Durham College’s Program Quality Assurance Process Audit rating written in the stars Posted on February 21, 2014 at 9:43 am. College achieves six-star rating; recognized for quality assurance process and procedures Oshawa, Ont. – Durham College announced today the results of its Program Quality Assurance Process Audit (PQAPA) final audit report, which indicate that the college has successfully met all six quality assurance criteria outlined in the report; demonstrating that Durham College is dedicated to its mission – the student experience comes first – through all its quality assurance efforts. Overseen by the Ontario College Quality Assurance Service (OCQAS), PQAPA involves the regular and cyclical review of each college’s program quality assurance processes, focusing on college-wide policies and practices and drilling down on selected programs to verify that practices are implemented; recommendations lead to improvement; and that program quality is assured. “Durham College is dedicated to providing our students with quality programs, expert faculty, a superior learning environment and ensuring our graduates have the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in their careers and further education,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “We are proud to receive this high rating, which is a reflection of our collective quality assurance efforts. We look forward to continuing to deliver high-quality teaching and learning in the years to come.” In addition to the six-star rating the report, which was approved by the OCQAS Management Board on December 17, also saw the college received two formal commendations, the first acknowledging the numerous opportunities for faculty development offered by its Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment (CAFE) and the second recognizing the implementation of the integrated student services model and support services offered in the Student Services building. The commendations will be listed as best practices on the OCQAS website and used as a reference for other colleges in the system. Each external evaluation of a college includes completion of a quality criteria form and self-study report and a two-day site visit. It then ends with a report from the audit review panel documenting the degree to which each college’s processes conform to the criteria and provides recommendations aimed at improving and enhancing processes and procedures to ensure learning comes first. Durham College’s PQAPA site visit took place April 2 to 4, 2013 with members of the review panel speaking with students, and program teams. The auditors also toured the college’s facilities and met with various members of the college community including the Durham College Leadership Team, members of the Durham College Board of Governors and Program Advisory Committees and staff and administrators from many student services departments. -30- About Durham College At Durham College, the student experience comes first. In September 2013, the college welcomed more than 30,000 students to campus including more than 10,000 full-time post-secondary and apprenticeship students as well as part-time and continuing education students and online learners. The college offers a wide range of market-driven programs in a number of different disciplines including culinary, hospitality, tourism, horticulture, business, information technology, media, art, design, general arts, science, skilled trades, justice, emergency services, health and engineering technology, enabling students to develop the skills required to meet the demands of today’s job market. A three-phase expansion of the college’s Whitby campus was recently completed when the 36,000-square-foot Centre for Food opened on the northwest corner of campus. Accommodating approximately 900 additional students studying in culinary, hospitality, tourism, agricultural and horticultural programs, it also features Bistro ’67, a new, 70-seat, full-service, green-certified teaching and learning restaurant and Pantry, a new retail store featuring fresh-baked items, meals-to-go, preserved foods and ready-to-cook meals created by students in the college’s culinary programs. For more information, visit www.durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.2000. Media contact: Cosette Kazarian Communications and Marketing 905.721.2000 ext. 3611 cosette.kazarian@durhamcollege.ca SHARE:
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