STEPHENVILLE, NL – The Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE) has once again given the nod to College of the North Atlantic (CNA) and five of its co-operative education programs.
For the next six years, ending December 2023, the following co-op programs received national re-accreditation: Mechanical Engineering (Manufacturing) Technology, Industrial Engineering Technology, Geomatics Engineering Technology, Computing System Engineering Technology, and Programmer Analyst (Business).
In its formal advisory letter to CNA, the CAFCE Accreditation Council chair thanked the college for its “ongoing leadership in Canadian co-operative education and adherence to the CAFCE criteria and standards of quality.”
Muriel Klemetski stated that the review team was impressed with CNA’s “concise and well organized application,” and gave credit to CNA for its response time and thoroughness for any additional information the review team required. She went on to say that CNA’s commitment from an executive level to the co-op programming itself, as well as the accreditation process, was welcomed, and provided insights on its strategic and institutional context for these programs.
Elizabeth Chaulk, CNA’s Associate Vice-President of Student Services (which oversees co-op programming), says the feedback from CAFCE is a reflection of the ongoing hard work and commitment of all stakeholders that is essential in the process, and helped achieve these positive results.
“Receiving re-accreditation is testimony to CNA’s solid programming, great facilities, and in particular, we applaud the college, students and employers for ensuring our students gain meaningful work-term experiences. At CNA, we not only need to ensure quality, leadership and confidence in what we offer to our students, but also to the employers who support our co-op programs.”
The Dean of Engineering Technology & Natural Resources, Brent Howell, couldn’t be any happier with the news from CAFCE.
“The fact that a number of our programs have once again been accredited by CAFCE sends a strong message to current and prospective students, as well as industry stakeholders, that we have met and/or exceeded specified standards established by independent stakeholders. This accreditation also provides us with an opportunity to engage with colleagues across Canada regarding best practices, future opportunities, as well as ongoing program improvements and quality assurance,” Howell said.
Stephen Warren, Dean of CNA’s School of Business & Information Technology (IT), says this distinction is indicative of the continued diligence CNA upholds when it comes to its programs.
“The CAFCE accreditation is the gold standard for post-secondary Co-operative Education recognition in Canada. The School of Business & Information Technology is honoured to receive this distinction for the Programmer Analyst (Business) program. This accreditation is a direct output of the hard work and student-centred focus of both our faculty and industry stakeholders.”
CNA will continue to have a representative on CAFCE’s Accreditation Council and its review committees to actively participate in the review of new accreditation applications from other post-secondary institutions.
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Media contact:
Michelle Jesso
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
michelle.jesso@cna.nl.ca
(709) 643-7721