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Welcome

The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Canada (ACCUC) is an organization of Roman Catholic institutions of higher education located across all parts of Canada. The ACCUC acts as the official voice for Catholic higher learning in Canada, as it seeks to spread “the spirit of learning” throughout the country.

Carl Still, Ph.D.
Chair
President
St. Thomas More College,
Saskatoon

Dr. Gordon Rixon, Ph.D.
Vice-Chair
President
Regis College, Toronto

About the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities

The Association fosters ongoing dialogue and regular communication between the executive heads of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Canada, other Catholic Church related institutions of higher learning and others interested in work of the Association, such as Universities Canada, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), the Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry (CCCM), the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), and the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU).

ACCUC Mission Statement

The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Canada (ACCUC) was established in 1985 to promote and to serve as the voice for Catholic higher education in Canada. We work as federated, affiliated, and independent academic institutions. The ACCUC comes together to promote our Catholic educational mission and identity in a manner that engages with the contemporary world. We support each other in teaching, research, and service to our communities. We also seek to engage in conversations with the Catholic Church and Indigenous communities, with an orientation to responding to critical moral, social, and political issues of our time.

ASSOCIATION OF CATHOLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN CANADA CONSTITUTION

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Association is to promote and to serve as a voice for Catholic higher education in Canada. The Association carries out this purpose by fostering ongoing dialogue and regular communication between the executive heads of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Canada (ACCUC) and other Catholic Church related institutions of higher learning and others interested in work of the Association, such as Universities Canada, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), the Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry (CCCM), the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), and the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU).

FUNCTION

The main function of this Association will be to hold regular meetings regrouping representatives of each constituency in order to review matters of common interest and deal with specific issues. These meetings may be held in conjunction with Universities Canada meetings, with presidential installations, or independently of other events.

“Ad hoc” work groups may be set up to deal with specific needs.

MEMBERSHIP

The Catholic Colleges and Universities in Canada that are eligible to apply for membership in the Association are those that are governed by the Practical Norms and Canadian Ordinances of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, and those that are governed by the General and Specific Norms of Sapientia Christiana.

Criteria for admission to ACCUC include the following:

  • Resources appropriate to support a post-secondary program;
  • Recognition as a college, university college or university by the competent civil authority;
  • Existence of courses and programs that meet acceptable provincial university standards;
  • Existence of policies, including those pertaining to academic freedom and institutional autonomy, that promote the scholarly well being of students and faculty.

Applications for admission will be submitted to the Chair of ACCUC who will convene a three-person committee drawn from the ACCUC membership to consider the application. This Committee will apply the criteria for membership in its deliberations and make a recommendation to be voted on by the regular membership at the next ACCUC business meeting. The executive heads of those institutions that have been admitted constitute the regular membership of ACCUC and have voting privileges.

Associate membership status may be granted to an organization as deemed appropriate and agreed to by the regular membership of ACCUC. Organizations with associate membership status will be invited to attend meetings. Such associate membership includes the right to speak at meetings. However, only regular members of ACCUC have voting privileges.

MEETINGS

All executive heads of Catholic Colleges and Universities who are members of ACCUC and deans of faculties of Roman Catholic theology who are not included by the usual membership criteria may be invited to participate in the Association’s meetings. Also all persons in charge of a post-secondary education institution in Canada which maintains some relationship with the Roman Catholic Church may be invited to take part in the meetings.

For each meeting of the Association, a list of invitees will be drawn up by the Executive Committee which will consult with other appropriate bodies and organizations. Any other person may be invited by the Executive Committee to join the group for a particular purpose. Only those who are regular members of ACCUC, however, have voting privileges.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

An Executive Committee comprised of a Chair and a Vice-Chair/Secretary-Treasurer will be elected by the Association annually at the annual business meeting in the fall to serve for one year, renewable once. The Executive Committee will have the power to act in such matters as:

  1. To convene meetings of the Association including determination of dates and place, selection of topics and speakers, preparation of material relevant to agenda and decisions on other matters necessary for holding such meetings;
  2. To prepare lists of persons and institutions to be invited to the meetings after appropriate consultation;
  3. To delegate or assign work to persons for the purpose of the meetings.

OPERATIONS

This being a voluntary, non-profit and non-incorporated association of persons, the business affairs will be handled by the Executive Committee.

Financial obligations will be assumed by the participants and submitted to the Plenary meetings for ratification. Registration fees for meetings should be sufficient to cover all costs and associated activities.

AMMENDMENTS

As amended at the following meetings:

  • 13 March 1995, Saint Paul University, Ottawa
  • 23 September 1995, St. Paul’s College, Winnipeg
  • 5 March 1996, Saint Paul University, Ottawa
  • 9-10 May 1997, St. Thomas More College, Saskatoon
  • 13 November, 2004, University of Sudbury
  • 22 April, 2005, King’s University College at the University of Western Ontario
  • 28 April, 2016, Regis College at the University of Toronto
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