Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada

The Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada is a voluntary group of 96 public and non-profit private higher education providers in Canada. The organization was founded back in 1911 with a firm long-term mission of becoming the common voice for Canadian universities and promoting high-quality education standards. In 2015 the organization switch name to become known as Universities Canada, but its goals and values upon which was initially built remained the same.

What Does Universities Canada?

First of all, Universities Canada or the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada is not an accreditation body. However, each university willing to become a member of the organization have to meet some criteria.

On a major scale, the role of Universities Canada include the followings:

• Maintaining strong academic standards among university members
• Improve and facilitate cooperation among university members
• Promote Canada as an attractive study destination in the international market
• Last but not least important, impose its authority to address issues of common interests in front of political agenda.

At the very bottom and in very simple terms, Universities Canada is an organization of universities for universities. Its most profound role is to make sure its members meet common higher education standards. The main goal underlying this role is to ensure Canadian universities have the experience, capacity and commitment to produce excellent candidates who are going to take on challenges that face Canada and the globe. In line with this, member universities of Universities Canada undergo specific revisions every five years in order for their compliance with education standards to be evaluated.

An important part of the agenda of Universities     Canada is to maintain strong academic cooperation between university members with the intention of facilitating academic exchanges and administrative policies. Upon this approach, Universities Canada aims to identify areas of common interests where improvement is needed. This includes not only the academic part but also the administrative aspect.

Universities Canada is also strongly committed toward strengthening Canada’s position in the global education market. In strong, close and continual cooperation with governmental authorities, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada has clearly run a successful international education strategy. Their hard work is massively to blame that Canada today ranks among the five most popular study destinations in the world regarding student enrollment statistics.

In addition to that Universities Canada are not also willing to convince international students to come to Canada but are also determined to guarantee them an unforgettable study experience. Usually, international students tend to feel intimidated and quite insecure about it expects them in an unknown environment abroad. Universities Canada offers a wide range of services to help international students accommodate their personal or academic needs and ease this transition.

Universities Canada also aims to be a unified front and a common voice for Canadian universities when it comes to national politics. They play a massive advocate role in order for universities to have a significant amount of access and be an active participant in decision-making processes concerning reforms in the whole national education system.

Except for this, Universities Canada it makes sure to promote and increase awareness over the massive contribution universities bring to the country. This is done so they can attract more education funds be it from governmental parties or organizations of private sector to spend on different research programs, international programs student assistance services and other capital projects.

Priorities of Universities Canada

As like any other big organization with clear and long-term vision, Universities Canada has set out its priorities which stand at the core of their mission and reflect values and principles upon which the whole organization is built. Given below are priorities of Universities Canada

• Copyright and fair dealing
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Study Abroad
• Research and Innovation
• Indigenous Education
• Co-ops and Internships

Universities Canada Scholarships

Universities Canada manages with distribution of state-funded programs and scholarships and more than 120 scholarships funded from the private sector. Students searching for information related to opportunities for earning scholarships can easily reach the organization and get to know what options there are. The organization has a whole professional team which is ready to guide all students with requirements and procedure needed to apply for one.

Listed below are some scholarship schemes administered from Universities Canada:

Tanaka Fund

Tanaka Fund was created in 1974 to encourage Japan students study abroad in Canada and vice versa. Since 1975 this funding program is administered by Universities Canada. Annual value funded for this scheme changes year to year. In 2019, a total of $30,000 will be awarded and the value of each grant can be as high as $10,000. Master and Doctoral students are eligible to apply for this type of scholarship.

Scholarship Partners Canada

Scholarship Partners Canada is considered as a leading organization in scholarship management. They help other institutions on developing and administrating scholarship schemes. Around $12 million are distributed each year from Scholarship Partners Canada to around 5,000 students.

Innovative designs for accessibility IDeA competition

IDeA is a competitive scholarships which encourages ambitious young innovators to develop innovative solutions which would provide higher access to disabled persons. Every postgraduate student enrolled in a degree-granting university is eligible to apply to IDeA competition. Candidates who finish in first three position earn a certain amount of money. The winner earns $5,000, the second place gets $1,500 and the third $1,000.

Queen Elizabeth Scholars

Queen Elizabeth Scholars is a huge scholarship program which operates in 59 countries. It aims to offer students a unique international studying experience and help engage in collaborative initiatives. The program has so far attracted more than $80 million to fund scholarship schemes. Currently there are 44 Canadian students involved in the program of Queen Elizabeth Scholars.

North-South research

North-South is a research program to enhance students’ mobility and change their perspective. In the period of time between 2005 and 2014 around 1,500 Canadian students had the opportunity to attend some internship programs from three to six months.

ERA-Can+ Project

ERA-Can+ Project was created to strengthen the cooperation and dialogue of Canadian universities with their counterparts in the European Union. Among activities Universities Canada participate are information sessions during which Canadian researchers and scientists are informed over options to participating the biggest EU’s research program Horizon 2020.

Universities Canada Fees

At Canadian universities there is a wide range of tuition fees applied. In the table below are shown the range of tuition fees member universities of Universities Canada apply to their local and international students.