by Sherri Hogan

Holland College, along with the three other major community colleges in the four Atlantic provinces, have made a commitment to recognize student learning across their institutions. During the recent national conference of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC), the four public colleges signed a memorandum of understanding to "maximize the recognition and transfer of learning acquired through formal education, workplace training and work and life experience." This agreement will provide needed opportunities for students to continue their post-secondary education in any of the four Atlantic provinces.

The signatories to the agreement are Holland College in Prince Edward Island, College of the North Atlantic in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick Community College and Nova Scotia Community College. These four colleges are members of the Atlantic Community College Consortium, an affiliation established in 1998 to enhance cooperation across the college sector. The consortium members have also signed the Pan Canadian Protocol for the Transferability of Learning, an initiative of ACCC.

"It is important for the community college system to recognize the training provided by each of our institutions as well as the learning that occurs outside of the formal educational system," commented Keith Dewar, Vice President of Holland College and signatory for this agreement. "Initiatives such as this are important in maximizing the individual and public investment in the post-secondary sector."

Meanwhile, the Atlantic Community College Consortium will continue to pursue further collaborative initiatives in a number of areas such as professional development, curriculum development and research.