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The following document is provided solely
for general public information purposes. Anyone wishing to submit
an application under the Act should contact the Post-Secondary Affairs
Branch of the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and
Labour for more information. In the event of a discrepancy between
the information below and any provisions of the Act, the Regulations,
or any applicable policies, the latter shall prevail.
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1.
General
1.1
The Act and Regulation
The Degree Granting Act establishes a framework
for evaluating the quality of programs leading to a degree offered
by all public and private institutions, except those created
by an Act of the New Brunswick Legislature prior to the Act
coming in force, that is before March 1, 2001.
The Act provides for two processes giving institutions
the right to grant degrees, namely, designation by the Lieutenant-Governor
in Council or authorization by an Act of the New Brunswick
Legislature.
The Degree Granting Act and the Regulations
may be consulted by clicking on the following links:
Degree
Granting Act
Regulations
or by going to the index
of New Brunswick Acts and Regulations .
1.2 General
Evaluation Criteria
The Regulations of the Degree Granting
Act identify the requirements that must be met by institutions
that wish to be authorized to grant degrees:
(a) for each program offered by the educational institution,
(i) there are clearly defined objectives, learner outcomes,
and curricular structure, and
(ii) the appropriate degree credential will be awarded to
graduates of the program;
(b) the educational institution has
(i) sufficient financial resources available to support the
delivery of each program offered,
(ii) sufficient human and physical resources available or
retained in New Brunswick to support the delivery of each
program offered,
(iii) an adequate business plan with realistic cost and revenue
projections to cover a five-year period, and
(iv) appropriate and sufficient services in place to support
learner success;
(c) when supplying programs to a particular industry, the
educational institution has in place an advisory group of
employers and practitioners from within the industry to provide
advice on program design and marketplace requirements;
(d) the educational institution provides for the involvement
of peers and experts external to the institution in the development
of each program offered by the institution;
(e) the educational institution provides its academic staff
with the time and institutional support to engage in academic
inquiry and research; and
(f) the educational institution adheres to the principles
of academic freedom.
Other
policies and guidelines of the Government of New Brunswick also
apply for the purpose of implementing these evaluation criteria,
i.e.:
2.
Designation Process
The designation process consists of four steps.
2.1
Launching of the Process
Since the Minister of Post-Secondary Education,
Training and Labour launches the process leading to designation,
the applicant must submit a letter to the Minister asking for
designation of a university program under the Act. Should the
applicant be seeking more than one degree designation, a separate
letter must be submitted for each request. Each request also
serves as a notice of public intent and must contain the following:
- The
applicant institution’s full name (if the institution is
not yet incorporated, indicate the name of the individual
submitting the application on behalf of the institution);
- The
institution’s postal and e-mail address and telephone number;
- The
name of the program of study and the degree to be granted;
- A
brief description of the proposed program, not to exceed
10 pages.
Prospective applicants must contact the Post-Secondary
Affairs Branch of the Department of Post-Secondary Education,
Training and Labour as well as Businees New Brunswick and the
Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission prior to this
official correspondence in order to be fully briefed on the
requirements and obligations relating to the designation process.
The Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour
will not evaluate drafts of business plans, institutional or
program proposals. If the business plan has already been prepared,
it can be attached to the letter submitted to the Minister of
Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour.
If the Minister agrees to launch the designation
process, the name of the institution seeking a designation
and the name of the program of study will be posted on this
Web site under “Applications under Review”. It will be removed
once it has been either rejected or approved. In the latter
instance, the name of the institution and the degree will
be added under “Designated Institutions”.
This first step ends with acknowledgment of
receipt of the application by the Minister, who will indicate
at the same time whether the designation process can be launched.
Institutions may withdraw from the process at any time leading
up to the final decision regarding designation that is made
by the Minister. Similarly, an applicant can be asked to withdraw
if any of the conditions set in policy, regulation or legislation
are not met. In either case, the applicant is responsible
for all the costs incurred during the processing of its application.
2.2 Evaluation
of the Business Plan
After the initial exchange of correspondence
with the Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and
Labour, the applicant will be asked to submit a business plan
as per the Business
Application Requirements and Guidelines to the Post-Secondary
Affairs Branch of the Department of Post-Secondary Education,
Training and Labour. The business plan can also be submitted
simultaneously with the initial letter to the Minister of Post-Secondary
Education, Training and Labour. Applicants are required to meet
with officials from Business
New Brunswick prior to submission of the business plan.
The business plan will be reviewed by the Post-Secondary Affairs
Branch of the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training
and Labour, before being submitted to Business New Brunswick
for an in-depth analysis. The applicant may be asked to make
changes to the business plan before it is submitted to Business
New Brunswick and again before Business New Brunswick makes
its final recommendation to the Department of Post-Secondary
Education, Training and Labour.
It should be noted that the Department of Post-Secondary
Education, Training and Labour will not proceed to subsequent
steps in the designation process until the business plan has
been analyzed and recommended by Business New Brunswick and
conditionally accepted by the Department.
In the event the business plan is rejected,
the applicant will have 30 days in which to submit an amended
version. Failure to do so will result in the file being closed,
and any subsequent applications will have to proceed from
the beginning. If, subsequent to the recommendation of Business
New Brunswick, the Department of Post-Secondary Education,
Training and Labour is convinced that the applicant has the
resources and plans required to complete the project, the
business plan will be given provisional approval, and the
applicant will be asked to proceed to the next step in the
designation process.
The evaluation of the Business Plan is not the same as the
institutional or program review; it is merely a preliminary
step in the designation process. The review(s) conducted by
the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission will require
that the Business Plan be assessed in the context of the program
and/ or institutional review and the applicant may be required
to provide supplemental information and/or amend the Business
Plan accordingly.
2.3
Institutional and Program Reviews
Once a recommended business plan has been provisionally approved
by the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and
Labour, the Post-Secondary Affairs Branch will write to the
applicant, indicating that they must submit the completed
designation application
form, and a cheque or money order in the amount of $250
payable to the New Brunswick Minister of Finance. Similarly,
the Department will determine whether an institutional review
is necessary or whether the applicant may move immediately
to submitting a program proposal.
Institutional Review
De Novo institutions require a full institutional
review as do institutions that have never gone through the
process in New Brunswick. Similarly, institutional reviews
may be recommended either as a result of a recommendation
from experts during the program assessment or as a result
of other concerns that may be raised with respect to an institution
operating in this jurisdiction.
The full cost associated with an institutional
review is the responsibility of the applicant. Once an estimate
is provided by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission,
and the applicant confirms acceptance of this cost in writing,
then the first installment will be requested by the Post-Secondary
Affairs Branch before the Maritime Provinces Higher Education
Commission conducts the review. The second installment is
due after the assessment is completed but before the Commission
provides its advice to the Minister. Payments are received
by the Post-Secondary Affairs Branch in the form of a certified
cheque payable to the New Brunswick Minister of Finance.
After meeting with the Maritime Provinces Higher Education
Commission to understand exactly what is involved, an applicant
must submit a self-study that has been prepared according
to the Information Requirements for Institutional Assessments
– submitted under the New Brunswick Degree Granting Act. The
Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission will establish
a Panel of external reviewers to conduct an independent assessment
of the self-study (to include a site visit) and submit a report.
The applicant will be able to respond to the Panel’s report.
Once the assessment of the institution
has been completed, the Maritime Provinces Higher Education
Commission will formulate its advice to the Minister of Post-Secondary
Education, Training and Labour. Together with its advice,
the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission will forward
the following documentation to the Department of Post-Secondary
Education, Training and Labour:
- Terms
of reference for the experts;
- The
experts’ reports;
- The
applicant’s response to the experts’ reports;
- Any
changes made to the proposal by the applicant upon completion
of the process;
- Any
other document the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission
deems necessary for the New Brunswick Minister of Post-Secondary
Education, Training and Labour to make a decision.
The Commission’s advice is confidential until the Minister notifies
the applicant of the final decision and simultaneously advises
the Commission that the Minister's decision has been communicated
to the applicant.
The Post-Secondary Affairs Branch will write to the applicant
indicating that the institutional review is complete and will
specify the amount of the second installment payment to be made.
The second installment will be such that the total of the two
payments required will never exceed the cost estimate initially
provided to and accepted by the applicant.
This step ends upon receipt of the second payment.
Program Review
If an institution has successfully completed an institutional
review, the program proposal will be forwarded to the Maritime
Provinces Higher Education Commission, which will produce
a cost estimate to carry out the assessment. The Post-Secondary
Affairs Branch will notify the applicant in writing of the
cost of the program review and the amount of the first instalment
payment required. Before the program proposal review can proceed,
the applicant must confirm acceptance of the cost and remit
the first instalment to the Post-Secondary Affairs Branch
in the form of a certified cheque payable to the New Brunswick
Minister of Finance.
Once the applicant has made the first instalment
payment, the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission
will assess the program proposal as per the conditions for
reviewing program proposals submitted under the New Brunswick
Degree Granting Act. The Academic Advisory Committee, a joint
committee of the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission
and the Association of Atlantic Universities, is charged with
overseeing the assessment of programs submitted for designation.
It will select at least three experts in the chosen field
of study, and those experts will conduct an independent review
of the program proposal and submit a report. The applicant
will be able to respond to the experts’ report.
Once the assessment of the program proposal
has been completed, the Maritime Provinces Higher Education
Commission will make a recommendation to the Minister of Post-Secondary
Education, Training and Labour. Its recommendation may take
one of the following forms:
(1) the proposed program, if effectively delivered,
appears to correspond with the standards usually associated
with the proposed credential ; or
(2) the proposed program does not appear to correspond with
the standards usually associated with the proposed credential.
(3) In exceptional cases the MPHEC may recommend approval
of a programme proposal to the Minister on the condition that
minor changes are made to the proposal.
The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission’s recommendation
is kept confidential until the Minister notifies the applicant
of the final designation decision and simultaneously advises
the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission that the
Minister’s decision has been communicated to the applicant.
Together with its recommendation, the Maritime
Provinces Higher Education Commission will forward the following
documentation to the Department of Post-Secondary Education,
Training and Labour:
1.Terms of reference for the experts;
2.The experts’ reports;
3.The applicant’s response to the experts’ reports;
4.Any changes made to the proposal by the applicant upon completion
of the process;
5. Any other document the Maritime Provinces Higher Education
Commission deems necessary for the New
Brunswick Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and
Labour to make a decision. The Post-Secondary Affairs Branch
will write to the applicant indicating that the program audit
is complete and will specify the amount of the second instalment
payment to be made. The second instalment will be such that
the total of the two payments required will never exceed the
audit cost estimate initially provided to and accepted by
the applicant.
This step ends upon receipt of the second payment.
2.4 Designation
The Post-Secondary Affairs Branch will conduct a final review
of all documentation supporting the designation application
and make a recommendation to the Minister of Post-Secondary
Education, Training and Labour.
If the Minister of Post-Secondary Education,
Training and Labour is of the opinion that the applicant has
met all of the applicable requirements, the Minister will
recommend designation to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
The applicant will be informed of the
government’s official decision in a letter from the Minister
of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour. If the decision
is favourable, the letter will be accompanied by a designation
certificate signed by the Minister of Post-Secondary Education,
Training and Labour.
3.
Applications under review
4. Designated
Institutions
University
of Fredericton
Master of Business Administration
(MBA)
Executive Master of Business
Administration (EMBA)
Lansbridge University
Bachelor of Business Administration
(BBA)
Master of Business Administration
(MBA)
Executive Master of Business
Administration (EMBA)
Yorkville University
Master of Arts in Counselling
Psychology(MACP)
Meritus University
Master of Business Administration
(MBA)
Bachelor of Business Administration
(BBA)
Bachelor
of Information Technology Management (BITM)
5.
Responsibilities of Designated Institutions
Designated
institutions must comply at all times with the requirements
established under the Act, the Regulation and applicable policies
of the Government of New Brunswick.
Designated institutions are also expected to
maintain regular contact with the Post-Secondary Affairs Branch
of the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and
Labour and to forward for the Department’s analysis and approval
any changes made to the program after its designation.
Within 60 days of the end of their fiscal
year, institutions are required to submit to the Post-Secondary
Affairs Branch an annual report containing the following:
- A
complete, independently audited financial statement;
- A
summary of operations during the past year;
- A complete description of any changes made
to the program, including those already submitted to the
Post-Secondary Affairs Branch;
- A brief description of plans for the following
year, with particular emphasis on challenges to be met.
Institutions seeking designation, undergoing
their five year review or any other kind of evaluation, will
be asked to provide evidence that sufficient measures are
in place to protect students and their records. Institutions
applying through this process should contact the Post–Secondary
Affairs Branch and Business New Brunswick for details.
6.
Five-year Reassessment
Designated institutions will be required
to submit their programs for reassessment in the fifth year
following designation. The primary focus of the reassessment
is concerned with the institution’s performance, its efficiency,
and its compliance with the requirements in force since designation.
More specifically, this assessment is conducted in accordance
with the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission’s guidelines
for program reviews and the applicant is asked to contact them
for details.
7. Frequently
Asked Questions
7.1
Degree Granting
7.2 Designation
7.3 Accountability and Infractions
7.4 Studies and Students
7.1
Degree Granting
7.1 a) Can private businesses
offer university degrees in New Brunswick?
Yes. The Degree
Granting Act permits private businesses to offer university
degrees, but only when they have been officially designated
under the Act to offer the degree(s)
7.1 b)
Do degree-granting private institutions receive funding in the
same fashion as public universities?
No. Private degree-granting institutions
do not have access to the university funding envelope managed
by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission. However,
private degree-granting institutions, like any other business
in New Brunswick, may be eligible for funding through business
development assistance programs.
7.1 c)
Can degree-granting institutions also offer non-degree programs?
Yes. Only the programs leading to a degree
are subject to the Degree Granting Act. Under the Act, a degree
includes associate, bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees.
However, a non-degree program, whether offered by the applicant
or by a third party through an agreement with the applicant,
that is articulated with a degree or offered as a component
of, a program of qualifying study for, or a corollary to a degree
may be subject to the Act if it allows students to earn credits
towards a degree. The offer of non-degree post-secondary programs
may be subject to the Private
Occupational Training Act, administered by the Department
of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour.
7.1 d)
Can an institution designated by New Brunswick under the Degree
Granting Act operate from outside New Brunswick?
No. In order to offer a New Brunswick degree,
the institution must operate in the province. While this does
not mean that it cannot offer courses in classrooms elsewhere
or that students cannot register and take distance courses from
outside New Brunswick, the institution’s headquarters, administration,
and operations must be located in New Brunswick. In addition,
locations where teaching is provided outside New Brunswick,
including those abroad, may be subject to inspection from the
New Brunswick Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training
and Labour and must always meet the requirements imposed on
the applicant by New Brunswick. Some private institutions operating
outside of New Brunswick do offer university programs to New
Brunswick residents, but the Government of New Brunswick does
not certify the quality of those programs. It should be noted
that some provinces in Canada and certain countries require
some form of permission for the delivery in classrooms within
their jurisdictions of programs sanctioned by another authority.
In such cases, the applicant is responsible for ensuring compliance
with all applicable laws and policies at all times.
7.1 e)
Do designated institutions have to be incorporated in New Brunswick?
No. However, institutions must furnish
evidence on the designation application form that they are either
duly incorporated in New Brunswick or that they are duly incorporated
elsewhere and are registered in New Brunswick as an extra-provincial
corporation.
7.2 Designation
7.2 a) Who covers the cost
of producing the business plan and assessing the institutional
and/or program proposal(s)?
The applicant is fully responsible for
producing the business plan, institutional and program proposals.
The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission will recover
the full cost of the reviews, including the recruiting and retention
of experts, inspection of premises, the production of reports,
staff and administrative fees. The Maritime Provinces Higher
Education Commission will recover these costs through the Department
of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, which in turn
will invoice the applicant. The applicant’s acceptance of the
institutional and/or program proposal review costs and payment
in full is a mandatory requirement of the designation process.
7.2 b)
What is the cost of an institutional or program review?
The cost of an institutional or program
review may vary considerably depending on the complexity of
the institution and/or field of study. However, applicants should
be aware that it is expensive to have a proper review done.
Such assessments can run from $30,000 to $80,000 per review.
Applicants should evaluate the real cost of the requested designation
before submitting an official request.
7.2 c)
Does the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission assesses’
institutions and program proposals?
Any body the Minister may approve can conduct
these reviews however, currently, the Maritime Provinces Higher
Education Commission, as a recognized and independent quality
assurance body, provides these services.
7.2 d)
Is the designation process long? What is a reasonable timeframe
for designation?
There is no established timeline, as each
designation process may vary in length depending on the field
of study, the complexity of the program proposal, and the quality
of the proposal. Also, the production of the business plan and
the program proposal depend entirely on the applicant’s timeline.
In cases where the business plan and program proposal satisfy
all requirements, and there are no scheduling conflicts for
the decision makers or signatories, the following timelines
could be expected: Step 1: Launching of process +/- 1 month
Step 2: Business plan +/- 1 month Step 3: Program proposal 6
to 8 months Step 4: Designation +/- 1 month. To date, no designation
process has been completed in less than 12 months. An institutional
review may add upwards of eight months to the process.
7.2 e)
Is a designation permanent?
No. Designated degree-granting institutions
must submit to a reassessment of the academic program every
five years and be re-designated every ten years.
7.2 f)
Can the same applicant submit several designation applications
simultaneously?
Yes. The Post-Secondary Affairs Branch
and the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission can process
several applications simultaneously. However, in the event the
applicant does not already offer a degree, an initial designation
will be made and the others may be held back until the institution
has demonstrated its ability to deliver the first designated
program effectively. This demonstration will take place over
the course of a few months, during which time the institution
will establish its administration, admit its first students,
hire its first instructors, deliver a significant part of the
program, and undergo a complete inspection. In the meantime,
the other designation applications may proceed normally as far
as the ministerial recommendation stage. Once the institution
has satisfactorily demonstrated that it has effectively delivered
the first designated program, the other designations may be
recommended to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
7.3 Accountability and Infractions
7.3 a) Can the Government of
New Brunswick inspect or audit degree-granting institutions?
Yes. The Degree Granting Act authorizes
the Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour
to appoint inspectors who may enter the premises of an educational
institution or any other premises where they have reason to
believe there might be relevant information to conduct an inspection,
examine the records, financial records, bank accounts, vouchers,
correspondence, or other documents of an educational institution,
remove any such documents and make a copy or extract of them
in order to determine compliance with the Act and Regulations.
No one may obstruct or interfere with an inspector in the performance
of his or her duties or withhold, destroy, conceal, or refuse
to provide documents required for inspection.
7.3
b) Are there penalties for institutions that offer degrees
without designation or that do not respect an existing designation?
Yes. There are four types of penalties:
a) Revocation of designation for any institution that no longer
meets or is unwilling to meet the requirements for designation,
or fails or refuses to comply with any term or condition attached
to the designation; b) sanction under Part II of the
Provincial Offences Procedure Act as a category E offence
for an institution that violates or fails to comply with any
provision of the Act; c) sanction under Part II of the Provincial
Offences Procedure Act as a category B offence for an institution
or one of its managers, employees, or representatives that violates
the General Regulation, and d) injunction by the Court of Queen’s
Bench prohibiting the continuation of the infraction.
7.3 c)
Can a designation be revoked?
Yes. Article 8 of the General Regulation
under the Degree Granting Act stipulates that the Lieutenant-Governor
in Council may revoke the designation of an institution that
no longer meets or is unwilling to meet the requirements for
designation, fails or refuses to undergo a program assessment
audit, or fails or refuses to comply with any term or condition
attached to the designation.
7.3 d)
Can a revoked designation be reinstated?
Yes. A revoked designation may be reinstated
if at least one year has elapsed since the revocation and if
the applicant submits to a new, complete assessment of the program.
7.4 Studies and Students
7.4 a) If I attend a designated
institution, are my tuition fees protected by the Training Completion
Fund?
No. The Training Completion Fund created
under the Private
Occupational Training Act does not include degree-granting
institutions. It is recommended that students find out about
the institution’s tuition fee refund policy before enrolling.
7.4 b)
Can I receive student financial aid to attend a degree-granting
institution?
Yes. However, a degree-granting designation
does not imply that an institution is designated for student
financial aid. In addition, the New Brunswick Student Financial
Assistance program is designed solely for residents of New Brunswick.
If you are not a resident of New Brunswick, consult the financial
assistance service in your home province or country. If you
believe you will require financial assistance to cover the cost
of your studies, it is recommended that you verify both your
eligibility for such assistance and the institution’s designation
for student financial aid before enrolling in any educational
program. You may obtain information about financial assistance
for New Brunswick students by contacting Student
Financial Services of the New Brunswick Department of Post-Secondary
Education, Training and Labour.
7.4 c)
Student advisory
Degree
recognition and credit transfers are matters for individual
institutions and associations to determine and as with any post-secondary
education or training, it is the prospective students who are
responsible for satisfying for themselves that the program,
the degree and the institution will be appropriate to their
needs, be acceptable to potential employers, professional licensing
bodies and other post secondary educational institutions.
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