Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR)

Objectives

Foster closer collegial relationships and enhance communication among institutions, helping to facilitate learner pathways, student mobility and greater integration with respect to PLAR. At the request of the Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer (ACAT), provide recommendations or specific deliverables related to admissions and transfer, including: 

• Providing a forum for exchanging information and enhancing collaboration and coordination among institutions that use PLAR
• Promoting course and program equivalency through PLAR, where appropriate
• Addressing learner pathways and admissions issues related to secondary to post secondary articulation, where appropriate
• Clarifying differences and similarities among various post-secondary institution PLAR systems and outputs to assist students in planning their studies
• Assisting in development of transfer agreements between institutions practicing PLAR

Membership/Representation

Post-Secondary Institution/Voting Members

An interim Chair or Co-Chairs will be selected/nominated to assist the Articulation Sub-committee in determining the appropriate institutions and organizations to be invited to participate on the committee.  The committee’s official Chair and Vice Chair will be determined by vote at the inaugural meeting.

Institutions that are PLAR stakeholders and/or practitioners are encouraged to send one representative to sit on the committee.  Committee members should be PLAR knowledgeable and be familiar with issues related to learner pathways, student mobility and transfer. Committee members should identify an alternate delegate to act on their behalf when the member is unavailable.

Additional Expert Representation (if applicable)

Other professional, accrediting or representative bodies may also be invited to attend to provide information and/or organizational perspectives.

Government of Alberta (GoA)/Non-Voting Members

It is recommended that an Alberta Education representative attend, where appropriate, to support information sharing and addressing Education-related issues, such as secondary to post-secondary admissions and PLAR portability.  The committee may also invite staff from other GoA ministries, where appropriate, to participate in or observe meetings on a periodic or an ongoing basis.

Institutions (one representative per institution)                         

1. _________________________
2. _________________________
3. _________________________
4. _________________________

Professional/Accrediting/Representative Organizations (one representative per organization, if applicable)

1. _________________________
2. _________________________

Alberta Education (AE)

1. _________________________ (AE)

Other GoA Ministry representative(s) (one representative per Ministry, if applicable)

1. _________________________ (Ministry)
2. _________________________ (Ministry)

Meetings/Costs

Institutions/Organizations will pay for their representatives to attend meetings.

The ACAT Secretariat in conjunction with the Articulation Sub-committee will organize the inaugural articulation committee meeting and provide the meeting venue.  Subsequent committee meetings will be hosted by a member institution.  The committee will hold a minimum of 2 meeting(s) per year.

Roles and Responsibilities

Chair/Co Chairs

Committee Chairs will be elected at the inaugural meeting and will:

• Sit for 3 years to ensure continuity
• Serve as the contact point for the ACAT Secretariat
• Use the ACAT Secretariat-provided tool(s) and information for articulation committees and/or a committee’s individually developed materials to maintain their own committee membership lists and develop agendas, minutes, institutional updates, reports and feedback
• Canvass committee members for agenda items
• Organize the ongoing meeting(s), including arranging a venue and hosting.
• Select a Recorder for committee meetings
• Ensure appropriate guests/stakeholders attend meetings (e.g., appropriate ministry staff or professional bodies)
• Ensure minutes are drafted by the Recorder and validated, circulated amongst committee members and provided to the ACAT Secretariat
• Ensure any issues, recommendations or questions to be addressed by ACAT Council are relayed to the ACAT Secretariat

Vice Chair

Committee Vice Chairs will be elected at the inaugural meeting and will:

• Sit for 3 years to ensure continuity
• Serve as an alternate contact point for the ACAT Secretariat
• Assume the Chair’s duties when the Chair is unavailable

Committee Members

• Attend scheduled articulation meetings, informing the Chair when unable to attend and providing a delegate
• Ensure changes to representation are communicated to the Chair
• Provide potential agenda items to the Chair prior to committee meetings
• Circulate minutes amongst colleagues, including their delegates and administrators at their institutions

Delegates

• Attend scheduled meetings on behalf of a committee member when he/she is unable to attend

Recorder

• Take meeting minutes
• Vet minutes through the committee Chair and distribute to committee members upon their approval

ACAT Council

• Recruit interim Chair, where appropriate
• Consider recommendations and address issues identified by the Articulation Sub-committee and/or a specific articulation committee(s)
• Communicate and provide direction where specific ministry advice is raised

ACAT Secretariat

• Recruit interim Chair, where appropriate
• Work with interim Chair in identifying institutions and stakeholders to be invited to sit as members
• For the inaugural meeting only, develop agenda, arrange venue and take minutes
• Ensure recommendations and issues identified by a specific articulation committee(s) are communicated to ACAT Council
• Monitor membership terms, identify expiring members and notify Chair when new member recruitment is required

ACAT Secretariat

• Relay issues that require ACAT Council’s attention
• Maintain ACAT Articulation Sub-committee records (meeting minutes/membership)
• Provide the appropriate tool(s) and information for specific program area articulation committees to maintain their own committee membership lists, including term length, as well as adaptable templates for agendas, minutes, institutional updates, reports and feedback
• Communicate ACAT Council decisions related to recommendations or issues identified by a specific articulation committee(s) to the member institutions of the Alberta Transfer System and other relevant stakeholders, as well as to the Articulation Sub-committee
• Post articulation committee reports and related information on the ACAT website, where applicable

ACAT Council

• Address recommendations and issues identified by the Articulation Sub-committee and/or a specific program area articulation committee(s)
• Provide recommendations to the Minister, as appropriate

Articulation Committee Responsibilities/ Accounting/Reporting

• Develop effective practices for articulation and supports for and dialogue with articulation committees, and revise as needed
• Assess the need for PLAR articulation
• Create and dissolve an articulation committee(s), as needed
• Assist in the selection of interim Chairs, institutional representatives and other professional/representative organizations related to the discipline
• Be accountable to ACAT Council and report through the ACAT Secretariat
• Demonstrate accountability through the provision of meeting minutes to the ACAT Secretariat in a timely fashion
• Provide current contact information related to the Chair and committee members to the ACAT Secretariatat

Download the committee’s Terms of Reference.

Meeting Agendas

• PLAR Articulation Committee Agenda – June 28, 2016

Meeting Minutes

• PLAR Articulation Committee Minutes – November 5, 2015