Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec

A Brief Outline

The Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities (CREPUQ) is a private organization comprising, on a voluntary basis, all of Quebec’s universities.

CREPUQ was founded in 1963 and was incorporated in 1967 as a non-profit corporation. It has had a permanent secretariat since January 1968. Most of its budget comes from annual membership fees.

A Representative of Quebec Universities

CREPUQ acts as the representative of all Quebec universities and is an ideal contact for dealings with the government on all matters concerning university life. In that capacity, it intervenes with regard to teaching and research, funding, harmonization with colleges, and the many bills that affect university activities, among other things.

CREPUQ also maintains close ties with various funding organizations and professional associations on behalf of its members. It represents the universities in dealings with socioeconomic groups, as well as public and private sector organizations.

It coordinates the Quebec university system’s communications with the government, the media, business, and groups concerned with education. CREPUQ frequently hosts university and government delegations from other countries and promotes the Quebec universities in international recruiting activities abroad.

A Forum for Dialogue and the Exchange of Ideas

CREPUQ is a permanent forum for dialogue and the exchange of ideas where administrators can share their experiences in order to improve the overall efficiency of Quebec’s higher education system. This dialogue promotes the harmonization of policies and procedures in many different areas and frequently leads to the adoption of common viewpoints. It sometimes leads to the creation of joint services.

A Study and Research Service for University Administrations

To encourage discussion and give solid support to the exchanges that take place between its members, CREPUQ conducts research on a variety of topics on a routine basis. The research is aimed at guiding the universities in their decision making and providing support when dealing with public bodies, especially the government.

Research topics include the production of higher education indicators, studies on human resource development, analysis of teachers’ salaries and profiles, and assessment of the impact of government legislation on universities.

A Place to Reflect and Learn New Approaches

From the beginning, CREPUQ has been a meeting place for its members that fosters reflection and new approaches to problem solving. The methods used to achieve this are training and development workshops, conferences and seminars on topics prompted by the concerns of its various committees and subcommittees.

A Coordinator and Administrator of Services

CREPUQ manages information systems and cost-effective services for the universities. It also develops collective work tools of which a few examples are given below.

Services

• Evaluation of proposals for new programmes by its Programmes Proposals Evaluation Commission (CEP).

• Audits of the periodic evaluation of current academic programmes by its Programme Evaluation Review Commission (CVEP).

• Computerized university arbitration award database (BADISAU).

• Information and communication technologies in university teaching Center and PROF&TIC Web site.

• Coordination of student exchange programmes under the terms of agreements with numerous universities in the United States, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, Iceland, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, and Australia.

• Control mechanism for multiple acceptances into undergraduate programmes.

• Electronic transmission of college transcripts to the universities, in the context of the admissions process.

• Administration and monitoring for universities with faculties of medicine of the application of government policy on admissions to post-doctoral programmes in medicine.

• Administration of the agreement to transfer credits that permits a student registered at one university (home university) to take a course at another university (host university) that cannot be taken at the home university.

• Negotiation and administration of agreements on joint acquisition of various products, particularly documents on electronic media or access licenses for such products, with a view to concerted development of university library collections.

• Administration of the agreement with COPIBEC on the reproduction of literary works in universities.

• Interuniversity exchange of notices on available teaching positions.

• Administration of the agreement on library borrowing privileges at universities in Quebec and Ontario and issuance of referral cards.

Information systems that CREPUQ manages on a daily basis within the framework of the protocol with the ministère de l’Éducation (Department of Education):

• for university admissions

• for university personnel

Work Tools

• A standard timetable for the conservation of archival documents.

• A beginner’s guide to surfing the Internet (GIRI).

• A machine-language-coded compilation of current subscriptions to periodicals (ARUQ).

• Group access to Statistics Canada data via the Data Liberation Initiative (SHERLOCK).

Administrative Structure

Headed by a Board of Directors composed of the heads of the universities, CREPUQ relies on its standing committees and subcommittees to carry out its mandates.

These committees comprise the vice-principals and other senior administrators responsible for the major areas of academic affairs: teaching, research, administration and finance, human resources, information systems, general secretariat, information and public relations.

About 15 standing subcommittees and several working groups advise the committees according to their expertise.

Secretariat

A staff of about 40 employees reporting to the Director General shares the tasks involved in CREPUQ’s activities. They organize and follow up on meetings, prepare studies, draw up briefs, organize conferences, prepare publications and manage services.

Some of CREPUQ’s Regular Publications

• Caractéristiques et rémunération des professeurs de carrière des universités québécoises - Rapport de l’Enquête sur le personnel enseignant (salaries and profiles of career professors in Quebec universities - report on the teaching staff).

• Quelques données et indicateurs significatifs sur le système universitaire québécois (information and significant indicators for the Quebec university system).

• Reports from the Programme Evaluation Review Commission on the periodic evaluation of current academic programmes offered by Quebec universities.

• Admission statistics for the fall and spring semesters.

• Statistics on participation in CREPUQ’s student exchange programmes.

• General statistics on Quebec university libraries.

• Table des programmes de maîtrise et de doctorat offerts dans les établissements universitaires du Québec (a list of master’s and doctoral programmes offered at Quebec universities).