network ([[NREN]]) for Canada - serving universities, colleges, schools, government labs, research institutes, hospitals and other organizations in a wide variety of fields in both the public and private sectors.

However, CANARIE has a wider brief, in some ways similar to agencies such as [[SURF]] and [[JISC]]. It furthers this by promoting and participating in strategic collaborations among key sectors, and by partnering with peer networks and organizations around the world, CANARIE Inc. stimulates and supports research, innovation and growth, bringing economic, social, and cultural benefits to Canadians.

The national organization was created in 1993 by the private sector and academia under the leadership of the Government of Canada.

CANARIE Inc. is supported by membership fees, with major funding of its programmes and activities provided by the Government of Canada through Industry Canada.

In the past, CANARIE has funded many e-learning developments.

Its web site is at http://www.canarie.ca/about/index.html (English) and http://www.canarie.ca/about_f/index.html (French).

'''Existing case study'''

There is a comprehensive but somewhat out of date case study of CANARIE at http://www.matic-media.co.uk/ukeu/EUNI-chap10-CANARIE-2004.doc - it was first written in 2001 but updated in summer 2004 (by [[Paul Bacsich]] and [[Sara Frank Bristow]]).

The Editor's Introduction to that notes:

: Between 1993 and March 2004, CANARIE – a small, non-profit organisation – received government funding of C$360 million (£161 million) for over 225 projects focussed on e-learning, e-content, e-business and e-health. Many would credit CANARIE for assuring Canada’s reputation as a world-leading broadband adopter and innovator (and, more relevant to e-university developments, with helping the country to become a lead developer of learning object repository infrastructure). CANARIE has also helped connect over 2,000 schools, colleges and universities to its advanced CA*NET 4 network, and has created thousands of jobs nationwide.

: When this CANARIE Report was written, CANARIE was an organisation “in full swing”, with government funding assured for over two more years. Nearly all of its projects saw completion by March 2004, however, and many of those discussed below finished long before that. During a presentation in June 2004, CANARIE president and CEO Andrew Bjerring noted that CANARIE’s original mandate had been to “visit the future and report back” – now that the future has arrived, it seems, it is the role of CANARIE itself that requires clarification.

: At the time of writing [2004], CANARIE maintains some modest funding for completing the roll-out of CA*net 4 as scheduled, but all other project funding is on hold. Several of Canada’s federal departments are said to be collaborating on what might become a national strategic vision to help frame the future of organisations like CANARIE, and perhaps lead to the creation of an agency not unlike the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) e-Learning Strategy Unit in the UK. Until the emergence of this new strategic plan, hoped to be in the autumn of 2004, however, there will be no further funding for the CANARIE projects described below. Thus it remains to be seen whether CANARIE will succeed at reinventing itself in today’s context.

This depressing conclusion seems still to be the case. A search of the CANARIE web site for "e-learning" reveals no hits later than 2003.

==== Major E-Learning Initiatives ====

See [[Major e-learning initiatives in Canada]].

== References ==

=== Canadian companies who have developed e-learning systems ===

* WebCT was developed at the University of British Columbia by Murray Goldberg as an "unofficial" e-learning system, finally being bought by a company which became WebCTm, in turn acquired by [http://www.blackboard.com/us/index.bbb Blackboard].

* [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn] is another Canadian-based learning management system, but this did not come out of academic circles.

* The FirstClass system was developed in the late 1980s by http://www.softarc.com/ [SoftArc] for use in the Ontario School Board - the product was then sold on to various companies and gradually failed to keep up with developments.

* Even earlier, the CoSy system was developed at the University of Guelph and used by the [[Open University]] for some years in the 1980s and into the early 1990s.

* It is not a company yet but the [http://www.kuali.org/communities/ks/ Kuali Student] system being developed by a consortium around the [http://www.sfu.ca/ University of British Columbia] is exciting interst in the US and now the UK.

(Readers are refered to the relevant wikipedia articles - of wildly varying quality and length, but at least giving some of the history. For a hopefully more measured historical view see the Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments History of Virtual Learning Environments].)

=== Eminent Canadian experts in e-learning ===

Such lists are always invidious but the following three have a focus close to our mission - on post-secondary deployment - as well as research, and would be known to many UK experts in e-learning:

* [[Tony Bates]], Consultant - formerly of the [[Open University]], then the [[Open Learning Agency]] and then [[University of British Columbia]], more recently an advisor to the [[Open University of Catalonia]], the [[Portuguese Open University]] and to EU projects including [[Re.ViCa]] - with a [http://www.tonybates.ca comprehensive web site]
* [[Terry Anderson]], Professor of Distance Education, Athabasca University - with his [http://www.athabascau.ca/html/staff/academic/terrya.html university site]
* Linda Harasim [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Harasim], Professor, School of Education, Simon Fraser University, and author of several books, including 'Learning Networks'[http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&id=NFkaDHideBcC&dq=Linda+harasim+Learning+Networks&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=OV7c_SzkDs&sig=ornccw09QiH2LSM5x5kgZBscdx0&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result]

There are of course many active researchers in e-learning also and several Francophones of whom [http://ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/Default.aspx?alias=ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/gilbertpaquette Gilbert Paquette] is the doyen. Unlike many countries, Canada has or at least had an active tradition of research into e-learning in the FE and Skills area.

And in the schools e-learning area Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/scardamalia.html Marlene Scardamalia] and Emeritus Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/bereiter.html Carl Bereiter] are leaders.

----
> [[Countries]]

[[Category:North America]]

Canada

2008-12-03T09:49:49Z

Karsenti: /* Universities in Canada */

== Partners situated in Canada ==

None. However, [[Tony Bates]] of the [[Advisory Committee| International Advisory Committee]] is from Canada.

== Canada in a nutshell ==

Canada is a large country occupying over half of the continent of North America, touching three oceans - Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic. Its population was estimated in the [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=101 2006 census] as around 31.5 million but other estimates such as the [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ca.html CIA Factbook] give up to and over 33 million currently. (Rapid immigration is one source of the discrepancy but not, it seems, the only one - the issue has generated some debate.)

Thus there would seem to be a strong argument that a Commonwealth country of this size would have many points of relevance, generally and in education, to many larger countries in the European Union. While true generally (e.g. for industrial policy) ''it is not at all true for education'' - the provinces are the relevant entities. See later for details.

Many if not most Canadian universities have competence in e-learning at least in pockets. Several major e-learning systems past and present have come from Canada, some from academia but most not - for example, in recent years [http://www.webct.com WebCT] and [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn], and many years ago the CoSy and [http://www.firstclass.com FirstClass] conferencing systems used at the [[Open University]]. We give the main ones below of relevance to an EU audience.

Canada is divided into 13 provinces and territories of which the most important and relevant in e-learning terms are the following:

* British Columbia, population 4.1 million, thus rather smaller than [[Scotland]] but rather larger than [[Wales]] and similar in size to [[Ireland]] - the base of the [[University of British Columbia]] ([[UBC]]) and [[Simon Fraser University]] ([[SFU]]), two notable institutions in e-learning; and also of [[Thompson Rivers University]] ([[TRU]]) which now operates the [[Open Learning Agency]] for British Columbia. Another example is [[Royal Roads University]].
* Alberta, population 3.2 million, thus a bit more than [[Wales]] - the base of [[Athabasca University]], Canada's Open University (a smaller version of the UK [[Open University]]), but also of the much smaller but nimble [[Mount Royal College]].
* Ontario, population 12.1 million, thus not really comparable to any UK home nation (but approaching that of the [[Netherlands]]) - with several illustrious institutions. Some have a long history in distance education (e.g. University of Guelph, which has over 60 online courses [http://www.open.uoguelph.ca/start/]), and others (e.g. the University of Waterloo, and the University of Ottawa) have extensive blended learning initiatives. The [[Ontario Institute for Studies in Education]] ([[OISE]]) contains eminent researchers in schools e-learning known across Europe and beyond.
* Quebec, in particular the [[Télé-université de Québec]].

The [[Canadian Virtual University]] ([[CVU]]) is a group of Canadian universities specializing in online and distance education and a list of these can be found on the site.

''Document of relevance'': [http://www.learn4good.com/distance_learn/distance_learn_canada.htm Learn4Good.com] sums up Canadian distance learning courses and programmes provided by Higher Education.

== Canada education policy ==

In Canada, almost alone among countries in the world, education at all levels is so completely devolved to the provinces that there is not and cannot be a Minister of Education for Canada. (The wikipedia article on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada Education in Canada] gives more details including of the residual federal responsibilities. See also [[CMEC]].)

== Canada's education system ==
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada)

With the earlier caveat about the devolved approach to education, here are the basic facts.

Education in Canada is generally divided into '''Elementary''' (Primary School, Public School), followed by '''Secondary''' (High School) and '''Post Secondary''' (University, College). Within the provinces under the ministry of education, there are district school boards administering the educational programmes.

=== Elementary and Secondary Education ===

Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick, where the compulsory age is 18. In some provinces early leaving exemptions can be granted under certain circumstances at 14.

Canada generally has 190 school days in the year, officially starting from September (after Labour Day) to the end of June (usually the last Friday of the month, Wednesday in some Ontario schools).

Canada spends about 7% of its GDP on education. Since the adoption of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1982, education in both English and French has been available in most places across Canada (if the population of children speaking the minority language justifies it), although French Second Language education/French Immersion is availble to Anglophone students across Canada.

Originally all the provinces had educational systems divided by religion, but most provinces have abolished these. Ontario, Alberta, and certain cities in Saskatchewan are exceptions to this, as they still maintain publicly funded Separate district school boards (usually Catholic but occasionally Protestant). In Quebec, the Catholic/Protestant divide was replaced with a French/English one in 1998. Québécois must attend a French School up until the end of high school unless one of their parents previously attended an English-language school somewhere in Canada (immigrants from other countries cannot use this exception). However this rule applies only to public schools, therefore immigrants to Quebec can send their children to English ''private'' schools.

Most Canadian education systems continue up to grade 12 (age 17 to 18). In Quebec, the typical high school term ends after Secondary V, the same as to grade 11 (age 16 to 17); following this, students who wish to pursue their studies to the university level have to attend CEGEP.

Normally, for each type of publicly funded school (such as Public English or Public French), the province is divided into districts (or divisions). Normally, all publicly funded schools are under the authority of their local district school board. These school boards would follow a common curriculum set up by the province the board resides in. Only Alberta allows public charter schools, which are independent of any district board - instead, they each have their own board, which reports directly to the province.

Primary education and secondary education combined are sometimes referred to as K-12 (Kindergarten through Grade 12). It should be noted that this structure can vary from school to school, and from province to province. For instance, Prince Edward Island school systems is the only province that does not provide Kindergarten. In contrast, Ontario is the only province which provides two levels of Kindergarten (Junior and Senior).

In Canada, secondary schooling, known as high school, "école secondaire" or secondary school, differs depending on the province in which one resides. Additionally, grade structure may vary within a province and even within a school division. Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick (where the compulsory ages are 18). Students may continue to attend high school until the ages of 19 to 21 (the cut-off age for high school varies between province). Those 19 and over may attend adult school. Also if high schoolers are expelled or suspended for a period of time over 2 months or so they could attend night school at the high school.

Ontario had a "Grade 13" known as Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) year, but this was abolished by the provincial government to cut costs. OAC was last offered for the 2002-2003 school year. As a result, the curriculum has been compacted, and the more difficult subjects, such as mathematics, are comparatively harder than before. However, the system is now approximately equivalent to what has been the case outside of Quebec and Ontario for many years. Secondary education in Quebec continues to Grade 11 (Secondary V), and is typically followed by CEGEP, a two or three year college program taken after high school. Pre-university CEGEP programs are two years in Quebec (university for Quebecers is three years), and vocational or professional programs are three years in duration.

=== Post-secondary ===

Post-secondary education in Canada is also the responsibility of the individual provinces and territories. Those governments provide the majority of funding to their public post-secondary institutions, with the remainder of funding coming from tuition fees, the federal government, and research grants. Compared to other countries in the past, Canada has had the highest tertiary school enrollment as a percentage of their graduating population.

Nearly all post-secondary institutions in Canada have the authority to grant academic credentials (i.e., diplomas or degrees). Generally speaking, universities grant degrees (e.g., bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees) while colleges, which typically offer vocationally-oriented programmes, grant diplomas and certificates. However, some colleges offer applied arts degrees that lead to or are equivalent to degrees from a university.

Post-secondary education in Quebec begins with CEGEP (collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel), following graduation from Grade 11 (or Secondary V). Students complete a two- or three-year general program leading to admission to a university, or a professional program leading directly into the labour force. In most cases, bachelor's degree programmes in Quebec are three years instead of the usual four; however, in many cases, students attending a university in Quebec that did not graduate from CEGEP must complete an additional year of coursework. When Ontario had five years of high school, a three-year bachelor's degree was common, but these degrees are being phased out in favour of the four-year degree.

The main variation between the provinces, with respect to universities, is the amount of funding they receive. Universities in Quebec receive the most funding and have the lowest tuitions. Universities in Atlantic Canada generally receive the least funding and some, like Acadia University, are almost wholly reliant on private funding.

The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), is the military academy of the Canadian Forces and is a full degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution with degree granting powers.

'''Private schools'''

In Canada there is no obligation for parents to place their children in the public school system, and about 8% of students are in the private system. A minority of these are elite private schools. These schools are attended by only a small fraction of students, but do have a great deal of prestige and prominence. It is not unusual for the wealthy and prominent in Canada to send their children to public schools, especially in the lower grades. A far larger portion of private schools are religious based institutions. Private schools are also used to study outside the country. For example one in Italy has an Ontario curriculum.

Each province deals differently with private religious schools. In Ontario the Catholic system continues to be fully publicly funded, but other faiths receive no such funding. Ontario has several private Jewish, Muslim, and Christian schools, but all are funded through tuition fees. Since the Catholic schools system is entrenched in the constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that this system is not unconstitutional. However, the United Nations has ruled that Ontario's system is unfair. In 2002 the government introduced a controversial proposal to partially fund all private schools, but this was criticized for undermining the public education system and the proposal was eliminated after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election.

In other provinces privately operated religious schools are funded. In British Columbia the government pays 50% of the cost of religious schools provided that they meet rigorous provincial standards. The province has a number of Sikh, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim schools. Alberta also has a network of charter schools, which are fully funded public (not private) schools offering distinct approaches to education within the public school system (note that the province does not grant charters to religious schools). These charter schools have to follow the provincial curriculum and meet all standards, but are given considerable freedom in other areas. In all other provinces private religious schools receive some funding, but not as much as the public system.

== Higher education ==

The higher education systems in Canada's ten provinces have different historical development, organization (e.g., structure, governance, and funding), and goals (e.g., participation, access, and mobility). This makes it impossible to summarise the overall system. The reader is referred to the wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Education_in_Canada.

=== Universities in Canada ===
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Canada)

Canada has somewhat over 70 universities including the large multi-campus Université du Québec which includes [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] ([[UQAM]]) , the host of the [[Télé-université]] ([[Téluq]]) There is an elite group, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Thirteen_(Canadian_universities) Group of 13], comprising the most prestigious and research-active universities, but e-learning competence is found across the span of universities in Canada.

A selection of those better known beyond Canada including for e-learning (research and/or implementation) would be something like the following:

* [[Athabasca University]]
* [http://www.umontreal.ca University of Montreal] (Montréal, Québec)
* Capilano University (North Vancouver)
* [[Royal Roads University]] (Victoria)
* [[Simon Fraser University]] (Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, British Columbia)
* [[Thompson Rivers University]] (Kamloops)
* [[University of British Columbia]] (University Endowment Lands, Okanagan)
* [[University of New Brunswick]] (Fredericton & Saint John)
* McMaster University (Hamilton)
* Ryerson University (Toronto)
* University of Guelph (Guelph)
* University of Toronto (Toronto (Downtown, Scarborough), Mississauga)
* University of Waterloo (Waterloo)
* University of Western Ontario (London)
* University of Windsor (Windsor)
* York University (Toronto)
* McGill University (Montreal)
* Concordia University (Montreal)
* [[Université du Québec à Montréal]], UQAM (Montreal) including [[Télé-université]], Téluq
* University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon)

===Polytechnics in Canada ===

This term is seldom used in Canada (for example, École polytechnique de Montréal, which trains almost 5000 engineers. This term is also used to describe some colleges.

==== Colleges in Canada ====

There are many colleges in Canada - for a partial list see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_in_Canada.

Most are not known outside Canada, whether or not for e-learning, but one that is known is [[Mount Royal College]].

==== CEGEP ====
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEGEP)

A CEGEP (French: Cégep) is a post-secondary education institution exclusive to the province of Quebec in Canada. CEGEP is a French acronym for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, meaning "College of General and Vocational Education". They are comparable to community colleges, but are required to enter university, which is why secondary school and undergrad degrees both are one less year in Quebec.

The purpose of CEGEPs is to make post-secondary education more accessible in Quebec, as well as to provide proper academic preparation for university. There are both public and private subsidized CEGEPs with the public CEGEPs having little or no tuition fee. The CEGEP system was started in 1967 by the Quebec provincial government and originally had 12 CEGEPs. Today there are 48 CEGEPs in Quebec, of which 5 are English language CEGEPs. There are also 50 private colleges, including 6 English language colleges. While CEGEP refers technically to only public colleges, in common usage the term is sometimes applied also to private colleges offering some of the same programmes.

They are not seen at this stage as relevant to Re.ViCa but we look forward to input on this issue.

== Higher education reform ==

=== The Bologna Process ===

Interestingly the Rectors of Canadian universities are closely interested in the [[Bologna Process]]. A June 2008 [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/statements/2008/bologna_process_06_20_e.pdf statement] from [[AUCC]] is given below.

----
Higher education, like most sectors, is transforming itself in step with the ever-advancing trends
of the global knowledge economy. A high profile example of this is the reform agenda being
implemented by Europe’s universities through the Bologna Process. While the Bologna Process is a uniquely European initiative, its influence and impact
on higher education is being felt throughout the world.

Canadian universities continue to be recognized globally for the quality of higher education
delivered. They are, however, not immune to developments of the magnitude of the
Bologna Process. It is therefore appropriate at this time to respond to this emerging European
initiative by at once seizing its related opportunities and facing its challenges.

The internationalization of Canada’s universities includes facilitating the two-way flow of
students through international student recruitment and student exchange as well as bringing an
international dimension to the curriculum. It is in these areas of student mobility and curricular
reform where the Bologna Process will have its greatest impact on Canadian universities.

AUCC members therefore, through this statement, acknowledge the significance of the emerging
European Higher Education Area and hereby commit to undertaking a course of action to address
the implications of the Bologna Process for Canadian universities and plan a path forward for
engaging with our European partners, both old and new, in a spirit that mirrors Europe’s own
renewal in higher education.

AUCC, through its Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations and the Board of
Directors, has been examining for some time how Canadian universities can best respond to the
changes under way in Europe. It began by identifying the following three key implications of
these changes for Canadian universities.

Competition in international student recruitment is the primary implication. The Bologna
Process, among its other goals, is also a sophisticated exercise in marketing European higher
education. As the Bologna countries seek to make Europe a more attractive study destination
through its degree harmonization and support for increased academic mobility, they are likely to
increase their international student market share at the expense of other leading host countries,
including Canada.

Secondly, the impact of the increasing number of three-year undergraduate degrees from
Bologna countries on Canadian credential evaluation policies and practices needs to be assessed.
The coming influx of three year degrees presents obvious challenges for admission decisions in
graduate studies at Canadian institutions and raises questions about the effect this will have on
our graduate programs.

Finally, student mobility, through short-term exchanges and study abroad opportunities for
Canadian students is an area in which AUCC believes it is imperative to act to take advantage of
the emerging landscape of higher education in Europe. The prevalence of the transparency tools
in the Bologna Process, such as the European Credit Transfer System and the Diploma
Supplement, along with funding programs such as Erasmus Mundus, represent a potential for
increased Canada-Europe student mobility and enhanced international curricula through joint
degree programs.

As AUCC pursues further action in relation to the Bologna Process, all activities will be
informed by the guiding principle of the autonomy of individual Canadian universities to
respond to these issues according to their own particular needs and strategies.
This exercise is also guided by the acknowledgement of the challenges in pursuing any collective
approach aimed at aligning with the European model, given the diversity and complexity of
Canadian higher education.

AUCC recognizes, however, that responding to the Bologna Process also represents a unique
opportunity to examine ‘lessons learned’ and best practices in addressing Canada’s internal
system of credit transfers and mobility among institutions across jurisdictions.

In the spirit of renewed engagement in higher education beyond our borders and given the circumstances related to the emerging Bologna Process, AUCC commits to:
* Keeping a close watching brief on the progress of the Bologna Process with respect to implementation of reforms and political direction in Europe.
* Closely monitoring the engagement of other non-Bologna countries such as the United States, Australia and China along with other actors within Canada, such as governmental partners and other higher education stakeholders.
* Continuing to raise awareness among its membership of key issues related to the Bologna Process through a continued national dialogue within the association, research on good practices and the organization of various information sessions and workshops.
* Pursuing a policy dialogue with European partners such as the European University Association, to identify ways of seizing the opportunities to enhance Canada-Europe cooperation, especially student mobility, and address any challenges for Canadian universities in the broader Bologna context.
----

=== Other activities ===

None known. This is not to say that all is perfect with Canada's universities. Even local commentators accept that things must change.

== Administration and finance ==

Although the provinces have responsibility for universities including providing funds, the federal government retains a funding role - and a vital one. A [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/reports/2006/fed_role_02_23_e.pdf position paper] from AUCC describes the situation.

----
In Canada, as in most other well-established federal
systems, including the United States, Australia,
Switzerland and Germany, constitutional jurisdiction
for education rests with the regional, provincial or
state governments. However, in all of these federations,
the central governments have come to play major roles
in support of higher education. They have done so in
large part because of the strategic importance of these
institutions in educating people for the knowledge
economy and in performing research. In Australia,
for example, the federal government is now the
primary source of funds, not only for university
research but also for the operating budgets of the
universities. In the United States, by contrast, the
state governments remain the primary source of
operating funding for public universities and fouryear
colleges, but the federal government is the most
important source of university research funding and
effectively reduces some of the pressure on university
operating budgets by paying for faculty time devoted
to federally-funded research.

Despite the Constitution’s exclusive grant of powers to
the provincial legislatures to “make Laws in relation to
Education” and “in and for each Province”, the federal
government in Canada has shown an interest in higher
education since the early years of Confederation and
especially, since the First World War.
The overriding goal of federal investments in
higher education, particularly since the Second
World War, has been to maximize universities’
contributions to economic growth, competitiveness
and social development in Canada as a whole. To
this end, the investments have sought:
* to support growth in institutional capacity to provide access to growing numbers of students;
* to promote accessibility for students through student assistance measures;
* to develop university research and graduate education and, especially in recent years, to build internationally competitive research capacity in the universities; and
* to promote Canada’s interests internationally in relation to, and through, higher education.

With regard to the last of these objectives, the
federal government has made a number of investments
over the years, including the Canada Corps
University Partnership Program and Human Resources
and Social Development Canada’s International
Academic Mobility Programs. In general, however,
these have lacked overall policy coherence and
sustained commitment.

On the student assistance, research and graduate
education objectives, the federal government has made
major investments over the period since the Second
World War, and especially since 1997, in recognition
of the strategic importance of university education and
research in a knowledge economy. In particular, the
large research investments since 1997 have had a very
positive impact on the health of Canada’s university
research environment. At the same time, international
competitors have also been investing in university
research and major challenges remain in this country.
The first of the objectives, increasing universities’
institutional capacity to take on more students,
was at the heart of federal investments in the period
from 1945 to 1967, first through direct grants to
universities and then through the cost-shared program.

With the creation of the EPF transfers from 1977
to 1995 and even more so, the creation of the unconditional
and undifferentiated CHST transfers in
1995, the federal government has paid little overt
attention to this objective. No portion of the CHST
or the subsequent CST is designated specifically for
postsecondary education.
----

== Quality assurance ==

Canadian universities are notoriously reluctant to accept any level of direction from outside the institution, be it from provincial or federal goverment. This applies also to quality issues. Thus the regimes typical now in Europe and much of the rest of the British Commonwealth are not found - yet - in Canada. Some local commentators fear that the Bologna Process will be used by the Canadian government to impose uniformity on universities including a uniform quality process - see for example the May 2008 outpouring [http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pub/commentary/080509.html A load of Bologna] by Alex Ussher.

However the AUCC seems to accept that some better coordination and peer review is necessary to reassure students and government. Their [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/pol_pract/index_e.html statement on the matter] notes:

: In Canada, education, including higher education, is a constitutional responsibility of the country's 10 provinces and 3 territories. The universities, which at this time are located only in the provinces, derive their authority from provincial legislation.

: Each Canadian university is autonomous in academic matters including the determination of its own quality assurance policies and procedures. In addition, as the result of their longstanding commitment to a common framework of standards across provincial jurisdictions, Canadian universities have a shared understanding of the value of each other's academic credentials.

: Robust institutional quality assurance policies and processes are the foundation of the Canadian higher education quality assurance regime. These policies may stand alone, and some may be based in legislation. They may operate in an environment which includes another level of quality assurance, for example the policies and processes that provide a second level of quality assurance in the higher education systems in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. For some programs, institutional policies may be supplemented by standards of professional accreditation.

A [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/reg_prov_qas/index_e.html separate note] lists the provincial quality regimes. There is also a [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/principles/index_e.html set of principles].

All rather vague from a European point of view.

== Canada's HEIs in the information society ==

=== Towards the information society ===

(We await discussion on how to handle this section.)

=== Information society strategy ===

In this subsection we discuss the Canadian NREN ([[CANARIE]]) and the potential Major E-Learning Initiatives.

==== CANARIE ====

''CANARIE'' Inc., based in Ottawa, is the advanced network organization for Canada. It facilitates the development and use of its network as well as the advanced products, applications and services that run on it. The CANARIE Network is the National Research and Education Network ([[NREN]]) for Canada - serving universities, colleges, schools, government labs, research institutes, hospitals and other organizations in a wide variety of fields in both the public and private sectors.

However, CANARIE has a wider brief, in some ways similar to agencies such as [[SURF]] and [[JISC]]. It furthers this by promoting and participating in strategic collaborations among key sectors, and by partnering with peer networks and organizations around the world, CANARIE Inc. stimulates and supports research, innovation and growth, bringing economic, social, and cultural benefits to Canadians.

The national organization was created in 1993 by the private sector and academia under the leadership of the Government of Canada.

CANARIE Inc. is supported by membership fees, with major funding of its programmes and activities provided by the Government of Canada through Industry Canada.

In the past, CANARIE has funded many e-learning developments.

Its web site is at http://www.canarie.ca/about/index.html (English) and http://www.canarie.ca/about_f/index.html (French).

'''Existing case study'''

There is a comprehensive but somewhat out of date case study of CANARIE at http://www.matic-media.co.uk/ukeu/EUNI-chap10-CANARIE-2004.doc - it was first written in 2001 but updated in summer 2004 (by [[Paul Bacsich]] and [[Sara Frank Bristow]]).

The Editor's Introduction to that notes:

: Between 1993 and March 2004, CANARIE – a small, non-profit organisation – received government funding of C$360 million (£161 million) for over 225 projects focussed on e-learning, e-content, e-business and e-health. Many would credit CANARIE for assuring Canada’s reputation as a world-leading broadband adopter and innovator (and, more relevant to e-university developments, with helping the country to become a lead developer of learning object repository infrastructure). CANARIE has also helped connect over 2,000 schools, colleges and universities to its advanced CA*NET 4 network, and has created thousands of jobs nationwide.

: When this CANARIE Report was written, CANARIE was an organisation “in full swing”, with government funding assured for over two more years. Nearly all of its projects saw completion by March 2004, however, and many of those discussed below finished long before that. During a presentation in June 2004, CANARIE president and CEO Andrew Bjerring noted that CANARIE’s original mandate had been to “visit the future and report back” – now that the future has arrived, it seems, it is the role of CANARIE itself that requires clarification.

: At the time of writing [2004], CANARIE maintains some modest funding for completing the roll-out of CA*net 4 as scheduled, but all other project funding is on hold. Several of Canada’s federal departments are said to be collaborating on what might become a national strategic vision to help frame the future of organisations like CANARIE, and perhaps lead to the creation of an agency not unlike the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) e-Learning Strategy Unit in the UK. Until the emergence of this new strategic plan, hoped to be in the autumn of 2004, however, there will be no further funding for the CANARIE projects described below. Thus it remains to be seen whether CANARIE will succeed at reinventing itself in today’s context.

This depressing conclusion seems still to be the case. A search of the CANARIE web site for "e-learning" reveals no hits later than 2003.

==== Major E-Learning Initiatives ====

See [[Major e-learning initiatives in Canada]].

== References ==

=== Canadian companies who have developed e-learning systems ===

* WebCT was developed at the University of British Columbia by Murray Goldberg as an "unofficial" e-learning system, finally being bought by a company which became WebCTm, in turn acquired by [http://www.blackboard.com/us/index.bbb Blackboard].

* [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn] is another Canadian-based learning management system, but this did not come out of academic circles.

* The FirstClass system was developed in the late 1980s by http://www.softarc.com/ [SoftArc] for use in the Ontario School Board - the product was then sold on to various companies and gradually failed to keep up with developments.

* Even earlier, the CoSy system was developed at the University of Guelph and used by the [[Open University]] for some years in the 1980s and into the early 1990s.

* It is not a company yet but the [http://www.kuali.org/communities/ks/ Kuali Student] system being developed by a consortium around the [http://www.sfu.ca/ University of British Columbia] is exciting interst in the US and now the UK.

(Readers are refered to the relevant wikipedia articles - of wildly varying quality and length, but at least giving some of the history. For a hopefully more measured historical view see the Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments History of Virtual Learning Environments].)

=== Eminent Canadian experts in e-learning ===

Such lists are always invidious but the following three have a focus close to our mission - on post-secondary deployment - as well as research, and would be known to many UK experts in e-learning:

* [[Tony Bates]], Consultant - formerly of the [[Open University]], then the [[Open Learning Agency]] and then [[University of British Columbia]], more recently an advisor to the [[Open University of Catalonia]], the [[Portuguese Open University]] and to EU projects including [[Re.ViCa]] - with a [http://www.tonybates.ca comprehensive web site]
* [[Terry Anderson]], Professor of Distance Education, Athabasca University - with his [http://www.athabascau.ca/html/staff/academic/terrya.html university site]
* Linda Harasim [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Harasim], Professor, School of Education, Simon Fraser University, and author of several books, including 'Learning Networks'[http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&id=NFkaDHideBcC&dq=Linda+harasim+Learning+Networks&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=OV7c_SzkDs&sig=ornccw09QiH2LSM5x5kgZBscdx0&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result]

There are of course many active researchers in e-learning also and several Francophones of whom [http://ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/Default.aspx?alias=ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/gilbertpaquette Gilbert Paquette] is the doyen. Unlike many countries, Canada has or at least had an active tradition of research into e-learning in the FE and Skills area.

And in the schools e-learning area Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/scardamalia.html Marlene Scardamalia] and Emeritus Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/bereiter.html Carl Bereiter] are leaders.

----
> [[Countries]]

[[Category:North America]]

Canada

2008-12-03T09:46:02Z

Karsenti: /* Polytechnics in Canada */

== Partners situated in Canada ==

None. However, [[Tony Bates]] of the [[Advisory Committee| International Advisory Committee]] is from Canada.

== Canada in a nutshell ==

Canada is a large country occupying over half of the continent of North America, touching three oceans - Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic. Its population was estimated in the [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=101 2006 census] as around 31.5 million but other estimates such as the [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ca.html CIA Factbook] give up to and over 33 million currently. (Rapid immigration is one source of the discrepancy but not, it seems, the only one - the issue has generated some debate.)

Thus there would seem to be a strong argument that a Commonwealth country of this size would have many points of relevance, generally and in education, to many larger countries in the European Union. While true generally (e.g. for industrial policy) ''it is not at all true for education'' - the provinces are the relevant entities. See later for details.

Many if not most Canadian universities have competence in e-learning at least in pockets. Several major e-learning systems past and present have come from Canada, some from academia but most not - for example, in recent years [http://www.webct.com WebCT] and [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn], and many years ago the CoSy and [http://www.firstclass.com FirstClass] conferencing systems used at the [[Open University]]. We give the main ones below of relevance to an EU audience.

Canada is divided into 13 provinces and territories of which the most important and relevant in e-learning terms are the following:

* British Columbia, population 4.1 million, thus rather smaller than [[Scotland]] but rather larger than [[Wales]] and similar in size to [[Ireland]] - the base of the [[University of British Columbia]] ([[UBC]]) and [[Simon Fraser University]] ([[SFU]]), two notable institutions in e-learning; and also of [[Thompson Rivers University]] ([[TRU]]) which now operates the [[Open Learning Agency]] for British Columbia. Another example is [[Royal Roads University]].
* Alberta, population 3.2 million, thus a bit more than [[Wales]] - the base of [[Athabasca University]], Canada's Open University (a smaller version of the UK [[Open University]]), but also of the much smaller but nimble [[Mount Royal College]].
* Ontario, population 12.1 million, thus not really comparable to any UK home nation (but approaching that of the [[Netherlands]]) - with several illustrious institutions. Some have a long history in distance education (e.g. University of Guelph, which has over 60 online courses [http://www.open.uoguelph.ca/start/]), and others (e.g. the University of Waterloo, and the University of Ottawa) have extensive blended learning initiatives. The [[Ontario Institute for Studies in Education]] ([[OISE]]) contains eminent researchers in schools e-learning known across Europe and beyond.
* Quebec, in particular the [[Télé-université de Québec]].

The [[Canadian Virtual University]] ([[CVU]]) is a group of Canadian universities specializing in online and distance education and a list of these can be found on the site.

''Document of relevance'': [http://www.learn4good.com/distance_learn/distance_learn_canada.htm Learn4Good.com] sums up Canadian distance learning courses and programmes provided by Higher Education.

== Canada education policy ==

In Canada, almost alone among countries in the world, education at all levels is so completely devolved to the provinces that there is not and cannot be a Minister of Education for Canada. (The wikipedia article on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada Education in Canada] gives more details including of the residual federal responsibilities. See also [[CMEC]].)

== Canada's education system ==
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Canada)

With the earlier caveat about the devolved approach to education, here are the basic facts.

Education in Canada is generally divided into '''Elementary''' (Primary School, Public School), followed by '''Secondary''' (High School) and '''Post Secondary''' (University, College). Within the provinces under the ministry of education, there are district school boards administering the educational programmes.

=== Elementary and Secondary Education ===

Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick, where the compulsory age is 18. In some provinces early leaving exemptions can be granted under certain circumstances at 14.

Canada generally has 190 school days in the year, officially starting from September (after Labour Day) to the end of June (usually the last Friday of the month, Wednesday in some Ontario schools).

Canada spends about 7% of its GDP on education. Since the adoption of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1982, education in both English and French has been available in most places across Canada (if the population of children speaking the minority language justifies it), although French Second Language education/French Immersion is availble to Anglophone students across Canada.

Originally all the provinces had educational systems divided by religion, but most provinces have abolished these. Ontario, Alberta, and certain cities in Saskatchewan are exceptions to this, as they still maintain publicly funded Separate district school boards (usually Catholic but occasionally Protestant). In Quebec, the Catholic/Protestant divide was replaced with a French/English one in 1998. Québécois must attend a French School up until the end of high school unless one of their parents previously attended an English-language school somewhere in Canada (immigrants from other countries cannot use this exception). However this rule applies only to public schools, therefore immigrants to Quebec can send their children to English ''private'' schools.

Most Canadian education systems continue up to grade 12 (age 17 to 18). In Quebec, the typical high school term ends after Secondary V, the same as to grade 11 (age 16 to 17); following this, students who wish to pursue their studies to the university level have to attend CEGEP.

Normally, for each type of publicly funded school (such as Public English or Public French), the province is divided into districts (or divisions). Normally, all publicly funded schools are under the authority of their local district school board. These school boards would follow a common curriculum set up by the province the board resides in. Only Alberta allows public charter schools, which are independent of any district board - instead, they each have their own board, which reports directly to the province.

Primary education and secondary education combined are sometimes referred to as K-12 (Kindergarten through Grade 12). It should be noted that this structure can vary from school to school, and from province to province. For instance, Prince Edward Island school systems is the only province that does not provide Kindergarten. In contrast, Ontario is the only province which provides two levels of Kindergarten (Junior and Senior).

In Canada, secondary schooling, known as high school, "école secondaire" or secondary school, differs depending on the province in which one resides. Additionally, grade structure may vary within a province and even within a school division. Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 in every province in Canada, except for Ontario and New Brunswick (where the compulsory ages are 18). Students may continue to attend high school until the ages of 19 to 21 (the cut-off age for high school varies between province). Those 19 and over may attend adult school. Also if high schoolers are expelled or suspended for a period of time over 2 months or so they could attend night school at the high school.

Ontario had a "Grade 13" known as Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) year, but this was abolished by the provincial government to cut costs. OAC was last offered for the 2002-2003 school year. As a result, the curriculum has been compacted, and the more difficult subjects, such as mathematics, are comparatively harder than before. However, the system is now approximately equivalent to what has been the case outside of Quebec and Ontario for many years. Secondary education in Quebec continues to Grade 11 (Secondary V), and is typically followed by CEGEP, a two or three year college program taken after high school. Pre-university CEGEP programs are two years in Quebec (university for Quebecers is three years), and vocational or professional programs are three years in duration.

=== Post-secondary ===

Post-secondary education in Canada is also the responsibility of the individual provinces and territories. Those governments provide the majority of funding to their public post-secondary institutions, with the remainder of funding coming from tuition fees, the federal government, and research grants. Compared to other countries in the past, Canada has had the highest tertiary school enrollment as a percentage of their graduating population.

Nearly all post-secondary institutions in Canada have the authority to grant academic credentials (i.e., diplomas or degrees). Generally speaking, universities grant degrees (e.g., bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees) while colleges, which typically offer vocationally-oriented programmes, grant diplomas and certificates. However, some colleges offer applied arts degrees that lead to or are equivalent to degrees from a university.

Post-secondary education in Quebec begins with CEGEP (collèges d'enseignement général et professionnel), following graduation from Grade 11 (or Secondary V). Students complete a two- or three-year general program leading to admission to a university, or a professional program leading directly into the labour force. In most cases, bachelor's degree programmes in Quebec are three years instead of the usual four; however, in many cases, students attending a university in Quebec that did not graduate from CEGEP must complete an additional year of coursework. When Ontario had five years of high school, a three-year bachelor's degree was common, but these degrees are being phased out in favour of the four-year degree.

The main variation between the provinces, with respect to universities, is the amount of funding they receive. Universities in Quebec receive the most funding and have the lowest tuitions. Universities in Atlantic Canada generally receive the least funding and some, like Acadia University, are almost wholly reliant on private funding.

The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), is the military academy of the Canadian Forces and is a full degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution with degree granting powers.

'''Private schools'''

In Canada there is no obligation for parents to place their children in the public school system, and about 8% of students are in the private system. A minority of these are elite private schools. These schools are attended by only a small fraction of students, but do have a great deal of prestige and prominence. It is not unusual for the wealthy and prominent in Canada to send their children to public schools, especially in the lower grades. A far larger portion of private schools are religious based institutions. Private schools are also used to study outside the country. For example one in Italy has an Ontario curriculum.

Each province deals differently with private religious schools. In Ontario the Catholic system continues to be fully publicly funded, but other faiths receive no such funding. Ontario has several private Jewish, Muslim, and Christian schools, but all are funded through tuition fees. Since the Catholic schools system is entrenched in the constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that this system is not unconstitutional. However, the United Nations has ruled that Ontario's system is unfair. In 2002 the government introduced a controversial proposal to partially fund all private schools, but this was criticized for undermining the public education system and the proposal was eliminated after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election.

In other provinces privately operated religious schools are funded. In British Columbia the government pays 50% of the cost of religious schools provided that they meet rigorous provincial standards. The province has a number of Sikh, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim schools. Alberta also has a network of charter schools, which are fully funded public (not private) schools offering distinct approaches to education within the public school system (note that the province does not grant charters to religious schools). These charter schools have to follow the provincial curriculum and meet all standards, but are given considerable freedom in other areas. In all other provinces private religious schools receive some funding, but not as much as the public system.

== Higher education ==

The higher education systems in Canada's ten provinces have different historical development, organization (e.g., structure, governance, and funding), and goals (e.g., participation, access, and mobility). This makes it impossible to summarise the overall system. The reader is referred to the wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_Education_in_Canada.

=== Universities in Canada ===
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Canada)

Canada has somewhat over 70 universities including the large multi-campus Université du Québec which includes [[Université du Québec à Montréal]] ([[UQAM]]) , the host of the [[Télé-université]] ([[Téluq]]) There is an elite group, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Thirteen_(Canadian_universities) Group of 13], comprising the most prestigious and research-active universities, but e-learning competence is found across the span of universities in Canada.

A selection of those better known beyond Canada including for e-learning (research and/or implementation) would be something like the following:

* [[Athabasca University]]
* Capilano University (North Vancouver)
* [[Royal Roads University]] (Victoria)
* [[Simon Fraser University]] (Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, British Columbia)
* [[Thompson Rivers University]] (Kamloops)
* [[University of British Columbia]] (University Endowment Lands, Okanagan)
* [[University of New Brunswick]] (Fredericton & Saint John)
* McMaster University (Hamilton)
* Ryerson University (Toronto)
* University of Guelph (Guelph)
* University of Toronto (Toronto (Downtown, Scarborough), Mississauga)
* University of Waterloo (Waterloo)
* University of Western Ontario (London)
* University of Windsor (Windsor)
* York University (Toronto)
* McGill University (Montreal)
* Concordia University (Montreal)
* [[Université du Québec à Montréal]], UQAM (Montreal) including [[Télé-université]], Téluq
* University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon)

===Polytechnics in Canada ===

This term is seldom used in Canada (for example, École polytechnique de Montréal, which trains almost 5000 engineers. This term is also used to describe some colleges.

==== Colleges in Canada ====

There are many colleges in Canada - for a partial list see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_in_Canada.

Most are not known outside Canada, whether or not for e-learning, but one that is known is [[Mount Royal College]].

==== CEGEP ====
(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEGEP)

A CEGEP (French: Cégep) is a post-secondary education institution exclusive to the province of Quebec in Canada. CEGEP is a French acronym for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, meaning "College of General and Vocational Education". They are comparable to community colleges, but are required to enter university, which is why secondary school and undergrad degrees both are one less year in Quebec.

The purpose of CEGEPs is to make post-secondary education more accessible in Quebec, as well as to provide proper academic preparation for university. There are both public and private subsidized CEGEPs with the public CEGEPs having little or no tuition fee. The CEGEP system was started in 1967 by the Quebec provincial government and originally had 12 CEGEPs. Today there are 48 CEGEPs in Quebec, of which 5 are English language CEGEPs. There are also 50 private colleges, including 6 English language colleges. While CEGEP refers technically to only public colleges, in common usage the term is sometimes applied also to private colleges offering some of the same programmes.

They are not seen at this stage as relevant to Re.ViCa but we look forward to input on this issue.

== Higher education reform ==

=== The Bologna Process ===

Interestingly the Rectors of Canadian universities are closely interested in the [[Bologna Process]]. A June 2008 [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/statements/2008/bologna_process_06_20_e.pdf statement] from [[AUCC]] is given below.

----
Higher education, like most sectors, is transforming itself in step with the ever-advancing trends
of the global knowledge economy. A high profile example of this is the reform agenda being
implemented by Europe’s universities through the Bologna Process. While the Bologna Process is a uniquely European initiative, its influence and impact
on higher education is being felt throughout the world.

Canadian universities continue to be recognized globally for the quality of higher education
delivered. They are, however, not immune to developments of the magnitude of the
Bologna Process. It is therefore appropriate at this time to respond to this emerging European
initiative by at once seizing its related opportunities and facing its challenges.

The internationalization of Canada’s universities includes facilitating the two-way flow of
students through international student recruitment and student exchange as well as bringing an
international dimension to the curriculum. It is in these areas of student mobility and curricular
reform where the Bologna Process will have its greatest impact on Canadian universities.

AUCC members therefore, through this statement, acknowledge the significance of the emerging
European Higher Education Area and hereby commit to undertaking a course of action to address
the implications of the Bologna Process for Canadian universities and plan a path forward for
engaging with our European partners, both old and new, in a spirit that mirrors Europe’s own
renewal in higher education.

AUCC, through its Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations and the Board of
Directors, has been examining for some time how Canadian universities can best respond to the
changes under way in Europe. It began by identifying the following three key implications of
these changes for Canadian universities.

Competition in international student recruitment is the primary implication. The Bologna
Process, among its other goals, is also a sophisticated exercise in marketing European higher
education. As the Bologna countries seek to make Europe a more attractive study destination
through its degree harmonization and support for increased academic mobility, they are likely to
increase their international student market share at the expense of other leading host countries,
including Canada.

Secondly, the impact of the increasing number of three-year undergraduate degrees from
Bologna countries on Canadian credential evaluation policies and practices needs to be assessed.
The coming influx of three year degrees presents obvious challenges for admission decisions in
graduate studies at Canadian institutions and raises questions about the effect this will have on
our graduate programs.

Finally, student mobility, through short-term exchanges and study abroad opportunities for
Canadian students is an area in which AUCC believes it is imperative to act to take advantage of
the emerging landscape of higher education in Europe. The prevalence of the transparency tools
in the Bologna Process, such as the European Credit Transfer System and the Diploma
Supplement, along with funding programs such as Erasmus Mundus, represent a potential for
increased Canada-Europe student mobility and enhanced international curricula through joint
degree programs.

As AUCC pursues further action in relation to the Bologna Process, all activities will be
informed by the guiding principle of the autonomy of individual Canadian universities to
respond to these issues according to their own particular needs and strategies.
This exercise is also guided by the acknowledgement of the challenges in pursuing any collective
approach aimed at aligning with the European model, given the diversity and complexity of
Canadian higher education.

AUCC recognizes, however, that responding to the Bologna Process also represents a unique
opportunity to examine ‘lessons learned’ and best practices in addressing Canada’s internal
system of credit transfers and mobility among institutions across jurisdictions.

In the spirit of renewed engagement in higher education beyond our borders and given the circumstances related to the emerging Bologna Process, AUCC commits to:
* Keeping a close watching brief on the progress of the Bologna Process with respect to implementation of reforms and political direction in Europe.
* Closely monitoring the engagement of other non-Bologna countries such as the United States, Australia and China along with other actors within Canada, such as governmental partners and other higher education stakeholders.
* Continuing to raise awareness among its membership of key issues related to the Bologna Process through a continued national dialogue within the association, research on good practices and the organization of various information sessions and workshops.
* Pursuing a policy dialogue with European partners such as the European University Association, to identify ways of seizing the opportunities to enhance Canada-Europe cooperation, especially student mobility, and address any challenges for Canadian universities in the broader Bologna context.
----

=== Other activities ===

None known. This is not to say that all is perfect with Canada's universities. Even local commentators accept that things must change.

== Administration and finance ==

Although the provinces have responsibility for universities including providing funds, the federal government retains a funding role - and a vital one. A [http://www.aucc.ca/_pdf/english/reports/2006/fed_role_02_23_e.pdf position paper] from AUCC describes the situation.

----
In Canada, as in most other well-established federal
systems, including the United States, Australia,
Switzerland and Germany, constitutional jurisdiction
for education rests with the regional, provincial or
state governments. However, in all of these federations,
the central governments have come to play major roles
in support of higher education. They have done so in
large part because of the strategic importance of these
institutions in educating people for the knowledge
economy and in performing research. In Australia,
for example, the federal government is now the
primary source of funds, not only for university
research but also for the operating budgets of the
universities. In the United States, by contrast, the
state governments remain the primary source of
operating funding for public universities and fouryear
colleges, but the federal government is the most
important source of university research funding and
effectively reduces some of the pressure on university
operating budgets by paying for faculty time devoted
to federally-funded research.

Despite the Constitution’s exclusive grant of powers to
the provincial legislatures to “make Laws in relation to
Education” and “in and for each Province”, the federal
government in Canada has shown an interest in higher
education since the early years of Confederation and
especially, since the First World War.
The overriding goal of federal investments in
higher education, particularly since the Second
World War, has been to maximize universities’
contributions to economic growth, competitiveness
and social development in Canada as a whole. To
this end, the investments have sought:
* to support growth in institutional capacity to provide access to growing numbers of students;
* to promote accessibility for students through student assistance measures;
* to develop university research and graduate education and, especially in recent years, to build internationally competitive research capacity in the universities; and
* to promote Canada’s interests internationally in relation to, and through, higher education.

With regard to the last of these objectives, the
federal government has made a number of investments
over the years, including the Canada Corps
University Partnership Program and Human Resources
and Social Development Canada’s International
Academic Mobility Programs. In general, however,
these have lacked overall policy coherence and
sustained commitment.

On the student assistance, research and graduate
education objectives, the federal government has made
major investments over the period since the Second
World War, and especially since 1997, in recognition
of the strategic importance of university education and
research in a knowledge economy. In particular, the
large research investments since 1997 have had a very
positive impact on the health of Canada’s university
research environment. At the same time, international
competitors have also been investing in university
research and major challenges remain in this country.
The first of the objectives, increasing universities’
institutional capacity to take on more students,
was at the heart of federal investments in the period
from 1945 to 1967, first through direct grants to
universities and then through the cost-shared program.

With the creation of the EPF transfers from 1977
to 1995 and even more so, the creation of the unconditional
and undifferentiated CHST transfers in
1995, the federal government has paid little overt
attention to this objective. No portion of the CHST
or the subsequent CST is designated specifically for
postsecondary education.
----

== Quality assurance ==

Canadian universities are notoriously reluctant to accept any level of direction from outside the institution, be it from provincial or federal goverment. This applies also to quality issues. Thus the regimes typical now in Europe and much of the rest of the British Commonwealth are not found - yet - in Canada. Some local commentators fear that the Bologna Process will be used by the Canadian government to impose uniformity on universities including a uniform quality process - see for example the May 2008 outpouring [http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pub/commentary/080509.html A load of Bologna] by Alex Ussher.

However the AUCC seems to accept that some better coordination and peer review is necessary to reassure students and government. Their [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/pol_pract/index_e.html statement on the matter] notes:

: In Canada, education, including higher education, is a constitutional responsibility of the country's 10 provinces and 3 territories. The universities, which at this time are located only in the provinces, derive their authority from provincial legislation.

: Each Canadian university is autonomous in academic matters including the determination of its own quality assurance policies and procedures. In addition, as the result of their longstanding commitment to a common framework of standards across provincial jurisdictions, Canadian universities have a shared understanding of the value of each other's academic credentials.

: Robust institutional quality assurance policies and processes are the foundation of the Canadian higher education quality assurance regime. These policies may stand alone, and some may be based in legislation. They may operate in an environment which includes another level of quality assurance, for example the policies and processes that provide a second level of quality assurance in the higher education systems in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. For some programs, institutional policies may be supplemented by standards of professional accreditation.

A [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/reg_prov_qas/index_e.html separate note] lists the provincial quality regimes. There is also a [http://www.aucc.ca/qa/principles/index_e.html set of principles].

All rather vague from a European point of view.

== Canada's HEIs in the information society ==

=== Towards the information society ===

(We await discussion on how to handle this section.)

=== Information society strategy ===

In this subsection we discuss the Canadian NREN ([[CANARIE]]) and the potential Major E-Learning Initiatives.

==== CANARIE ====

''CANARIE'' Inc., based in Ottawa, is the advanced network organization for Canada. It facilitates the development and use of its network as well as the advanced products, applications and services that run on it. The CANARIE Network is the National Research and Education Network ([[NREN]]) for Canada - serving universities, colleges, schools, government labs, research institutes, hospitals and other organizations in a wide variety of fields in both the public and private sectors.

However, CANARIE has a wider brief, in some ways similar to agencies such as [[SURF]] and [[JISC]]. It furthers this by promoting and participating in strategic collaborations among key sectors, and by partnering with peer networks and organizations around the world, CANARIE Inc. stimulates and supports research, innovation and growth, bringing economic, social, and cultural benefits to Canadians.

The national organization was created in 1993 by the private sector and academia under the leadership of the Government of Canada.

CANARIE Inc. is supported by membership fees, with major funding of its programmes and activities provided by the Government of Canada through Industry Canada.

In the past, CANARIE has funded many e-learning developments.

Its web site is at http://www.canarie.ca/about/index.html (English) and http://www.canarie.ca/about_f/index.html (French).

'''Existing case study'''

There is a comprehensive but somewhat out of date case study of CANARIE at http://www.matic-media.co.uk/ukeu/EUNI-chap10-CANARIE-2004.doc - it was first written in 2001 but updated in summer 2004 (by [[Paul Bacsich]] and [[Sara Frank Bristow]]).

The Editor's Introduction to that notes:

: Between 1993 and March 2004, CANARIE – a small, non-profit organisation – received government funding of C$360 million (£161 million) for over 225 projects focussed on e-learning, e-content, e-business and e-health. Many would credit CANARIE for assuring Canada’s reputation as a world-leading broadband adopter and innovator (and, more relevant to e-university developments, with helping the country to become a lead developer of learning object repository infrastructure). CANARIE has also helped connect over 2,000 schools, colleges and universities to its advanced CA*NET 4 network, and has created thousands of jobs nationwide.

: When this CANARIE Report was written, CANARIE was an organisation “in full swing”, with government funding assured for over two more years. Nearly all of its projects saw completion by March 2004, however, and many of those discussed below finished long before that. During a presentation in June 2004, CANARIE president and CEO Andrew Bjerring noted that CANARIE’s original mandate had been to “visit the future and report back” – now that the future has arrived, it seems, it is the role of CANARIE itself that requires clarification.

: At the time of writing [2004], CANARIE maintains some modest funding for completing the roll-out of CA*net 4 as scheduled, but all other project funding is on hold. Several of Canada’s federal departments are said to be collaborating on what might become a national strategic vision to help frame the future of organisations like CANARIE, and perhaps lead to the creation of an agency not unlike the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) e-Learning Strategy Unit in the UK. Until the emergence of this new strategic plan, hoped to be in the autumn of 2004, however, there will be no further funding for the CANARIE projects described below. Thus it remains to be seen whether CANARIE will succeed at reinventing itself in today’s context.

This depressing conclusion seems still to be the case. A search of the CANARIE web site for "e-learning" reveals no hits later than 2003.

==== Major E-Learning Initiatives ====

See [[Major e-learning initiatives in Canada]].

== References ==

=== Canadian companies who have developed e-learning systems ===

* WebCT was developed at the University of British Columbia by Murray Goldberg as an "unofficial" e-learning system, finally being bought by a company which became WebCTm, in turn acquired by [http://www.blackboard.com/us/index.bbb Blackboard].

* [http://www.desire2learn.com/ Desire2Learn] is another Canadian-based learning management system, but this did not come out of academic circles.

* The FirstClass system was developed in the late 1980s by http://www.softarc.com/ [SoftArc] for use in the Ontario School Board - the product was then sold on to various companies and gradually failed to keep up with developments.

* Even earlier, the CoSy system was developed at the University of Guelph and used by the [[Open University]] for some years in the 1980s and into the early 1990s.

* It is not a company yet but the [http://www.kuali.org/communities/ks/ Kuali Student] system being developed by a consortium around the [http://www.sfu.ca/ University of British Columbia] is exciting interst in the US and now the UK.

(Readers are refered to the relevant wikipedia articles - of wildly varying quality and length, but at least giving some of the history. For a hopefully more measured historical view see the Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments History of Virtual Learning Environments].)

=== Eminent Canadian experts in e-learning ===

Such lists are always invidious but the following three have a focus close to our mission - on post-secondary deployment - as well as research, and would be known to many UK experts in e-learning:

* [[Tony Bates]], Consultant - formerly of the [[Open University]], then the [[Open Learning Agency]] and then [[University of British Columbia]], more recently an advisor to the [[Open University of Catalonia]], the [[Portuguese Open University]] and to EU projects including [[Re.ViCa]] - with a [http://www.tonybates.ca comprehensive web site]
* [[Terry Anderson]], Professor of Distance Education, Athabasca University - with his [http://www.athabascau.ca/html/staff/academic/terrya.html university site]
* Linda Harasim [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Harasim], Professor, School of Education, Simon Fraser University, and author of several books, including 'Learning Networks'[http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&id=NFkaDHideBcC&dq=Linda+harasim+Learning+Networks&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=OV7c_SzkDs&sig=ornccw09QiH2LSM5x5kgZBscdx0&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result]

There are of course many active researchers in e-learning also and several Francophones of whom [http://ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/Default.aspx?alias=ares.licef.teluq.uqam.ca/gilbertpaquette Gilbert Paquette] is the doyen. Unlike many countries, Canada has or at least had an active tradition of research into e-learning in the FE and Skills area.

And in the schools e-learning area Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/scardamalia.html Marlene Scardamalia] and Emeritus Professor [http://www.ikit.org/people/bereiter.html Carl Bereiter] are leaders.

----
> [[Countries]]

[[Category:North America]]