National Adult Literacy Database

In this document, the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) discusses the complex challenges associated with defining and demonstrating quality in post-secondary education.

The authors point out that measurements of quality are important for accountability, student and graduate mobility, and continuous improvement. Canada must be able to communicate clearly to both domestic and international students why studying at Canadian institutions provides a high-quality education.

A Canada-wide framework for demonstrating quality could be established without encroaching on provincial and territorial jurisdiction over education, or on the autonomy of post-secondary institutions, the authors say. Such a framework could include different methods of defining and demonstrating quality, depending on institutional type and focus.