Accreditation is a voluntary process that allows groups of schools to agree on educational standards. Schools of a given type, in a given region, or in a specialized field will often form or join a professional organization. These bodies collectively establish the necessary criteria to ensure a quality education within their field. Once they have established standards, they will apply for recognition to an appropriate certifying agency.
Although there is no blanket national accreditation in Canada, individual programs or faculties may require accreditation from a recognized agency. A complete list of accrediting agencies by program is on the AUCC website (see Resources). Representative examples include the Canadian Architectural Certification Board, Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Each province and territory in Canada is responsible for conferring degree-granting status on its own schools. Eight of the 10 provinces also have a second level of criteria for quality assurance. The schools themselves have evolved common standards that compensate for any differences between the provinces, resulting in credits and degrees that are readily transferable between schools and provinces.
Despite the lack of a formal accreditation process, degrees earned in Canada enjoy acceptance around the world. Most Canadian schools belong to organizations such as Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada (AUCC), which in turn is a member of the International Association of Universities (IAC). The IAC's mandate includes promoting worldwide student mobility. Many Canadian schools also belong to the Association of Commonwealth Universities, which promotes common standards across the former British Empire.