New Brunswick Council on
Articulations and Transfer
(NBCAT)
2012–2013 Annual Report
DATE: March 2013
1.
INTRODUCTION
As part of the plan for Transforming Post-secondary Education, New Brunswick’s department of
Post-secondary Education, Training and Labour (PETL) has established structural support for
fostering a greater capacity for credit transfer between and among post-secondary education
institutions and developing an awareness strategy for improving Prior Learning Assessment and
Recognition (PLAR).
To ensure an on-going improvement and enlargement of opportunities for learner mobility, it was
deemed important that an infrastructure be established to continuously support stakeholders
working cooperatively for the benefit of learners. Therefore, based on research of existing models
in other jurisdictions and stakeholder consultations within the province, in November of 2010 the
New Brunswick Council on Articulations and Transfer (NBCAT) was officially established.
1.1
The NBCAT members (Council and CPC)
The Council
Name / Nom
Title / Titre
Organization / Organisation
Anthony Secco (Chair)
Vice-President Fredericton
Academic
University of New Brunswick
(UNB)
Jean-Jacques Doucet (ViceChair)
Vice-président
Formation et réussite étudiante
Collège Communautaire du
Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB)
Karen Grant
Provost and Vice-President,
Academic & Research
Mount Allison University (MTA)
Bill Best
Vice-President Academic
Dr. Barry Craig
Vice-President Academic
New Brunswick Community
College (NBCC)
St. Thomas University (STU)
Neil Boucher
Vice recteur à l’enseignement et à
la recherche
Keith McAlpine
Academic Dean
New Brunswick College of Craft
and Design (NBCCD)
Frank Vandenburg (Staff)
Associate Director, NBCAT
Post-Secondary Education,
Training and Labour (PETL)
Philip Bélanger (Staff)
Executive Director, NBCAT
Post-Secondary Education,
Training and Labour (PETL)
Université de Moncton (UdeM)
Contact Persons Committee (CPC)
Name / Nom
Title / Titre
Organization / Organisation
Pascal Robichaud (Chair)
Registraire
UdeM
Chris Harris (Vice-Chair)
Registrar
NBCC
Chris Parker
Registrar
MTA
Thérèse Finn-McGraw
Registrar
CCNB
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
Page 2
Karen Preston
Registrar
STU
David Hinton
Registrar
UNB
Nancy Beaulieu
Registrar
Mark Bishop
Registrar
University of New Brunswick
Saint John (UNBSJ)
Sheldon Macleod
Assistant VP of Enrolment Services
Crandall University
Frank Vandenburg (Staff)
Associate Director, NBCAT
PETL
Philip Bélanger (Staff)
Executive Director, NBCAT
PETL
1.2
NBCCD
The NBCAT Meetings (Council and CPC)
The Council is to meet at least 2 times a year. Additional meetings on special issues that arise
may be called by the Chair as needed. The NBCAT meetings this year were held as follows:



June 20, 2012: PETL, Fredericton, NB
December 4, 2012: PETL, Fredericton, NB
April 10, 2013, Fredericton, NB
The CPC is to meet 4 times/year in person and using tele/video conference. Additional meetings
on special issues that arise may be called as needed. The CPC meetings this year were held as
follows:




May 31, 2010: UNBSJ, Saint John, NB
August, 28, 2011: PETL, NBCC - Moncton, NB
November 7, 2012: CCNB - École des pêches, Caraquet, NB
January 21, 2012: STU, Fredericton, NB
Approved minutes are available upon request and are to be posted on the NBCAT portal
repository.
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
Page 3
2.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF 2012-2013
This annual report assesses the past year’s activities and achievements against the desired
outcomes and performance measures identified in the NBCAT operational plan for each action
item.
2.1 Web Portal and Communications
Actions
Timelines
Outcomes
Comments
Complete, maintain and update
the web portal to be
consistently informative
On-going
An assurance protocol for the maintenance
of the portal was officially signed by all
participating institutions.
Develop a portal component to
include credit transfer from
institutions out of province to
participating NB receiving
institutions
On-going
The portal has been expanded to include
formal transfer agreements between NB
PS institutions and with PS institutions
outside the province within the Atlantic
region. The next steps are to include formal
agreements with PS institutions outside of
the Atlantic region as well as transferable
credits.
These accomplishments
are due to the continued
dedication of the NBCAT
Contact Persons
Committee (CPC)’s
members and the support
of their respective
institutions for such
cooperative efforts.
Continue to increase public
and stakeholder awareness of
NBCAT
On-going
The official launch of the portal through a
media press conference was the key
starting point of an awareness strategy.
The continuation has been based on an
awareness strategy developed and the
implementation of this strategy will done
with an oversight committee composed of
representatives of the member institutions
mostly involved in Marketing &
Communication
It was critical to have the
portal well established with
a maintenance quality
assurance prior to
embarking into a detailed
awareness campaign of
NBCAT. That is why a more
detailed awareness plan
will be implemented in
2013-14 with the guidance
of an oversight committee.
Identify and produce
information and awarenessrelated documents on an asneeded basis and an annual
report.
On-going
As part of the NBCAT awareness strategy
a flyer to foster the awareness and
comprehensive use of the credit transfer
portal, including an introduction to NBCAT
was designed to be produced in 2013-14.
A visual guidance for use of the portal was
developed as well and also posted on
YouTube. All official reports and related
documents are made available on the
portal repository.
This activity is viewed upon
as a very valuable on-going
function and has therefore
been included in the
proposed 2013-14 action
plan.
Host Annual General Meeting
of NB institutions and other
stakeholders.
2012-13
Given the fiscal year end constraints the
AGM was held in April 2013, more as a
regular council meeting for review of the
annual report and to determine the next
chart of activities in accordance with the
allocated budget for 2013-14.
A first time stakeholder NBCAT & NBPLAR
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
Page 4
Given the productive
outcome of this first time
Continue piloting the Program
Mapping tool.
2012-13
symposium was held October 16, 2012 at
the Future Inns and Conference Centre in
Moncton, NB. The symposium “Partnering
for the future of Post-secondary Education”
proved to be very productive. An official
report was developed and shared with all
participating stakeholders. A copy is also
available in the portal repository and on the
NBCAT & NBPLAR websites.
symposium, it is highly
recommended that a
second symposium, with
the added participation of
student representation take
place in the fall of 2013.
There was an additional round of testing in
2012, and similar results were obtained as
those in the previous year. Although it
continued to show good performance, and
potentially very helpful with adaptations, it
still lacks certain abilities such as:
 to attach metadata to the
connection points
 to "zoom in" on a particular portion
of the grid
 to do comparisons between more
than 2 organizations or for
evaluation against more than 1 set
of criteria
At this point, without an
organization having a
specific business need to
sponsor a rewriting of the
tool, and the ownership of
the original version divided
so that no one has an
economic interest to invest
additional money, it doesn't
appear that the program
mapping tool will be in use
after this year.
2.2 Transfer & Articulation Agreements
Actions
Continue work of the active
articulation and transfer subcommittees and establish new
sub-committees as needed
Timelines
2012-13
Outcomes
The PETL funded CCNB - UdeM interinstitutional pilot project that was initiated
in 2011 and endorsed by NBCAT
presented some very productive
outcomes. Thus, it was considered
worthwhile that it be looked into from the
Anglophone side.
LPN-BN sub-committee: Based on the
interim report and the CPC
recommendation, the original subcommittee was sustained with some
added administrative representatives from
the participating institutions to examine
the feasibility and subsequent
requirements for developing and
delivering a bridging program.
A detailed implementation plan was
developed and PETL has aligned the
required funds to support moving forward
with the LPN-BN recommended pilot plan
for an articulation agreement between
NBCC and UNBSJ.
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
Page 5
Comments
Given the fact that on the
Anglophone side there is
more than one university,
although inspired by the
francophone successful
model, the Anglophone
model needs to be tailored
somewhat differently to
ensure a feasible and
realistic course of action. A
proposed framework has
been prepared for review in
2013-14
As things were progressing between the
NBCC and UNB - UNBSJ, funding was
allocated to the CCNB in 2011- 2012 for
the revamping of its LPN program
curriculum in order to ensure a pathway of
transferability to the BN program at UdeM.
This successful collaborate
work has proven the worth of
having initiated this pilot
project and to continue
moving forward with such
initiatives in other fields of
studies.
Business sub-committee: The work in
progress is with the intent to have a
common credit transfer information
package that could be made available to
NBCC and CCNB graduates for choice of
transfer to MTA, UNB, UNBSJ, UdeM or
Crandall in the field of business.
Under the PETL funded CCNB - UdeM
inter-institutional project, an applied
degree agreement in Management of
financial Services was launched. Two
others similar agreements are in the
works related to Marketing / Logistics and
Transportation Management. One of the
key next steps will be to work
collaboratively with the potential interinstitutional service in development on the
Anglophone side.
Liaise with institutions to
encourage enhancements in
provincial and inter-provincial
transfer
On-going
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
The collaborative work of
addressing challenges to
articulation and credit
recognition has lead to a
shared vision of establishing
more transfer agreements
among participating
institutions.
Engineering - IT / CS sub-committee:
Upon completion of an IT related needs
analysis survey, there has been definite
support to pursue opportunities of
agreements in the field of IT and
Computer Science. But there were still
some concerns about interest in
Engineering, thus an internal on-line
student survey was conducted to
determine the interest of current students
for pursuit of further studies in the field of
engineering. The results of the survey are
anticipated to be unveiled in April 2013.
The results of the survey will
help determine whether to
maintain the sub-committee
combining Engineering and
IT/CS as is, or to go with a
separate IT and CS.
The implementation of the NBCAT
structure has established a strong
foundation for growth in facilitating
provincial and inter-provincial transfer.
There have been continuous liaisons with
other jurisdictions, the Pan-Canadian
Consortium on Admissions and Transfer
(PCCAT) and the CMEC working group
on Credit Transfer (WGCT). In June of
2012, at the PCCAT annual meeting, the
Executive Director of NBCAT was
nominated and voted in as Chair of the
PCCAT for a two year term.
Four jurisdictions within our
country have opted to
establish a common
operational structure to
enhance student mobility,
starting with BCCAT and
ACAT, followed by NBCAT
and recently ONCAT. Such
operational structures have
proven to value better
communication,
understanding and reliance
among participating
institutions in-province and
throughout the country.
Page 6
Support recommended
transfer and articulation
initiatives
On-going
Beyond the three initiated articulation pilot
projects, NBCAT will continuously provide
support for any recommended articulation
projects in other fields of interest
This activity is viewed upon
as very valuable and should
remain as on-going in all
annual action plans.
Liaise with other transfer
jurisdictions
On-going
Our involvement and participation with
PCCAT and the CMEC Working Group on
Credit Transfer, along with continuous
communications with other jurisdictions
and the Canadian Information Centre for
International Credentials (CICIC)
continuously contribute to the work of
NBCAT.
This is an important action to
maintain as on-going in all
annual action plans.
Continue work on producing a
best practices guide
2012-13
A NBCAT Principles on Transfer of Credit
was developed and endorsed. A review of
practices based on the principles on
transfer credit will be undertaken in 201314 to produce an official best practice
guide.
Develop a common practice
for sharing information on
institutional updates among
NBCAT members.
2012-13
This is to be part of producing a best
practice guide in 2013-14.
Develop a common practice
for inter-institutional student
referrals for optional studies.
2012-13
Given the timelines and other activities in
order of priority, it was agreed that it be
better to follow through on this in 2013-14.
2.3 Research
Actions
Timelines
Outcomes
Comments
Explore with MPHEC the
possibility of a data
information sharing.
2012-13
Discussions took place with MPHEC and
NBCAT participated in finalizing its report
on Trends in Maritime Higher Education
on Credit Transfer in Maritime
Universities. The NBCAT benchmarking
model was shared with MPHEC and
further discussions are to take place.
It is recommended that this
be continued in 2013-14.
Implement the benchmarking
model and continue to
measure the overall transfer
effectiveness
2012-13
The benchmarking model for compiling
concrete annual statistics on student
mobility in NB was developed and
implemented as planned.
The compiled provincial stats are included
in this annual report to serve as a
benchmark for comparison with further
years ahead (see Annex A).
This newly established
benchmarking model is
critical to adding factual
statistics to the NBCAT
annual report. Given that
this was a first year trial,
some fine tuning may be
required in 2013-14.
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
Page 7
Undertake as needed,
research that will help inform
and shape policy and practice
On-going
Further explore the role of
CPC in the high school
transcript management
transition initiative.
Research was conducted to develop the
benchmarking model, however more ongoing detailed research will be required to
continuously improve practices and
provide information for shaping policies.
UdeM has been leading this initiative in
cooperation with the CPC member
institutions. PETL funded a proposed
project for the development of a provincial
mechanism for the electronic transfer of
high school transcripts to, and among
post-secondary institutions in NB. This
project commenced in 2012 and is to be
completed by March of 2014.
This will serve as a
valuable collaborative
model to simplify and
accelerate the transfer of
transcripts from High
School to PS institutions as
well as PS transcripts
among institutions in NB,
which will also help
accelerate the process for
credit transfer.
2.4 PLAR
Actions
Launch a PLAR Awareness
Strategy
Develop a Contact guide for
PLAR practitioners with
assessment expertise.
Timelines
On-going
On-going
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
Outcomes
Comments
A proposed NBPLAR awareness
strategy was developed and
endorsed by PETL. The plan listed
the key activities to commence in
2011-12 and continuation in 201213.
As part of the plan, two (2) PLAR
related Webinar Sessions were
conducted through NBCDAG (One
English and one French), sponsored
by NBPLAR Action Group. These
sessions reached out to the targeted
audiences identified in the strategy
and turned out to be very well
received.
Promotional material was produced
including folders and designed letter
head paper and was presented at
the NBCAT & NBPLAR first time
Stakeholder Symposium October 16,
2012. The text content is kept in an
electronic version in order to be able
to customized packages in
accordance with targeted audiences.
Like all officially validated
documents, this document is
available upon request and
will be posted on the NBPLAR
web site and / or the portal
web site repository.
Based on the Provincial PLAR
Service feasibility study final report,
the NBPLAR Action group
conducted a client needs analysis in
order to set the most appropriate
Develop a Contact guide for
PLAR practitioners with
assessment expertise.
Page 8
As the NBPLAR Action Group
continues its efforts in this
direction, there will be
prolonged increase in
awareness, providing a better
understanding and common
use of PLAR best practices
and common tools in NB.
customer driven course of action in
2013-14. This will include the
compilation and publication of best
practices and resources and the
development of a Contact guide for
PLAR practitioners with assessment
expertise.
Follow-up on recommended
actions in accordance with the
feasibility study for a Provincial
PLAR service including:
 The development of QA
benchmarks for NB PLAR

The development an online NB PLAR training

The compilation and
publication of best
practices resources
On-going
Based on the Provincial PLAR
Service feasibility study final report,
it was agreed that the NBPLAR
Action Group remain the
coordinating body for oversight
communication with organizations,
government, institutions and SMEs.
Thus, the focus of the proposed
action plan to be developed will be
with the awareness strategy and to
determine the actual services. The
following were recommended as the
next steps for 2012-13 and 2013-14:
Identify PLAR-using clients for a
provincial PLAR service
Identify potential needs and possible
use of 3rd party service to meet those
needs
Gap analysis related to training
current practitioners
A survey was conducted and
completed in March 2013,
and the results will be used to
develop a business plan in
2013-14
Based on the results of these three
research activities a business plan,
including the development of QA
benchmarks, on-line NBPLAR
training and the compilation of best
practices and resources will be
advanced.
Specific funding will be
required to implement such a
plan, thus a proposition will be
presented to NBCAT & PETL.
NBPLAR has maintained its
involvement with the national RPL
catalogue of resources project
initiated by the province of
Saskatchewan with a coordinated
assistance from CAPLA.
This serves as a valuable
repository of shared PLAR
tools and resources under a
quality assurance for
stakeholders throughout the
country.
Continued support of the ongoing development of the
Socrates PLAR selfassessment tool
On-going
The Socrates Model (now referred to
as RACRC) created in NB, continues
to expand across Canada and
certain countries abroad.
This is a critical tool for the
NBPLAR Action Group to
promote as a valuable
common tool for consistent
services in NB, serving as a
model for others.
Continue Piloting the PLAR
Workflow tool
2012-13
The workflow tool has been
successfully implemented and well
received by NBELT. Very positive
comments on its use and very
This tool would be of valuable
use to help organizations
track results pertaining to
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
Page 9
impressed on how it is going to work
and benefit them.
government funded projects.
Deliver a symposium
2012-13
A first time NBCAT & NBPLAR
stakeholder symposium was held
October 16, 2012 at the Future Inns
and Conference Centre in Moncton,
NB. The symposium “Partnering for
the future of Post-secondary
Education” proved to be very
productive. An official report was
developed and shared with all
participating stakeholders. A copy is
also available in the portal repository
and on the NBCAT & NBPLAR
websites.
NBPLAR believes that this
was a very valuable initiative
that should be considered as
an annual event in
conjunction with NBCAT.
Liaise with other PLAR
jurisdictions
On-going
There continues to be more liaison
development with other jurisdictions,
the Canadian Association for Prior
Learning (CAPLA), and the
Canadian Information Centre for
International Credentials (CICIC)
which continuously contribute to the
advancements of the NBPLAR
Action Group.
With NBPLAR’s active
involvements and constant
advancements, New
Brunswick continues to be
looked upon as progressing in
a leading matter.
Launch the funding source for
small-scale PLAR projects
On-going
Although the launch of the funding
for small-scale projects occurred,
due to certain time constraints there
were very few submissions.
Given the value of this
initiative, now that it has been
piloted, it is highly
recommended to insure a
continuation in the next fiscal
in order to fine tune the
process. It also relate to the
NB Action Plan 2026.
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
Page 10
3.
NBCAT Financial Statement 2012-2013
$370,000.00
PETL Funding allocated for activities
Expenses
Overhead Costs (office supplies, hardware and software purchase
& maintenance, Cell / Blackberry usage, printing, conference calls,
copying, postage and Translation)
Business meeting and conferences expenses (NBCAT, CPC,
articulation pilot project sub-committees, NB PLAR Action Group,
CAPLA and PCCAT) including room rental, equipment, staff travel
(including, registrations, subscriptions and conference fees) and
services.
11, 888.47
9,693.06
Research / Professional Services (PLAR Client Needs
Assessment Survey , LPN-BN articulation pilot between NBCC &
UNBSJ, Portal Updates and Maintenance, expansion of the RACRC
tool, Video development for guidance of Portal use, CCNB LPN
curriculum revamping and contribution to the CAPLA annual
conference)
322,499.12
Other activities in accordance with the validated chart of
activities (including NBCAT & NBPLAR, Stakeholder Symposium,
PLAR Small Scale projects funding and follow up on articulation pilot
projects.
25,137.26
Membership dues and fees
782.09
Total Expenses
370,000.00
Deficit / Surplus
$0
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
Page 11
4.
Recommended Action for 2013-14
NBCAT Chart of Activities for 2013-2014
Credit Transfer & Related
Initiatives
Ad Hoc task groups or Subcommittees as needed

Continue work of the active
articulation and transfer
sub-committees and
establish new subcommittees as needed.

Develop a mechanism for
High School Transcript
Electronic Transfer in
cooperation with EECD.

Explore and support new
recommended transfer and
articulation initiatives.




Continue to liaise with NB
PS institutions and other
jurisdictions to encourage
enhancements in provincial
and inter-provincial transfer.
Continue work on producing
a best practice guide.
Research
Ad Hoc task groups or
Sub-committees as
needed



Web Portal and
Communications
Standing
Contact Persons
Committee
Review the
benchmarking model
first implemented in
2012-13 for
continuous
improvement to
measure the overall
transfer effectiveness
on an annual basis.
Explore with MPHEC
the possibility of a
data information
sharing agreement.
Maintain and update the
web portal and NBCAT
Web Site to be
consistently informative.

Expand the portal to
include credit transfer
and formal transfer
agreements from other
provinces in Canada to
participating NB
receiving institutions.

Undertake research
on completion rates
for transfer students,
and others that will
help inform and shape
policy and practice, as
needed.
Develop a common practice
for sharing information on
institutional updates among
NBCAT members.
Develop a common practice
for inter-institutional
student referrals for
optional studies.
Estimated Costs:

$85,000

Expand on the PLAR Awareness
Strategy launched in 2012-13 to
enhance membership and
communications with key
stakeholders, including
workshops and presentations
province-wide.

Develop a Contact guide for PLAR
practitioners with assessment
expertise.

Follow-up on recommended
actions in accordance with the
feasibility study for a Provincial
PLAR service and the results of
the client needs assessment
study to include:
 The development of QA
benchmarks for NB PLAR
Implement an NBCAT
awareness strategy
through an oversight
committee composed of
institutional reps
implicated with
communications and
marketing.
 The development an online NB PLAR training

Host the NBCAT Annual
General Meeting (AGM)

Host a second
stakeholder symposium 
in collaboration with the
NBPLAR Action Group.

.
$50,000
$65,000
Total Estimated Budget: $ 360,000 (excluding Staff Salaries & Benefits)
NBCAT Annual Report 2012-2013
NB PLAR
Standing
Action Group
Page 12
 The compilation and
publication of best
practices resources
Continue to liaise with other
PLAR jurisdictions.
Work closely with NBCAT to
develop a PLAR recognized unit
into the Portal.

Enhance the number of PLAR
development initiatives with the
funding source for small-scale
PLAR projects.

Host a second NBCAT & NBPLAR
stakeholder symposium.
$160,000