The Path towards Renewal and Relevance

revised Oct. 16, 2006

The renewal of the RAIC Syllabus Program is a significant priority for the RAIC Board. This valuable Program provides access to Architectural education, to Canadians who, for reasons of geography or personal circumstances, are unable to attend one of the 10 Canadian University Schools of Architecture, as well as to International Architecture Graduates (IAGs), who come to Canada and require additional courses.

Since 1978, the Syllabus has been an English-language, self-paced program of academic studies, design studios, and practical experience leading to an RAIC Professional Diploma in Architecture.

In 2002, following written concerns from a provincial licensing body, the RAIC began a thorough review of the Syllabus Program. The report of the Task Force on Syllabus renewal was published in June 2004, and has been widely circulated. It determined that making the program bilingual would extend its reach to more Canadians and appeal particularly to IAGs with a French education. Also integral to renewal was the need for an institutional partnership, and the need for the program to be “accreditable, accessible and unique”. The task force report established a direction that was reviewed by the RAIC Board and accepted as a strategic direction.

The RAIC together with the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB), applied for funds from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), and received, in the spring of 2006, funding for a study to assess the needs of IAGs, as a first phase of Syllabus renewal. This study is now under way and you have likely been invited to participate in the survey. After much study of potential institutional partners, a path towards renewal is now being explored.

In July 2006, after a significant amount of research, the RAIC and Athabasca University, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the opportunities offered by an institutional partnership.

A partnership with Athabasca University satisfies the goals of renewal established by the Task Group.

• Its focus is exclusively on distance education - this is the major advantage that Athabasca University has over other Institutional partners.
• It provides the ability to offer the Syllabus Program in both English and French, through its liaison with Université du Québec - TÉLUQ - l'université à distance.
• Its mission and academic policies are consistent with the RAIC Syllabus program, and has academic rigour in program administration and delivery consistent with standards for other accredited Universities and professional programs.
• It will enable the expansion of the Syllabus Program and offer the ability and capacity to embrace new challenges such as IAG certification and competency-based assessment (if required).

Students – now and the next

Administrative restructuring of the RAIC Syllabus Program including a partnership agreement with Athabasca University, guarantees an exciting and long-term future for the RAIC Syllabus program.

Students presently registered in the RAIC Syllabus Program can proceed with their original career plan of studies with very little change. All courses successfully completed will receive full credit along with academic credit obtained at other post secondary institutions. The CACB will continue to recognize all Syllabus courses consistent with the conditions set out in the Canadian Education Standard.

Tuition and course expenses are consistent with distance education courses offered by any of the Canadian post-secondary institutions and the existing RAIC Syllabus program.

In short this partnership will serve well all future and existing Syllabus students and expand their professional and educational opportunities.

Next Steps

As part of the IAG study, we have been consulting with hundreds of firms, associations and IAGs across the country, to assess, among other things, how the Syllabus Program can specifically accommodate them.

Concurrently, the RAIC and Athabasca University have been studying the implications of partnership and identification of opportunities available through collaboration. Program development strategy preserves the existing Syllabus Program track for students presently registered while at the same time engaging the challenge of both short- and long-term program upgrading. This will naturally be an extended process, which will draw heavily on experience as well as on input from Canadian Architects. Consultation with mentors, and students in the existing program will form part of this stage. This will be mediated, of course, by the opportunities of state-of-the-art distance education program delivery that Athabasca University provides. The future of the Syllabus Program is therefore not only secure but one filled with the promise of new opportunities and possibilities.

Watch this space for more information as it becomes available.

	>	FAQs about Syllabus Renewal
	>	The RAIC Syllabus website