In Canada, because of the decentralization of higher education, there is no country-wide quality assurance body. However, quality assurance systems in all provinces and territories rest on common principles and practices that ensure curriculum recognition and take into account the university autonomy. Pan Canadian guidelines and references are described in documents under the leadership of coordinating agencies. In the Canadian model, although quality assurance and accreditation are related, they are considered as two distinct processes with different goals.

The quality assurance system in the province of Ontario reflects the challenges that are faced by universities and the practices that is characteristic of the Canadian model. The quality assurance processes were first implemented for graduate studies and the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance has been created by the group of academic vice-presidents in 2010 with the objective of establishing quality assurances shared requirements for the development of new programs and the cyclical evaluation of existing programs. The most recent version of the province framework describes the principles that should underlie the different quality assurance policies in each institution. Since this framework focuses of programs, aspects such as research intensity and administrative efficiency are not directly evaluated. The use of clear learning outcomes for teaching and assessment is promoted. The institutional policies must refer to the learning outcomes, comply the framework requirements and integrate institutional specific needs. These policies are used as a basis for cyclical audits.

In order to maintain a robust culture of quality, some inherent risks should be taken into consideration: potential expansion of bureaucracy, lost of institutional and professorial autonomy, impact of conflicts of interest, resistance to change or innovation and difficulty of assessing learning outcomes. On the other hand, in Ontario, after almost 25 years of quality assurance, some good practices now emerge: empowerment of universities, development of local and context-sensitive policies, focused audits by the Quality Council, involvement of peers in the field, reinforcement of central institutional support and interinstitutional exchanges at the provincial level.

Keywords: Quality assurance, Canada, higher education.