Campus Alberta Applied Psychology: Counselling Initiative Welcome to the Campus Alberta Applied Psychology [CAAP]: Counselling Initiative, a partnership among three universities in Alberta: Athabasca University, the University of Calgary, and the University of Lethbridge. Counsellor Education: Accessible, Innovative, Professional The CAAP initiative was developed to respond to the need for better access to graduate programming in counselling in Canada and around the world. The three universities are committed to providing high quality, accessible, and flexible graduate education to students regardless of their location. Our mission is to enhance professional counselling practice through life-long learning. The Campus Alberta Applied Psychology Consortium Summary of the Memorandum of Understanding Introduction In January of 2008, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by each of the provosts of the University of Calgary, the University of Lethbridge, and Athabasca University. The MOU ratified the creation of a formal consortium of the signing members for the continued delivery of the Campus Alberta Applied Psychology: Master of Counselling degree program. The MOU is "an expression of the parties' objectives and mutual interests and their intent to collaborate diligently in good faith", and sets out the specific terms and conditions of the collaboration. The substantive components of the MOU are described below; in many instances, the exact text from the MOU is used. Background When launched in January, 2002, the Campus Alberta Applied Psychology program (the "CAAP program"), which focused then, as now, on the Master's degree in Counselling, articulated the following major goals: To enhance the accessibility, flexibility and responsiveness of graduate counselor education programming in the province; To provide students, who face various barriers to completing degrees through traditional programs, with the opportunity to further their education through a high quality, Alberta-based program; To prepare students to function effectively as professional counselors/counseling psychologists in a wide range of work environments. Since launching the CAAP program, the University of Calgary, the University of Lethbridge and Athabasca University (the "Consortium Members") have delivered a strong CAAP program that continues to attract good students and has graduated well-educated, well-prepared counsellors, many of whom have been chartered as psychologists, certified as professional counsellors or admitted to other graduate programs. The CAAP program continues to enjoy the support of the Alberta provincial government, which has twice provided funding to the CAAP program from the "Access Envelope" (now known as the "Enrolment Planning Envelope"). The CAAP program also continues to enjoy and benefit from the support of external bodies and agencies, such as the College of Alberta Psychologists, the Canadian Counselling Association, and other groups that have endorsed the need for a Master's degree of the kind provided to significant numbers of students for the last five years by the Campus Alberta Applied Psychology program's Counselling Initiative (CAAP - CI). Despite its early success a number of challenges, mostly due to extraordinary administrative complexity, faced the Campus Alberta Applied Psychology program. It was recognized that a concerted commitment to streamlining and simplification was needed to sustain the CAAP program and the relationship between the parties, and to ensure continued ability to meet its major goals. Collaboration With a common commitment to sustaining the relationship, the Consortium Members have agreed to collaborate to form a new administrative and operational structure to capitalize on the undeniable strengths of the CAAP program. The Consortium Members will re-brand the CAAP program and its Master's degree as the Campus Alberta Applied Psychology Consortium (CAAP Consortium). The Consortium Members will be regarded as 'equal participants' in the CAAP Consortium - an alliance of independent participating institutions loosely coupled, that have banded together in the pursuit of common academic objectives and goals. The Consortium Members' commitment to collaboration within the CAAP Consortium includes, but is not limited to: our re-affirmation of our common commitment to the goals of the CAAP program; our renewal of our common commitment to the core program elements of the CAAP program; our common commitment to a new administrative and operational structure whereby each of the Consortium Members is independent and autonomous and assumes responsibility for the operation of the CAAP program according to its own distinctive way of managing, delivering, staffing, assessing, and financing a Master's-level program in a professional discipline; our common commitment to respecting and capitalizing on the diverse cultures, mandates and histories of the Consortium Members cooperating in the joint initiative of the CAAP program; our common commitment to establishing the CAAP Consortium effective January 1, 2008, with the first cohort of students to be admitted under the new model to begin study in the CAAP program in 2008; our commitment to develop and maintain a common website using agreed upon common key messages; our common commitment to use effectively the "critical mass" formed by the participation of academic staff from all Consortium Members as a recruitment tool, an advertising device, and a stimulus for collaborative research and for applications for grants sponsoring that research; and our common resolve to work cooperatively within the new CAAP Consortium model. Membership The fundamental difference between the CAAP-CI model and the CAAP Consortium is one of administrative responsibility. Under the old model, all aspects of program functioning were managed within the CAAP-CI staff and resources. Under the Consortium model, each of the three university members will have operational and administrative independence. In addition to formally acknowledging the leading role of the three existing university members, the MOU also specifies the terms by which new members may be added, the fees attached to Consortium membership, and the procedures by which members may depart the Consortium. Common Elements Despite institutional autonomy of administration, the Consortium will retain several common elements. First, the main coordinating body will be the CAAP Consortium Advisory Committee, which will normally meet once or twice a year. Each Consortium Member will name two people to represent it on the CAAP Advisory Committee as voting members. One person, who shall have administrative responsibility for the CAAP Consortium at his or her institution, shall be appointed by the Vice President (Academic) (VPA). The other person shall be selected from within the academic staff whose assignment includes teaching or supervisory responsibilities in the Master of Counselling program at his or her institution. The CAAP Advisory Committee will, upon majority vote, name its own chair from the six aforementioned academic members of the CAAP Advisory Committee. The term of the chair will be for three years, consistent with the review period. In addition, the Master of Counselling program student body within each Consortium Member shall name one student representative to the CAAP Advisory Committee. The student representatives will collectively carry one vote on the CAAP Advisory Committee with the designated voter to be determined by the collective student representatives. The functions of the CAAP Advisory Committee will include: consider matters referred to it by Vice Presidents (Academic) (VPAs) and Deans of the Consortium Members, and to refer matters or make recommendations to same; make recommendations on the currency of the curriculum and updating of the "chart of equivalencies"; make recommendations on matters related to quality assurance of the CAAP program; receive information from Consortium Members on changes to core CAAP program elements; promote the integrity of the CAAP Consortium; update the common webpage to be created for the CAAP Consortium; communicate and formally consult, as needed, with professional bodies, employers and other stakeholders who now belong to the external advisory committee; and serve as a forum for sharing best practices in counseling education and research. Second, the curriculum of the current CAAP-CI Master's will be preserved to the extent possible. One of the strengths of the CAAP-CI program was its curriculum, and retaining it is important for the continuity of the CAAP program, for the students who have graduated from it, as well as for students currently in the CAAP program. A set of core CAAP program elements to be shared by students at each of the Consortium Members will be defined. At a minimum, the core CAAP program elements will enable students to become practitioners, according to the certification standards of the Canadian Counseling Association and similar bodies. It will also allow for the prospect of a Consortium Member's applying for full accreditation of its version of the CAAP program. Consortium members reserve the right to structure course and delivery mechanisms for the skill development components of the CAAP program elements. One such vehicle is the summer institute for the development of skills. Consortium Members may develop alternative delivery mechanisms provided that they are in alignment with the CAAP program goals and objectives. It is hoped that independent administration of the CAAP programs at each of the Member Institutions may increase the range of choices available for students in the optional components of their programs. Optional CAAP program elements will be made available to students in the CAAP program on an elective basis at each of the Consortium Members. Both the 'host' and 'home' Consortium Members must approve the student request to take an optional CAAP program element at another Consortium Member. The Consortium Members also agreed that current (CAAP-CI) students will continue to follow the CAAP program guidelines as set out upon their admission with respect to optional CAAP program elements. New students entering the CAAP program in 2008 and beyond will follow the CAAP program guidelines as set out by Graduate Studies in their 'home' Consortium Member. Third, to facilitate potential movement of and options for students, each Consortium Member will cross-reference and, within its own established policies and regulations, accept for credit in the CAAP program the offerings of the other Consortium Members. Since each Consortium Member will be entitled to use its own course numbering scheme and its own course titles, a chart that displays equivalencies for: a) core courses; b) electives offered at all Consortium Members; and c) electives offered at some of the Consortium Members at the graduate degree level will be maintained by the Consortium. Fourth, Consortium Members will share the jointly developed materials that currently support delivery of the CAAP program and that assist both instructors and students in achieving success within it (e.g. all courses and course materials, digital library resources, the Marratech booking system, orientation materials, various ancillary guides, handbooks etc.). As well, the Consortium Members will share administrative systems designed specifically for the administration of the CAAP program (e.g. student data bases, practicum placement system, sessional instructor contract templates and lists etc.). Fifth, the Consortium Members agreed to a common mechanism for managing enrolments. Current CAAP-CI students will continue their studies through to graduation as outlined upon admission to their CAAP program. New students entering the CAAP program (i.e., from 2008 on) will complete the CAAP program as outlined by the 'home' Consortium Member in which they enroll. The policies, procedures and practices governing graduate students and graduate study will apply to each Consortium Member's students as they pursue the Master of Counseling degree. The CAAP Consortium will set out minimum admission standards for students seeking entry to one of the Consortium Members hosting the CAAP program. Current students will continue to pay current "CAAP tuition and program fees". Supplementary fees may be set by the 'home' Consortium Member and different methods for levying fees may be used, including, but not limited to, course materials fees and graduate student association fees. New students admitted for entry to the CAAP program will be assessed tuition and any ancillary fees by the 'home' Consortium Member in which they register. Finally, the MOU addressed the issue of parchments for current and future students. Students admitted prior to January 2008 who complete the Master of Counselling degree will, at graduation, receive a parchment bearing each Consortium Member's seal. New students admitted as of January 1, 2008 for entry to the CAAP program, at graduation, will receive a parchment from their 'home' Consortium Member, which will bear only the seal of that Consortium Member. Distinct Elements The MOU also identified several areas in which the delivery of the CAAP program may be quite distinct at each of the Member Institutions. The major change for students will be that continuing students will be assigned to a home institution, and new students will apply to a home institution; in either case, all students will be subject to the policies and procedures of their home institution. Other distinct elements include: Course Management System - Notwithstanding the desirability of students taking elective courses offered by Consortium Members other than those offered by their 'home' Consortium Member, each Consortium Member will be at liberty to use or develop its own course-management system for the offering of the various components of the CAAP program. Graduate Programs - In keeping with the fact that each of the Consortium Members has its own distinctive strengths and ambitions, each Consortium Member will be encouraged to consider ways in which the CAAP program might contribute to other graduate programs that it offers now or that it aspires to offer in the future. Teaching Duties - Assignment of teaching duties and supervisory responsibilities in respect of the CAAP program will be handled by each of the Consortium Members independently. Academic Appointments, Tenure, Promotion, and Merit - Each Consortium Member will use its own criteria and processes for academic appointments and for tenure, annual increments, promotion, sabbatical leaves, etc. Adjunct Appointments - Adjunct status will continue to be encouraged under the CAAP Consortium. The processes and criteria to be used will remain the prerogative of each of the Consortium Members offering an adjunct appointment. Program Delivery - Each Consortium Member will be independently responsible for delivery of the various elements of the CAAP program, such as practica. The remainder of the MOU specifies the nature of budget considerations during and following the implementation of the Consortium, the effective dates of the agreement, the legal representatives and signing authorities for each Member, and legal commitments to confidentiality and jurisdiction. Program and Application Information Applicants must apply directly to the graduate programs offered by one of the three universities. For program and application information, please follow the links below to each university department. Graduate Centre for Applied Psychology, Athabasca University Contact: apply@gcap.ca Division of Applied Psychology, University of Calgary Contact: penny@ucalgary.ca Faculty of Education, University of Lethbridge Contact: susan.pollock@uleth.ca Please direct questions about the programs offered by each university directly to the departments listed above. Page last updated: April 24, 2008 @ 03:41:50 PM