THE CEGEPS IN
QUEBEC:
Mobility, Pathways
and
Transferability
World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics
World Congres 2012- Halifax – May 29
Cegeps in the Educational
System in Québec
Cegep : An accessible network
CEGEPS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN QUÉBEC
C.E.G.E.P.
Collège d’Enseignement Général et Professionnel
First level of higher education
CEGEPS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN QUÉBEC
Education in Québec
JOB MARKET
Trades
Vocational
training
Elementary
(6 years)
Secondary
(5 years)
Technical
Technical
(3 years)
Pre-university
(2 years)
Cegep
Professional
Doctorate
(2-4 years)
Master’s
(2 years)
Bachelor’s
(3-4 years)
University
CEGEPS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN QUÉBEC
Variety of programs
8 Pre-university
programs
In all major branches of
science, social studies,
arts and literature
138 Higher Technical
programs
In all principal sectors of
the job market
Cégep international
Promote
s college
expertise
on the
world
scene
• Represents its college
members internationally
• Fosters partnerships between its
members and foreign institutions
• Makes its member’s expertise available
to international partners
CEGEPS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN QUÉBEC
Student’s mobility
Ministerial strategy for
internationalization of education
Student’s mobility
NUMBER OF CEGEPS / GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS
PRIVILEDGED GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS
WESTERN EUROPE
CENTRAL AMERICA
SOUTH AMERICA
AFRICA AND INDIAN OCEAN
MEXICO
UNITED STATES
ASIA
MIDDLE EAST
EASTERN EUROPE
Obstacles-Student’s mobility
• Languages
• Paid jobs for the students
• Duration of studies from 2
to 3 years
• Non-recognition of
courses taken abroad
• Less bridge programs
(cegep-university)
Challenges-Student’s mobility
• Actually, the majority of
student’s mobility projects
are in France and French
speaking African
countries.
• The main challenge is to
diversify the countries
where we are doing
mobility projects (China,
India, Mexico, Brazil, etc.)
• We will have to find
solutions to the language
barriers
• We will have to develop
more partnership
agreements with those
countries in order to look
at the credential
recognition for students.
Pathways
Pathways
• The pathways between levels of studies is
a concern of long time in Quebec;
– Example: Creation of the ÉTS: Specialized in
the teaching and the industrial research in
ingineering and technology transfer, it trains
engineers and researchers recognized for
their practical and innovating approach;
– It is the only school of engineering in Quebec which
offers programmes of baccalaureat in engineering
created specifically for the graduates of technical
collegial level wishing to obtain a university degree.
Pathways
• DEC/BAC agreements
– Agreements between Universities and
colleges to link a technical program with a
program of baccalaureat in the same field of
studies;
– Usually, the university recognizes assets of
the collegial program for the equivalency of
one academic year. That allows students to
obtain, generally into four or five years of
studies, a double diploma.
Pathways
• DEC/BAC agreements example
– Integrated DEC/BAC program in nursing: the
only agreement in DEC/BAC formula with a
network approach;
– 9 Universities and 42 colleges participate into
the consortium.
CHALLENGES
• Since education is a provincial jurisdiction, we have 13
ministries of education, which complicates the paths
between the provinces and between Canada and other
countries. ACCC is playing an important role to develop
international agreements for all the colleges;
• Agreements paths must be one institution to another,
which is intensifying its activities;
• We must pay attention to make our programs as flexible
as possible to allow for greater mobility, both incoming
and outgoing, for students, while continuing to assure
quality control of the programs.
Transferability
Main concerns- Transferability
• In several countries, senior technical
programs are linked to universities, which
sometimes facilitates their recognition;
• Need for more recognition of the DCS as
higher technical diploma, leading to the
title of Professional Technologist and his
equivalence internationally.
Transferabillity- Initiatives
• The College of Technologists of Quebec
signed in Paris last June, an initial
agreement on recognition of professional
qualifications as part of the FranceQuébec Agreement for greater mobility of
labor across international.
Transferabillity- Initiatives
• The Mutual Recognition Arrangement
(MRA) means that the Ministry of Higher
Education and Research of France ruled
that the first three programs in Quebec
analyzed and compared by France are
broadly equivalent to seven degrees from
the University Institutes of Technology
(IUT) and high schools (Patent higher
Technician).
Transferabillity- Initiatives
• Work continues to compare all programs of
Quebec leading to permits delivered by the
College of technologists and all programs from
France related to technologies eligible to the
College of Technologists;
• It is an important progress in the development of
pathways of learning programs between France
and Quebec and it is an important model to
develop such pathways with other countries.
Examples of initiatives in
Europe
The Bologna Process
• The Bologna Process, launched with the
Bologna Declaration, of 1999, is one of the main
voluntary processes at European level, as it is
nowadays implemented in 47 states, which
define the European Higher Education Area
(EHEA);
• The European Qualifications Framework (EQF)
acts as a translation device to make national
qualifications more readable across Europe,
promoting workers' and learners' mobility
between countries and facilitating their lifelong
learning
And what about Québec and
Canada?
Initiatives
• There are currently various discussions
held, both Canadian and Quebec levels:
Canadian Initiative for International Marketing
of Education;
Advice of the Supreme Council of Education
of Quebec on ​the internationalization of
colleges;
Interdepartmental Committee (Quebec) on the
recruitment of foreign students
CHALLENGES
• Classifications of educational programs
and recognition of degrees are being
harmonized at different levels, worldwide;
• Several institutions are developing a
formal articulation between two countries
programs that allow students to walk with
less obstacles between the two countries.
CHALLENGES
• Quebec faces a shortage of qualified
technical manpower;
• Employers need workers with international
and intercultural skills to thrive in a world
increasingly globalized;
• CEGEPs are able to adequately address
these two realities
CHALLENGES
• How can we insert positively in this
process?
• How can we ensure that our technical
programs allow greater mobility between
students from different provinces and
between students from Quebec, Canada
and other countries?
• Quebec CEGEPs are interested in
continuing to explore various avenues to
improve mobility both incoming as
outgoing students;
• Cégep international continues to listen to
any suggestions and recommendations at
this level.
Merci
Thank you
World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics
World Congres 2012- Halifax – May 29