All staff are able to participate in external training events organized regionally often by the local network or by other colleges as well as provincial events - especially the annual CSC conference. Based on faculty input, this provincial event always includes time for faculty to gather in subject working groups to share materials and delivery strategies including workforce materials.

Staffs at all colleges determine what materials and texts are purchased and have significant influence on delivery approaches and hours. When funding allows, faculty are released from classroom duties to do development work or are compensated for additional work taken on.

The College Sector has an extensive front line communications network linking staff from across each region and provincially. This includes support staff as well as faculty.

Colleges have not had much opportunity to hire or select fulltime staff. Those who have been able to hire, primarily part time and sessional teachers, are looking for a combination of expertise in a particular subject area as well as experience teaching and awareness of essential skills. Many use the "Teachers for Tomorrow" list of essential skills to screen applicants and base interview questions on the suggestions presented in this document. New managers and faculty are also referred to the two workbooks which the CSC has developed to familiarize new staff. These workbooks include an orientation to workforce and essential skills initiatives.

PROGRAM EVALUATION

All programs have formal and informal program evaluation procedures in place as required by MTCU and by their colleges. In response to Core Quality Standards some years ago, colleges developed questionnaires, student focus group processes as well as external evaluations by referring agencies, employers and post secondary. Students have an opportunity to evaluate the program through the Student Satisfaction Survey conducted at exit, as well as, numerous opportunities throughout the year to provide program input. College teachers are evaluated regularly through student questionnaires as part of overall college policy. All colleges must conduct Key Performance Indicator (KPI) evaluations which are published on college web sites. Academic Upgrading Programs are included in the KPI process. All colleges were able to provide concrete examples of changes they had made in response to these numerous program evaluation strategies.

Under new legislation for colleges, a compulsory six year program evaluation cycle has been initiated. In the course of this six year cycle, every college program must conduct two evaluations - one informal and the second one formal. Each year individual colleges identify the programs which must conduct the extensive formal evaluation. By the end of the six year cycle all college programs, including Academic Upgrading, will have done both an informal and formal evaluation according to the provincial criteria.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

All colleges have well developed student policies in place. The majority of these policies are college wide; for example, behaviour, plagiarism, and ethical use of computers. In addition, all college upgrading programs have developed program specific policies to cover the distribution of Training Support dollars as well as attendance and progress. The CSC, as part of a project, researched attendance and progress policy practices and developed a guide to developing such policies including documentation which can be used.

As one of the managers described it: " We see the classroom as a workplace. Students must exhibit all the behaviors there required by an employer. They must attend regularly, be punctual, inform the college when they will be absent, behave with respect towards others and produce results."