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The postsecondary education system in Manitoba is described in WSE's Postsecondary Education Systems in Canada: Provinces and Territories. The system can be divided into six categories of postsecondary program delivery:
Legislation
Manitoba's five public degree-granting universities (Brandon University, Université de Saint-Boniface, University College of the North, University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg) are established under Manitoba statutory law. The authority of each institution to govern itself through the operations of a board of governors, regents or governing council and a senate or learning council as outlined in these statutes, their regulations, and bylaws. Manitoba universities have exclusive authority to set standards of admission and graduation, establish academic standards and policies, and independently appoint staff. The statutes establishing individual institutions do not contain explicit reference to mechanisms for or accountabilities pertaining to quality assurance of educational programming. Program quality responsibilities are implied through the powers and duties assigned to institutions' internal governing bodies.
The Advanced Education Administration Act is the primary statute governing postsecondary education in Manitoba and assigns to the minister responsible for administration of the Act and the responsibility for planning and coordinating the development of the province's postsecondary system. The Act prohibits the Minister of Education and Training from interfering with the basic right of a university to formulate academic policies or standards and to set standards of admission or graduation. The Act also guarantees universities independence in the appointment of staff. Under the Act, the Minister is responsible for assessing the province's educational needs, approving new programs, determining priorities and allocating funding. The Department of Education and Training consults extensively with Manitoba's postsecondary institutions and develops consistent and effective criteria for measuring university performance.
The Act provides the Minister with the authority to, among other things, review and evaluate postsecondary programs. Provision for a Program Approval Regulation under the Act is intended to establish a clear process for the administration of this responsibility.
The Degree Granting Act, enacted in December, 2006, restricts who may grant degrees to those institutions who have legislated authority to do so or are listed in the Act as having such authority.
The Université de Saint-Boniface (USB) maintains an affiliation agreement with the University of Manitoba (UM) that facilitates transfer between the institutions, as well as providing a governance framework for their many joint programs.
Manitoba takes multiple approaches to ensure the quality of university programs in the province. Those approaches include universities' internal review process, external reviews and the government's approval process of new programs. Each new program is subject to the approval of the university's senate, which evaluates the design, content, delivery, faculty capacity, and resources of any new program that the university will introduce. External reviews of a newly proposed program are conducted by other post-secondary institutions, industry experts, and/or the regulator or accreditation body in the field, as appropriate.
Many of Canada's regulated professions have associations that conduct accreditation reviews of university programs pertaining to their professions. In these instances, accreditation teams from the professions review reports provided by the universities and may conduct on-site visits in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the professions. The Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada(AAAC) is a national organization composed of professional associations involved in promoting good practices by its members in the accreditation of professional programs.
Most public universities in Manitoba are members of the Universities Canada. Although the association does not perform formal quality assurance functions, it does maintain membership criteria which members must demonstrate adherence to/compliance with as part of their continuing membership.
Manitoba has four private religious/denominational institutions, all with degree-granting authority. The Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) was established under The Mennonite College Federation Act. Like other Manitoba universities, the Canadian Mennonite University is governed by a board of governors and a senate, the senate being responsible for the academic policies of the university. CMU is also a member of Universities Canada. Providence University College was established under the The Providence College and Theological Seminary Incorporation Act and is governed by a board of directors. Steinbach Bible College is authorized under letters patent to operate as a college and seminary and is listed under the The Degree Granting Act as having the authority to grant degrees. Booth University College was established under The Salvation Army William and Catherine Booth University College Incorporation Act and is governed by a board of trustees. The college was given degree-granting powers by the Legislature of Manitoba in 1983.
The Department of Education and Trainingprovides operating funding to private religious/denominational institutions. As part of the conditions of the funding, private religious institutions are required to provide Government with a report on the activities supported by the funding, as well as an annual report, inclusive of audited financial statements.
The Colleges Actand The Red River College Act establishes Assiniboine Community College and Red River College as Manitoba's two public colleges. These institutions are responsible for “enhancing the economic and social well-being of the province through the provision of a broad range of educational opportunities.” The colleges are able to provide certificate, diploma and degree level programming.
The Minister of Education and Training may designate college mandates; establish guidelines for education and training, including program evaluation guidelines; appoint persons or committees to review and evaluate college programs; and appoint persons to inspect any matter related to the management and operation of a college.
The colleges are required to submit annual reports that must include audited financial statements, annual academic reports, and any other information that the minister requests. The minister must in turn table these reports in the provincial legislature.
The Advanced Education Administration Act sets out the responsibilities for planning and coordinating the development of the province's postsecondary system. The Act prohibits the minister from interfering with the basic right of a college to formulate academic policies or standards, set standards of admission or graduation, or its independence in the appointment of staff. However, the minister is responsible for assessing the province's educational needs, approving new programs, determining priorities, and allocating funding. The Department of Education and Training consults extensively with Manitoba's postsecondary institutions and develops consistent and effective criteria for measuring college performance.
Manitoba's colleges have no formal affiliations with universities or other colleges, however they regularly enter into partnerships such as Memorandums of Understanding regarding programming, student transitions and other system-level priorities.
New college programs that will be supported with public funding go through a similarly rigorous quality assurance procedure as university programs do in Manitoba. The quality of those college programs is assured through internal reviews, external reviews and the government's approval process. Each new program is subject to the internal program approval process at the college. The College's board is responsible for ensuring the quality of their college programs by regularly reviewing them. External reviews of a newly proposed program are usually conducted by other post-secondary institutions, industry experts, and/or the regulator or accreditation body in the field, as appropriate.
Many of Canada's regulated professions have associations that conduct accreditation reviews of college programs pertaining to their professions. In these instances, accreditation teams from the professions review reports provided by the colleges and may conduct on-site visits in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the professions.
The Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada (AAAC) is a national organization composed of professional associations involved in promoting good practices by its members in the accreditation of professional programs.
Membership in the Colleges and Institutes Canada is not mandatory for Manitoba's colleges. Colleges and Institutes Canada does not perform formal quality assurance functions, but it does promote quality programming and the use of high academic standards by conducting research and facilitating broad discussion on quality assurance issues.
Apprenticeship training in Manitoba combines on-the-job workplace training and technical instruction. The Apprenticeship and Certification Act establishes the Apprenticeship and Certification Board and the Minister of Jobs and the Economy as the co-authorities for training and certification in the designated skilled trades training in Manitoba. Under the Act, the Board is appointed by and accountable to the minister. The board develops objectives, standards, and requirements for apprenticeship and certification in designated trades and — with the approval of the minister — makes regulations respecting trades and apprenticeship. The board appoints trade-specific Provincial Advisory Committees (PACs) to provide advice on regulation content and training standards in each designated trade.
Apprenticeship Manitoba, a branch of Manitoba Jobs and the Economy, is responsible for providing overall policy and regulatory coordination for the skilled trades in addition to delivering certification examinations and for issuing Certificates of Qualifications. A Certificate of Qualification is recognized by employers as being a valuable work credential. Nine of Manitoba's designated trades are compulsory trades, meaning that only persons who hold a Certificate of Qualification or are registered apprentices may work in the trade.
The National Occupational Analysis (NOA) is a document produced by the Red Seal Secretariat operating under the direction of the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship and Employment and Social Development Canada. It is used to set the national program standards for a trade, outlining the tasks of a trade for regulatory purposes, and develop item banks for interprovincial certification examinations.
Manitoba is a member jurisdiction of the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program. Apprenticeship Manitoba participates in the development of examination and standards products used by all jurisdictions in the pan-Canadian program. Apprenticeship Manitoba also facilitates the development of occupational analyses for trades that are not interprovincially recognized.
The program standards (technical training) for each trade are developed by a Provincial Advisory Committee (PAC) comprised of representatives from industry, or by an industry working group working for or with the PAC. College instructors may provide input into the development of program standards at the request of the PAC. Apprenticeship Manitoba staff facilitate the curriculum development process. The Apprenticeship and Certification Board approves curriculum content and certification standards for each trade or occupation, based on PAC recommendations.
Technical training is delivered primarily by Manitoba's colleges. Apprenticeship Manitoba, which is responsible for ensuring the quality of course content and instruction on industry's behalf, monitors the quality of training delivery. Each training provider also plays a role in ensuring the quality of its services.
A review of program content takes place approximately every three to five years. Overall apprentice success on the final certification examination is reviewed on an ongoing basis. Pan-Canadian reviews of examination results are conducted on an as-needed basis.
The Private Vocational Institutions Act sets out requirements for the operation of registered private vocational institutions in Manitoba. The purpose of the Act is to register the province's private career colleges, provide a degree of consumer protection to students enrolled in registered programs offered by these institutions, and ensure that institutions provide the skills and knowledge required for entry-level employment in the vocation for which instruction or training is offered. A private vocational institution may operate in the province only if it is registered with the Department of Education and Training and if the Director of Private Vocational Institutions is satisfied that the school can reasonably be expected to be financially responsible in its operations, will provide appropriate vocational training to students, and meets the requirements of the Act and regulations. The department may inspect any vocational institution at any time to observe methods of instruction and inspect materials used in the programs of study delivered by the institution and may cancel certificates of registration if the director is not satisfied that the institution is sufficiently providing said skills and knowledge in the vocation or if the school breaches the terms of its registration.
While use of the terms “university” and “varsity” (and their French equivalents) is protected under the The Degree Granting Act in Manitoba, private vocational institutions may call themselves “colleges,” as there is no restriction on the use of this term.
These institutions can grant diplomas or certificates but may not grant degrees. In the Private Vocational Institutions Regulation (the regulations made under The Private Vocational Institutions Act), the director may prescribe the amount and type of financial security schools must provide, the schools' contributions to the Training Completion Fund, the manner in which tuition refunds must be calculated, and the requirements of enrollment contracts. It also prescribes the registration requirements for private vocational institutions, the various fees payable by schools and by students to schools, renewal and cancellation requirements of private vocational institutions registration, and forms that private vocational institutions may use. There are also requirements for employer or industry attestations during the program registration process, applicant references, and declarations of instructor qualifications.
Students who attend training programs that are registered by the director may be eligible to apply for student financial assistanceprovided that the programs are also designated for the purposes of the Canada and Manitoba student loan program. Institutions may deliver non-registered courses and programs, but students in these programs are not eligible to apply for student aid and are not protected by the Training Completion Fund, an insurance fund that is maintained by the director and funded by student contributions collected by the institutions.
All applications for private vocational institution registration must be reviewed and approved by the Director of the Private Vocational Institutions Unit, which is housed in the Department of Education and Training. While this is not mandatory or obligatory, the director may request that a program submission be reviewed by an Industry Relations Committee composed of representatives from the local industry and other industry and education system stakeholders who will examine entrance requirements, the job market, employer attestations, and projected employment data, as well as instructional materials, facilities, equipment, and data on capacity to deliver training, prior to registering new programs.
Information on private vocational institutions' internal review processes may be available from individual schools.
International College of Manitoba (ICM)
In September 2008, ICM, a private institution, was established in Manitoba as a pathway for first-year undergraduate international students seeking eventual admission to degree studies at the University of Manitoba (UM). Legally, the nature of ICM's partnership with UM is contractual and is subject to ongoing renewal between the two partners. As the partnership exists by virtue of private contract, ICM is not directly governed by nor subject to statutory provisions under the laws of Manitoba.
ICM's parent company, Navitas, is listed as a publicly traded company on the Sydney Stock Exchange (ASX) and is therefore subject to securities and other trading laws and regulations in Australia.
ICM provides only first- and second-year undergraduate courses exclusively to international students who intend to seek admission to the University of Manitoba (UM) after completing the required courses. The University of Manitoba and ICM work collaboratively to ensure that students who complete ICM courses are able to transition those credits to the University of Manitoba towards their programming.
ICM graduate transcripts and courses are reviewed by admissions officers at UM, in keeping with standing admissions processes at UM.
The Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology (formerly Winnipeg Technical College) was originally established in 1983 as the South Winnipeg Technical Centre, a “regional vocational school” in partnership between three school divisions, pursuant to section 49(1) of the Public Schools Act. MITT succeeded WTC on July 1, 2014, (established under The Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology Act) and now stands as a recognized provincial institute with a mandate to provide both secondary and postsecondary technical career education. MITT has the authority in legislation to offer an approved high-school program of study as well as postsecondary certificates and diplomas. MITT provides a variety of adult postsecondary programs, including joint programs with public postsecondary institutions, at the certificate and diploma levels.
MITT programming for secondary students is subject to funding and approval by the Manitoba Department of Education and Training. The department must review and approve any courses in which secondary students enrol at MITT, in order to complete their high school in Manitoba. This is in keeping with established procedures for fulfillment of provincial secondary-school graduation requirements.
In terms of its internal quality-assurance processes for postsecondary programming, all programs are subject to MITT's internal academic regulations and procedures, as well as industry/professional regulators where appropriate.
The following statutes are referenced as Chapters or Regulations of the Continuing Consolidation of Statutes of Manitoba (C.C.S.M.):
Provincial legislation can be accessed through the Internet.
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