Credential Requirements Forum (June 09, 2016)
Cathy Frederick, Vice President, Human Resources, hosted the Credential Requirements Forum on June 9th, 2016. The Forum was open to all employees of the College. It was facilitated by Rebecca Volk, Manager, Centre for Organizational Learning (COL). More than 80 employees attended, representing all three categories (Academic, Administrative and Support), and both full-time and part-time status.
Concerns about credential requirements was identified as a priority area by the Tiger Team based on the 2015 Employee Engagement survey results. The objective of the forum was to have an open discussion regarding the past and current process on how credential requirements are set by the College for full-time and part-time positions across all employee groups.
Summary of Discussion
Three key themes emerged from the session:
- Transparency, in particular how it pertains to the hiring and selection process
- Supporting employees in obtaining additional credentials, both financially and by recognizing Algonquin College professional development courses that have been completed
- Career Progression and Movement for both part-time employees interested in obtaining full time status and for existing full time employees wishing to move laterally into different departments, or to progress into more senior roles
Transparency
Feedback from participants made it clear there was a lack of common understanding and awareness of what minimum requirements (specifically educational requirements) were for positions at the College and how they were determined. Employees also expressed a desire to better understand how selection panels function and make hiring decisions, including what flexibility hiring managers have in regards to determining “equivalent” education and experience. Some participants expressed concerns that requirements for part-time positions differed greatly from those for full time positions. It was also noted as a reminder by some participants that Algonquin needs to demonstrate our faculty have a comparable or high level of qualification compared with other large colleges and universities with whom we compete for students. A suggestion was also made to consider each program separately in terms of what qualifications are required.
Supporting Employees in Obtaining Additional Credentials
Participants discussed ways the College could help employees obtain credentials to advance their careers. There was some deliberation in regards to what this is, or ought to be, either financial or operational support. Some participants expressed a desire to see the College recognize internal professional development courses such as Management Academy or ALEI as an equivalency for the education requirements for job competitions. Part Time employees suggested they be considered eligible for benefits such as Tuition Assistance.
Career Movement / Progression
A significant portion of the session was spent discussing issues and suggestions linked to career movement/mobility and career progression within the College. Pressing concerns varied depending on the employee category and status of the participants. Questions were posed as to why incumbents in Support roles were not eligible to move laterally to the same job in other departments in instances where the minimum education requirements had increased during their tenure and they did not hold that level of credential. Part Time employees highlighted the desire to be considered prior to external applicants in recruitment competitions.
Suggestions and Related Information
Transparency
| Topic | Suggestions | Opportunities, Policies and Considerations |
| Job Evaluation | Provide information on how minimum education for jobs is determined | Managers, in consultation with Human Resources, determine the minimum requirements for each Support job/position, including education and experience. The position description form is forwarded to the College Job Evaluation Committee (CJEC) for evaluation. For more information on classification on full-time employees, visit the hr web page.
Every position has job-related requirements which include academic or professional credentials, technical knowledge and work experience. The minimum credential required of professors in degree, diploma and certificate programs is one level higher than the program being taught. It is also recognized that in special circumstances it may be necessary to hire faculty with less than the minimum credential. In these cases, the approval of the Senior Vice President, Academic is required. For more information on the full-time hiring process, visit the hr web page. |
| Screening Process | Provide information on how selection panels determine what is equivalent education | The Selection criteria are established by the hiring manager and reviewed with the Selection Committee prior to assessing the candidates’ resumes. The selection criteria will be determined according to the notice of competition and the job description for the position. For more information on the full-time hiring process, visit the hr web page. For more information on best practices on forming selection committees, visit the hr web page. |
| Job Requirements | Provide information about requirements for jobs across the College | Position Descriptions Forms (Support Staff job descriptions) are currently not accessible for employees to view potential roles they may work towards. In the future position description forms will be available for review on the Human Resources website.
Additionally, Human Resources will provide more information to all potential candidates on how the educational requirements are determined for Academic positions in the Career Hub. Academic employees who teach in degree programs require specific qualifications. The Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Board (PEQAB) requires “At least 50% of the students’ experience in the professional or main field of study is in courses taught by a faculty member holding the terminal academic credential in the field or in a closely related field/discipline.” All faculty teaching non-core courses a) have, where relevant, professional credentials and related work experience b) hold an academic credential at least one degree higher than that offered by the program in the field or in a closely related field/discipline Review the Handbook for Public Organizations. Information about the educational requirements of Support and Administrative jobs was shared at the Forum on the slide deck. The data indicated that 9% of Support Jobs require 4 year degree or 3 year degree/diploma plus professional certification; 40% require 3 year diploma/degree or trade certificate; 36% require 2 year diploma; 9% require 1 year certificate; 6% require high school. |
Supporting Employees in Obtaining Additional Credentials
| Topic | Suggestions | Related Information and Considerations |
| Financial Support | Highlight benefits such as $20 classes at Algonquin
Explore the extent to which Support Staff ESC (Employment Stability Committee) funding could be tapped to support employees in obtaining further educational requirements |
Algonquin College full and part time employees have the opportunity to take courses at the College. The full details are within the HR03 Policy.
Additionally, all full time employees can apply for a professional development leave in order to pursue additional educational requirements. More information can be found within the HR02 policy. Full-time Algonquin College employees can apply for tuition assistance for degree completion. More information can be found within the HR04 policy. Strategies of the Employment Stability Committee may include, planning, retraining, identifying ways of determining employee skills, training and experience previously achieved, early retirement, voluntary exit programs, alternative assignment, secondment, employee career counselling, job sharing, job trading, job shadowing, and professional development; visit the Support Staff Collective Agreement (see 14.6.2 & 14.6.3). |
| Operational Support | Allowing employees to take classes during work time
Recognize AC professional development courses in lieu of formal credentials |
Support Staff employees are entitled to 3 days per year of professional development as per the Support Staff Collective Agreement.
Managers and employees could leverage this time to allow employees to take PD during the daytime if required.Review feasibility of allowing for preference to candidates who have completed AC professional development e.g. ALEI, as appropriate. Additional information is available on the Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition process (PLAR) website. |
Career Movement / Progression
| Topic | Suggestions | Related Information and Considerations |
| Equivalencies | Consider counting years of experience in lieu of education | Review Algonquin College practice against Ontario college sector practices and industry standards and provide guidelines clearly outlining when a specific diploma or degree is a mandatory requirement.
Provide information on the Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) process. PLAR is a process that helps adult learners to identify, articulate and demonstrate relevant learning acquired through life and work experiences and translate this learning into college credit. |
| Internal Movement | Employees wanting to make a lateral move to different department but same job should be considered “grandfathered” for credential requirements
Part Time employees being treated as internal applicants in job competitions |
Explore “grandfathering” existing incumbent employees from new educational minimums if applying for same job/role in another department. Both AC Collective Agreements govern which employees are considered as internal (i.e. granted first and full consideration). Explore how Part-Time employees can be given consideration ahead of applicants who are external to the College.
Hiring data for the period 2009-2015, shared at the Forum on the slide deck, illustrated that a significant majority of the full-time academic hires were internal candidates, including Partial Load and Part-time. In 2015, 64% of Academic hires were members of the union, either full-time or partial load, and 29% were part-time employees. Seven (7) percent of hires were applicants external to the College. |
Recommendations & Next Steps
Further review of specific suggestions to the Mobility Task Force:
- Review of existing policies and directives that guide College Managers in operationalizing requests for Professional Development, specifically, studies that further pursuit of credentials.
- Exploration of additional financial support for employees to obtain additional credentials.
Further review of specific suggestions to Human Resources:
- Exploration of how required minimum educational requirements for various positions across the College can be shared or posted.
- Establish consistent practices for selection panels when considering existing employees’ qualifications for specific roles – i.e. grandfathering, credentials “in progress”, etc.
- Define situations where equivalent education can be applied and establish clarity on how it’s determined.
- Explore how to consider part-time employees differently from external applicants in job competitions.
Immediate Short Term Actions (October 31, 2016):
Highlighting information and making available details requested by employees to provide transparency in the following areas:
- Resourcing cycles with process steps clearly outlined
- Education information: Provide information online to share how credentials are established in the Academic Area (including PEQAB) as well as for Support Staff roles (Job Description creation and Job Evaluation)
- Minimum Requirements: Provide access to position description forms online for employees to access and review potential career moves. Highlights the credentials needed to make specific moves. Highlight the required qualifications for full time Academic positions
- Provide training on consistent practices for selection panels when screening and shortlisting applicants for posting competitions