Canadian Forestry Program Accreditation
The Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board (CFAB) is responsible for the accreditation of post-secondary forestry programs for the purpose of applicants meeting requirements for registration as a forestry professional in Canada.
CFAB accredits forestry post-secondary programs as a service to FPRC's member agencies. This process ensures that accredited programs meet or exceed professional standards set by FRPC for each profession.
Accreditation applies to an individual program that leads to a forestry-related degree. CFAB does not accredit departments, faculties, or universities. At present, eleven baccalaureate level and three master's level forestry programs in Canada hold accredited status.
Accreditation of a program is achieved through a review of each program conducted by a team of forestry professionals drawn from a range of disciplines and segments of the forestry industry. The review is undertaken with the mutual consent of the post-secondary institution delivering the program and CFAB. The faculty contributes significantly to the process through the development of extensive documentation in advance of the visit and through the arrangement of an on-site or hybrid site visit. This part of the process allows the CFAB review team to meet with post-secondary officials, faculty members, support staff, and students.
The academic curriculum is thoroughly reviewed against the professional standards of the related profession. Learning facilities, educational environment, faculty experience and qualifications, student/graduate skills and competencies, competency assessment procedures, and program stability and support within and outside the post-secondary institution are all considered during the visit. The findings of the review team are documented, reviewed, and considered by CFAB, who make a formal accreditation decision. A detailed report is provided to the institution and accredited programs.
Programs may be accredited for a maximum of six years. Accreditation for shorter periods may be granted if there are requirements that are not full met by the program. Accreditation may be denied if critical shortcomings exist in the program delivery.
Introduces the principles of accreditation and the elements of the program assessment process.
Those post-secondary institutions interested in exploring accreditation of a forestry program must contact the CFAB Executive Director directly.
ACCREDITATION REVIEWS
The site visit portion of the accreditation reviews can be conducted through in-person or hybrid formats depending on the circumstances. Contact the CFAB Executive Director for more information.
