On February 8, the Accreditation Board met in Ottawa for a one-day meeting, where they covered a number of key items:
- The passing of a motion to recommend to the Engineers Canada Board that criterion 3.4.6 be modified to reduce the total number of required accreditation units (AUs) from 1950 to 1850. The Engineers Canada Board will consider this recommendation at their May 22, 2020 meeting.
- Review of the 2020/2021 visit schedule, member assignments for the 2020 decision meeting, future accreditation visits, and programs under development.
- Updates on the work of the Policies & Procedures committee, Definition of Design task force, the Accreditation Improvement Program, and the Accountability in Accreditation committee’s work on developing an annual assessment process, including progress to date and next steps.
- Reports and updates from the Engineering Deans of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students, the Engineers Canada Board, and the Qualifications Board,
- Member reports from participation in regional Graduate Attribute and Continual Improvement Summits and with provincial and territorial regulators.
In addition, February 9, 2020 the Accreditation Board hosted an information session for all higher education institutions receiving a visit in fall 2020 or winter 2021. This session gives each institution the chance to the meet Engineers Canada staff and the chair of their visiting team. Ten institutions took part, and all noted that the session was valuable for helping clarify expectations for their visit.
