Create a Committee
Learn how new articulation committees are established
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Articulation committees support educational opportunities and pathways for students. Your post-secondary colleagues and other system stakeholders benefit from sharing information, research and ideas that further system-wide awareness of developments within and across disciplines, while also collaborating on new solutions to shared challenges.
If you would like to create a new articulation committee, we suggest you follow these steps.
1. Confirm if a new articulation committee is needed.
Look at the list of current articulation committees to see if a committee already exists for that subject area. Some good questions to ask are:
- How many institutions offer programs and courses or pathways related to that subject?
- How many students are enrolled in programs and courses related to the subject or pathway?
- Are there existing admission and transfer opportunities – and if there are, could be they improved?
- Is there already an articulation committee that covers the subject area?
- If the subject area is already addressed by an existing committee, have certain programs grown to a point where they would be better served by having their own committee?
2. Research existing committee structures, mandates and outcomes.
Explore our current articulation committees to see who is involved, how often they meet, and their priorities and progress. This will help you establish a direction for your new committee. We also encourage you to read about articulation committee structures and expected outcomes.
3. Contact other member institutions and related agencies.
Your colleagues at other member institutions and related stakeholders and regulatory agencies can help you determine if there is a collective need for a new committee, and who would like to be involved. Institutions pay for their employees’ committee expenses, so your colleagues will also need to confirm funding support is available. If you are able to bring together a group of at least 5 or 6 of your colleagues, you’re well on your way to getting a committee started.
4. Contact the ACAT Secretariat.
Let the ACAT Secretariat know you are planning a new committee, by sending a proposal including the:
- Committee’s subject area
- Reason why you feel the new committee is important
- Contact person representing the committee (name, institution and email address)
- List of institutions that agreed to participate, including contact information (name, institution and email addresses)
- List of other possible participants including other agencies, such as schools or professional bodies
- Plan for scheduling, hosting and chairing meetings – including meeting minutes and committee communications between meetings
5. ACAT Council reviews your proposal.
Council members will review your proposal before voting on whether or not it makes a strong case to establish a new committee. The ACAT Secretariat will follow up with you after the meeting to communicate their decision.
While next steps are being identified for ACAT and the transfer and pathways system in Alberta, the ACAT Secretariat will facilitate new articulation committee approval processes directly with the Ministry and share information with institutions as appropriate.
If your committee request is approved by Council and/or the Ministry, the process will follow these steps.
6. The ACAT Secretariat recruits other members.
ACAT Secretariat staff will then contact Academic Vice-Presidents at other member institutions offering programs in your subject area to inform them of the desire to create a new committee, and to recruit members.
7. You work with the ACAT Secretariat to plan the committee’s first meeting.
The Secretariat will work with you to find a meeting location and coordinate other details. They will also help you build an agenda for the inaugural meeting and provide templates for important documents the committee will be responsible for developing, such as the terms of reference.
8. Your new committee votes for a Chair at its first meeting.
Creating an articulation committee does not mean you will be its Chair, however, you may be asked to serve as an interim Chair for the inaugural meeting. Committee members vote for a Chair and Vice-Chair at their inaugural meeting, and you are encouraged to express interest in either of those roles, if desired.