National Program Accreditation Overview
TAC National Program Accreditation
TAC accredited programs represent excellence in education, having achieved the standards of the engineering technology and applied science profession.
The TAC accreditation model was developed in direct response to findings made by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) after performing a comprehensive, independent review of technology accreditation practices that existed at the time measured against best practices from other jurisdictions and sectors.
TAC accreditation measures an educational institution’s engineering technology or applied science program against the standards in the National Accreditation Components, including the learning outcomes in the Canadian Technology Accreditation Criteria (CTAC).
TAC accreditation is a fair, responsive and transparent audit process which measures an engineering technology or applied science program against the engineering technology profession's national standards using a trained, skilled audit team.
Key Program Features
National program accreditation through TAC is based on an open, fair and transparent process, and has the following key features;
- Custom, automated forms which streamlines the process and saves time
- Accreditation determined by audit team
- Program audited by a trained team, with industry or academic experience, approved by educational institution
- Process tailored for joint and aligned programs and programs with options
- Flexibility in providing relevant learning outcomes, including custom outcomes
- Site visit
- Audit Report provides recommendations for improvement and identifies best practices
- Interviews with students, graduates, faculty and program advisory committee members
- Industry resources available to enhance program
- 5 year accreditation status
For more details about our National Program Accreditation program, please view the National Progam Accreditation Manual and visit the Application and Customer Support page.
Best Practices
The National Program Accreditation program has been measured against the best practices of the International Engineering Alliance and the Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada. Click the links to view.
Benefits - Why Accreditation Matters
Quality Assurance
A TAC national accredited program represents excellence in education, providing students, parents, faculty and industry confidence the program has met the standards of the profession and graduates have the requisite knowledge and skill set to competently to enter the workforce.
Graduate Recognition
Provincial certifying bodies, which certify engineering and applied science technician and technologists, recognize graduates from TAC and CTAB national accredited programs, creating an expedited path to certification. Graduates meet the academic requirement for certification and may be afforded other benefits. Provincial certifying bodies waive the requirement of submitting a technology report (a certification requirement for those pursuing the technologist designation) as the report is embedded in the curriculum of a national accredited program. Graduates of CTAB accredited programs may benefit from international recognition. Click here for more details.
Continuous Improvement
Throughout the audit process, there is considerable constructive discussion between the audit team and faculty which creates an excellent opportunity for continuous improvement. Opprotunities for improvement are identified in the Audit Report.
Marketing Opportunity
In an extremely competitive environment for student enrollment, a TAC national accredited program can be a point of differentiation. TAC is pleased to provide marketing tools to support an educational institution promoting its national accredited programs.
What Customers Say
“We are very pleased to be the first to receive TAC accreditation in Alberta. We continually assess our programs and ensure they are aligned with industry and technology profession requirements, making our programs relevant and our students highly employable,” says Lynne Allan, Dean of the MacPhail School of Energy at SAIT.
“We were very happy with the audit process and are very pleased with the results”, says Paul Richard, Program Chair, Environmental Protection Technology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University. “The accreditation is a form of quality control, which gives us confidence that the program prepares the students well for the demands of the workplace. The pleasant surprise was the ability of the auditors to make practical suggestions to improve the program, some of which have already been implemented. There is nothing like a new set of eyes to point out opportunities, and we really value that.”
Achieving Accreditation
In order to achieve TAC accreditation status, a program must be compliant with all National Accreditation Components, including student achievement of the five core discipline learning outcomes and the eight general leaning outcomes.
Once an educational institution’s program has been accredited, this achievement will be announced publicly, posted as an accredited program on the TAC website. The educational institution will be provided TAC’s National Accredited Program logo for promotional purposes.