Institutional Audit

DC successfully completed the 2022-2023 Ontario College Quality Assurance Service (OCQAS) College Quality Assurance Audit Process (CQAAP), receiving an exemplary report and being awarded a “mature” status, the highest possible rating. The college fully met all six standards as well as 30 of the 32 requirements; the two remaining requirements were deemed to be partially met.

As part of the audit process, the college reflects on their quality assurance mechanisms and submits a self-study, identifying areas of improvement in the spirit of continuous improvement. As a result of this, DC identified seven areas of improvement in addition to three recommendations by the CQAAP auditors. In early 2025, the college will submit a progress report outlining the work completed in meeting these goals.

The report commended the college for the dedication faculty have to their practice and their students, the value it places on the authentic evaluation of faculty, the level of inclusion and engagement of our PACs and Board of Governors, and “the overall culture of the organization which came across as very positive, collaborative, and aligned with best practices of quality assurance processes.” The report identified these elements as highly regarded and considered best practices across the province.

ABOUT CQAAP

CQAAP is a provincially-mandated external review of the QA processes and mechanisms that DC has in place to ensure high quality academic programming. DC recognizes the value of CQAAP to support our commitment to transparency and accountability in all aspects of our operations and business. Each of Ontario’s 24 colleges of applied arts and technology participate in CQAAP every six years.

The CQAAP standards provide the framework for Ontario colleges in assessing how our QA mechanisms meet established standards. The audit’s purpose is developmental and its intent is to ensure continual improvement.

The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) leads DC’s CQAAP efforts. Members of the CTL team work with Faculties and departments to create the self-study package that includes descriptions of how QA is embedded in and across our programs and services. This is reinforced with a two-day site visit where a panel of auditors meet with DC representatives from all areas of the college including students, administration, support staff, frontline support, faculty, governors and Program Advisory Committee members. The final audit report, approved by the Ontario College Quality Assurance Service (OCQAS) Board, is shared publicly on the OCQAS website.