The Commission’s mandate is to evaluate the Institutional Policy on the Evaluation of Student Achievement (IPESAs) and the Institutional Policy on Program Evaluation (IPPEs) in all Québec colleges, and their application. According to the evaluation process selected, the Commission assesses each policy and sends its report to the establishment and to the Minister responsible for Higher Education. It produces a summary report where it deems appropriate (1995, 1996).
Student learning
All institutions governed by the College Education Regulations must, after consulting the Academic Council, adopt an Institutional Policy on the Evaluation of Student Achievement (IPESA) and ensure that it is implemented (section 25). The regulations stipulate certain components that must figure in the policy, including the terms and conditions for granting equivalencies, exemptions or course substitutions in students’ programs of studies, the process of certification of studies, and a compulsory comprehensive examination for each program leading to a Diploma of Collegial Studies.
This policy represents the college’s public engagement in assuming and guaranteeing the responsibility of fair and equitable evaluation of student learning. The Commission examines the policy’s content and verifies whether it meets the Regulation’s requirements and the Commission’s evaluation criteria. A policy that meets these requirements and norms is considered fully satisfactory.
Programs of study
The institutions are also required to adopt, after consulting their Academic Council, an Institutional Policy on Program Evaluation and to ensure that it is properly applied (section 24).
This policy is the mechanism intended to ensure the quality of education in colleges. It describes how the college assumes its responsibility in assessing the quality of its programmes and testifying to this quality.