News

TORONTO – The Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) has issued Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for new postsecondary Innovative Transfer Projects, Pathway Development Projects, and Research Projects on credit transfer in the province of Ontario.

Submission deadline: November 26, 2017 at 11:59 pm.

Innovative Transfer

ONCAT is seeking proposals for innovative projects that develop and implement system-wide solutions to enhance student mobility and reduce barriers for transfer students in the province of Ontario. In ONCAT’s experience, the most innovative approaches to student mobility have emerged through institutional partners who have imagined and developed new models of academic collaboration. ONCAT wishes to build on the collaborative work in the sector by encouraging institutions to identify system-wide issues that impact mobility. A key outcome is exploring sustainable solutions aimed at addressing specific mobility issues and developing a model that can be shared with and replicated by other institutions. Any proposed solutions or models should be specific to the Ontario context.

In consultation with the sector, ONCAT has identified some projects that may be of interest, including:

• Blending micro-credentials into transfer initiatives;
• Building pathways between French-Language institutions/Bilingual Institutions and English institutions for the purposes of bilingual pathways between French and English programs;
• Assessing the compatibility, consistency and transferability of Academic and Career Entrance (ACE) credits across postsecondary institutions in Ontario;
• Ensuring developed pathways lead to job opportunities and long term economic outcomes for transfer students; or
• Exploring innovative tools/methods of gathering data on transfer rates and student mobility in Ontario.

NOTE: Proposals that do not fall into the above-mentioned categories will be considered equally. The list of projects included above is not exhaustive; additional project types that explore student mobility in Ontario are encouraged.

Pathway Development

ONCAT is seeking proposals for postsecondary pathway development projects that develop and implement strategies to enhance student mobility, expand opportunities for students to transfer, and increase postsecondary collaboration in order to contribute to the ongoing development of a more seamless postsecondary education system in Ontario.

Priority areas for projects are as follows:

• Create access to educational pathways for Indigenous learners among colleges, universities, and Aboriginal Institutes;
• Create new pathways or systems for university-to-university mobility and university-to-college mobility;
• Develop new pathways in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) areas between college and university programs;
• Create pathways in accredited programs that effectively incorporate the constraints of regulatory bodies;
• Create new pathways in programs underserved by current pathways, to be supported with data from the applicant’s institution(s); or
• Develop new pathways for marginalized learners such as mature students, Northern students, students with disabilities, and Francophone students in the areas mentioned above (see bullets 2 to 5).

Research

ONCAT is seeking proposals for research projects that will advance knowledge and understanding of the current state of student mobility and credit transfer. Priority areas for projects are as follows:

• Provide insight on systemic student mobility barriers;
• Evaluate pathway success in Ontario;
• Develop transfer student profiles;
• Contribute to our understanding of student mobility in other jurisdictions; or
• Research the employability outcomes for graduates of transfer pathways.

What's New?

ONCAT has developed a new platform to streamline the application process. Full details on each RFP and the entire application can now be found online through SM Apply. If you have questions about this RFP or require additional details, please contact Lena Balata, ONCAT Project Officer, at 416-640-6951 ext. 303, or lbalata@oncat.ca. The link to all three programs has been centralized and can be found here:

View or download a guide on how to apply through SM Apply:

ONCAT hosted live webinar information sessions for the project RFPs; see the recording here:

Labour Dispute

In recognition of the labour dispute within the college community, ONCAT has decided to amend its RFP deadlines for all those impacted:

• If you are able to keep to the original deadline (Nov 26 2017), we encourage you to submit the proposal. Any proposals submitted will be reviewed in early December.
• If you are unable to meet the original deadline as a  result of the labour dispute, we ask proposals be submitted no later than January  5th, 2018 at 11:59pm.
  • APPLICATION SITE RE-OPENS: Dec 14, 2017 at 9 am
  • ABSOLUTELY NO EXTENSIONS WILL BE PROVIDED. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all application components are submitted. Any application that does not meet the requirements will not be considered for funding. Please ensure that you review all tasks fully, including:
    • Statement of Strike Impact
    • Submission Form
    • Budget task
    • Uploading ALL team member resumes (maximum 2 pages per resume)
    • Uploading letters of support from all participating institutions included in the application
    • Uploading signature form

ONCAT will not accept any applications via email.

Should you have any technical questions related to the SM Apply or having trouble with the system, please contact SM Apply directly (SurveyMonkey Apply Technical Support team: https://oncatapplication.smapply.io/helpdesk)​. Support tickets can be submitted here:

Should you have any questions related to funding or specific RFP program requirements, please contact Lena Balata at lbalata@oncat.ca by email no later than Jan 1, 2018.

We thank everyone for their interest in our RFPs, and look forward to reading your submissions.