The regular sector and the continuing education sector tend to evolve in a parallel way within higher education institutions. According to the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation, “the current compartmentalization between regular and continuing education [at the college level] prevents the development of a common vision of the issues that transcend the two sectors” (CSE, 2019, p. 79). Several factors contribute to such institutional compartmentalization.

Separate Teams

At the college level, continuing education is a distinct educational service, both pedagogically and administratively, and these units are responsible for short-term programs and business services. At the university level, all institutions have a unit specific to non-credited continuing education programs. However, the institutional configurations of short-term credited programs differ considerably from one institution to another. Indeed, in some universities, these programs are integrated into the faculties or departments (e.g., in Université du Québec network institutions), while in other universities they are part of a centralized service. Other universities adopt a mixed configuration. Be that as it may, integration challenges between continuing and regular education arise in all university and college networks.

Institutional compartmentalization concerns teaching personnel. In continuing education at the college level, the status of personnel is mainly precarious and shows a high turnover rate (FNEEQ, n.d.). At the university level, 90% of continuing education teaching personnel are on contract (Pasma and Vick, 2022, p. 31). Several lecturers combine teaching and professional practice. The use of a distinct, contractual and precarious teaching staff is not conducive to the sharing of expertise between continuing education and the regular sector. However, some institutions prefer the contractual hiring of in-house teaching staff (professors or lecturers).

A Distinct Financing Method

Institutional compartmentalization results in part from the distinct method of financing continuing education activities in higher education. (Doray & Manifet, 2017; Lefebvre, 2018; MEES, 2019; Rey-Lescure & Lefebvre, 2018)

At the college level, public financing for credited continuing education comes mainly from reserved envelopes. These are determined annually by the government, in particular on a regional basis, and the funds come from the ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur (MES) and the ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (MESS). The MESS (via Services Québec) can also purchase seats or entire groups from institutions in certain courses or programs, depending on its employment-assistance measures. Non-credited continuing education activities are mainly subject to self-financing; in other words, they must be financed by registrations.

At the university level, individuals enrolled in credited short-term programs are tallied in the same way as other students, for the purpose of calculating government financing. Therefore, the financing of credited short-term programs is done on the same basis as regular programs. For all matters relating to non-credited activities, the entities responsible for continuing education are subject to self-financing. As is the case at the college level, institutions recover at least some of the surpluses generated by these activities.

Short-Term Programs: Development Centred Around the Needs of Socio-Economic Stakeholders

In a logic of rapid response to labour market needs, flexibility and agility are common goals of continuing education services. This position distinguishes continuing education within the higher education culture and sometimes causes tensions in institutions. In 2010, the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation observed that “in terms of continuing education, the response of universities to the needs of businesses is still struggling to establish its legitimacy alongside teaching, research and creation activities” (CSE, 2010, p. 35).

At the college level, the influence of economic stakeholders in the development dynamics of short-term programs is decisive and is reflected in the priority given to rapid socio-professional integration or requalification. Indeed, to address the difficulties of recruiting workers in certain sectors, the MESS supports the development of short-term programs (leading to an attestation of collegial studies – ACS) in certain targeted fields.

The number of programs leading to an ACS “skyrocketed” in the mid-1990s, from 133 in 1996 to 673 in 2003, a growth that has since stabilized (Bernier, 2011, p. 79). In December 2023, there were 998 programs leading to an ACS across all college institutions, including 383 in the public CEGEP network (Fédération des Cégeps, 2023; Inforoute FPT, 2023).

Labour requirements have also led to the emergence of an even shorter type of program: college certifications (non-credited). This concept, established by the Fédération des cégeps, is financially supported by the Government of Québec (ministère des Finances, 2022, p. D.23). The segmentation of technical programs into skill blocks, each giving rise to a Technical Training Certificate (TTC), is another experiment (still at the pilot project stage) developed jointly by the Fédération des cégeps and the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail (CPMT) (Fédération des cégeps, 2020). 

This proliferation of programs, whose duration varies widely, makes it difficult for employers to “judge the equivalence of different ACS programs in a given field” (Vérificateur général du Québec, 2018, p. 31). Furthermore, over the years, the closed-envelope financing method has not always allowed institutions to fully meet the demand of adults for qualifying training (Corriveau, 2014; Déplanche & al., 2016, p. 13; Fédération des cégeps, 2021, n. 4), in addition to limiting the hiring of permanent staff.

Attestation of Collegial Studies (ACS): A Few Figures on Attendance

Definition: Program of study generally associated with a diploma of college studies (DCS), but whose curriculum excludes general education skills (literature, philosophy, English and physical education) (MES, 2021a).

Duration: 4 to 24 months

Certification of studies: by the college itself

Objective: Respond quickly to the needs of the local or regional labour market (Martel, 2023).

Eligibility: People who have interrupted their studies for two consecutive terms or people with a diploma of vocational studies (DVS).

In public CEGEPs and subsidized private colleges, people enrolled in an ACS program represented 12% of the total student population in 2022-2023 (23% in technical training), a proportion that has increased slightly in recent years. In non-subsidized private colleges, which mainly if not exclusively offer programs leading to an ACS, enrollment volume has jumped in recent years, mainly due to the influx of international students (Colpron, 2023). In 2008, 2% of individuals enrolled in an ACS program were studying in the unsubsidized network, a proportion that rose to 50% in 2020-2021, and fell to 31% in 2022-23 (BDSO, 2023a; MES, 2023b).

Despite the professional vocation of ACS programs, rapid socio-professional integration is not always possible for recently graduated people. According to the results of the Relance survey, the unemployment rate for people with an ACS reached 5.9% in 2022, while it was 2.7% among those with a technical DCS. These individuals are also slightly less likely to have a job related to their education than people with a DCS (74.7% against 85.7%) (MES, 2023a, n.d.).

At the university level, the number of short-term programs has also multiplied in recent decades. The value of short-term programs has sometimes been questioned (Bissonnette and Porter, 2013; CSE, 2013a, p. 16‑17) and some observers of the higher education community see the “proliferation” of even shorter-term programs – such as undergraduate microprograms with 9 to 18 credits, or even fewer – as a symptom of a “school/market integration logic” that is becoming more and more pronounced at the university level (Cordeau, 2021; Nunez-Pelletier, 2022).

Although increasingly widespread, this trend toward the creation of short-term programs has been observed particularly in French-speaking universities (especially outside major centres) and in the field of administration (Fortin & al., 2022, n. 8).

University Certificates, Diplomas and Microprograms: A Few Figures on Attendance

Despite the increase in the number of programs offered, the total level of enrollment in short-term university programs has remained relatively stable over the past twenty years. At the undergraduate level, a slight decrease in certificate enrollment (30 credits) was offset by an increase in microprogram attendance (6 to 18 credits) (BDSO, 2023b; Duchaine & al., 2014). In 2022-2023, 38,000 people were enrolled in undergraduate certificate programs and 7,000 in a microprogram, compared to 169,000 in bachelor’s degree programs (MES, 2023c).

Short-term programs are an important route to higher education for people with a non-traditional relationship to studies (Duchaine & al., 2014). They do not seem to be a substitute for degree programs, whose enrollment levels are maintained. In fact, nearly a quarter of people who graduate from a short-term undergraduate program later choose to enroll in a bachelor’s degree program (Duchaine & al., 2014, p. 61), which is why it is appropriate to create “nested” programs or to allow accumulation for obtaining a degree.

Short-term programs are the subject of intense competition among higher education institutions. “Institutional individualism,” exacerbated by the multiplication of off-campus sites and the development opportunities offered by distance education, hampers the development of a concerted vision of the educational offering (Julien and Gosselin, 2013, 2016). At the college level, for example, a recent compilation reported “273 programs offered remotely by 41 institutions, including 246 ACS programs” (Duhaime, 2022, p. 24). The same online program may be offered by various institutions. This competitive dynamic is identified in the report on Québec’s university of the future as “potentially harmful” in addressing the actual and multiple needs of higher education programs (Quirion, 2021, p. 27).

Collaborative Initiatives Deserving Attention

Inter-Level Collaborations:

  • Regional university branches developed in collaboration with the college sector (e.g.: Université du Québec à Rimouski and Cégep de Baie-Comeau)
  • Programs that are connected or developed jointly (e.g., complementary programs in digital transformation at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and Collège d’Alma)
  • Inter-level approaches to reflection (e.g., work on the “transition back to school” of the Pôle sur les transitions en enseignement supérieur, which brings together the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and the Cégep de Chicoutimi, the Cégep de Jonquière, the Cégep de Saint-Félicien and the Collège d’Alma)

Interinstitutional Collaborations:

  • Common programs (e.g., the work-study college pathway and the recognition of prior learning and acquired competencies process (RAC96) in early childhood)
  • Approaches to harmonize practices (e.g., Grande initiative réseau en RAC at the Université du Québec)

Decompartmentalization Within Institutions:

  • Cumulative bachelor’s degree
  • Microprograms fully credited as part of a degree program

Courses of Action to Promote the Decompartmentalization of Continuing Education

For the government 

  • Renew the 2002 policy for adult education and continuing education by fully integrating the mandate of higher education institutions (Bélanger, 2013, p. 292; UIL and Shanghai Open University, 2023b, p. 62).
  • Offer clear and up-to-date information on the various programs leading to an ACS and on associated employment prospects (Vérificateur général du Québec, 2018, p. 21).
  • Document the integration pathways of students enrolled in short-term university programs (1st, 2nd and 3rd cycles), by integrating them into the Relance surveys, carried out every two years by the ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur among undergraduates and graduates (Duchaine & al., 2014, p. 76).

For institution administrations and members of management

  • Fully include continuing education in strategic planning documents, including CEGEPs’ success plans (CSE, 2010, p. 45, 79; Fédération des cégeps, 2021, p. 32).
  • Develop an institutional strategy for continuing education with a view to ensuring lifelong learning (UIL & Shanghai Open University, 2023b, p. 62; Université de Montréal, 2010).
  • Foster collaboration among departments or faculties to address emerging needs (UIL & Shanghai Open University, 2023a, p. 18).
  • Promote the sharing of expertise between staff working in continuing education programs and staff working in regular education programs within higher education institutions (CSE, 2010, p. 79).

For those responsible for continuing education in colleges and universities

  • Continue and strengthen cooperation among higher education institutions in order to harmonize the continuing education offering on the territory (CSE, 2010, p. 80).
  • Support the development of research projects aimed at documenting the impact of continuing education initiatives.
Consult the next issue

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