Accreditation
What is CEWIL Canada accreditation?
Members of Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning (CEWIL Canada) first established criteria and a process for the accreditation of co-operative education programs (co-op) in 1979. Accreditation standards were developed to establish co-op as an educational strategy and to provide leadership in ensuring quality co-op programming.
Accreditation Council members from across Canada articulate and review accreditation measures as the needs of students, employers and institutions change. In order to qualify for accreditation, Co-op programs must provide documentation demonstrating the following:
- structural criteria
- co-op in the institutional context
- institutional commitment criteria
- quality program delivery criteria
- monitoring and evaluation criteria
Maintaining accreditation criteria helps build quality into existing co-op programs and provides a benchmark for establishing new co-op programs.
Institutions seeking accreditation are eligible to apply once their first co-op class has graduated. A review team, consisting of three (3) members from separate institutions that offer co-operative education, evaluates the application and submits its recommendation to the Accreditation Council for their final approval. Programs maintain their accreditation status for a period of six (6) years.
Mentorship is available for those who are interested in becoming accredited. Please contact the CEWIL office to inquire.
NEW TO ACCREDITATION CRITERIA:
The following was approved at the CEWIL Canada, formerly known as CAFCE, Annual Meeting October 29, 2015:
Whereby the total amount of coop work experience is normally at least 30% of the time spent in academic study, but for programs of two years or less, the total amount may be a minimum of 25%. For programs to meet the 25% requirement, a work term is defined as a minimum 12 weeks and/or 420 hours full-time, paid experience.
*The accreditation fee is $750.00 per application.