The Government of Saskatchewan has released the final report of its consultations on the expansion of degree-granting status in the province. HESA President Alex Usher led the consultations and authored the final report.
The report includes three common themes:
- that there is widespread misunderstanding of what degree-granting expansion may entail;
- there is substantial concern about duplication of services, especially in more expensive programs; and
- that there is widespread support for, and trust in the province’s two universities.
It concludes with the following recommendations:
- A quality assurance board should be established for reviewing new degree programs at institutions other than the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan.
- Institutions other than the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan should be able to offer degree programs if approved by the quality assurance board.
- The University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina should not need approval for new degree programs, but would benefit from a periodic quality audit system.
- A competitive process should be developed to determine which public institutions should offer new degree programs in areas of emerging professional practice.
Read a copy of the report here. For more information not the consultation process, click here. Alex’s reflections on the consultation process can be found in HESA’s One Thought to Start Your Day blog.
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