Veterans and those serving in the Canadian Armed Forces can use their experience from the field to work toward obtaining a college diploma or university degree.
The Ontario government is investing $575,000 to recognize the skills and knowledge service members gain from the military and apply them to school credits. The announcement was released at Fanshawe College on Friday.
(Resources for Fanshawe’s military-connected programming, Naomi Ljunggren)
“It makes the process faster and quicker, while maintaining the rigour of the college diploma or university degree,” said Nick Hanson, Vice President, Programs, Resaerch and External Relations with the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT).
Through ONCAT, this initiative means that military members and veterans could potentially jump into advanced years of a post-secondary program, reducing the time and money it costs to earn their credentials.
Programs involving stream-lined applications, flexible course schedules, and academic and social supports, says Hanson, can remove barriers that will make opportunities more accessible.
This comes during Veterans week and four days before annual Remembrance Day ceremonies take place across the country.
“This announcement today reinforces and augments our capacity to be able to do that prior-learning assessment recognition process,” said Peter Devlin, President of Fanshawe and former Commander in The Canadian Army.
Fanshawe College is one of six post-secondary institutions that will be receiving the Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) project, and was the first to become a military-connected college five years ago.
“The training that Fanshawe College provides is recognized, often by national and provincial accreditation bodies, and it allows you to excel with your service in the Canadian Armed Forces,” said Devlin.
(Attending college, military, and political members at the Prior Learning and Assessment Recognition funding announcement at Fanshawe College, Naomi Ljunggren)
The college is also facing a new landscape with Budget 2025, that is putting major slashes in the number of international student permits allowed next year.
“Our priority is to work with [the government] to put a foot forward, to protect our economy and defend it,” said Brampton MPP Graham McGregor.
“On initatives like this we stand ready,” says McGregor, and “we’re very keen on a partnership with the federal government ” to support military members that have “done such a great job serving our country.”
The Canadian Military, Veteran and Family Connected Campus Consortium will also be receiving funding to develop best practices for training with the Canadian Armed Forces in post-secondary schools.
The full report and details of the project can be found here.
