Accreditation

We are very pleased to welcome Kristine Robinson as the incoming Chair of the CAMEd Accreditation Council. To reach Kristine please connect through accreditation@camed-acfsf.ca.

Accreditation Standards

Governance of the Accreditation Process

CAMEd, as the professional association for midwifery education, has overall responsibility for the accreditation process and must ensure the accreditation standards are applied uniformly to Baccalaureate Degree programs in midwifery in Canada.

CAMEd is committed to quality baccalaureate degree education for midwives in Canada. Its first objective is to “Promote excellence in midwifery education, and establish and maintain the national accrediting process for midwifery education programs.” The Standards for Baccalaureate Degree programs in midwifery were first approved in 2018 and revised in 2024.

The Accreditation Council of CAMEd conducts the accreditation process and is accountable to the Board of CAMEd for its functions and decisions.

A Liaison Committee, to be established by the Board of CAMEd, supports the work of the Council And provides a mechanism for communication around accreditation. The Liaison Committee will be composed of: the Chair (or delegate) of CAMEd, President (or delegate) of CAM, Chair (or delegate) of CMRC and the Chair (or delegate) of NCIM.

Liaison Committee members will be asked to reach out to their networks to solicit members for the Accreditation Council and or ad hoc committees (such as an appeals committee or policy review committee) for recommendation to the CAMEd Board of directors.

Accreditation Council

The Council coordinates the review of individual programs, recruits peer reviewers, communicates with programs and reviewers, receives and considers all reports. The Council, after review of all documentation and the recommendation of reviewers, will formulate a decision about the accreditation status and term of accreditation of a program and advise the CAMEd board of the decision prior to communicating with the program.

The maximum term possible is seven (7) years. In situations where major changes may be anticipated to occur within the seven (7) year period, the Council may decide to confer accreditation for a shorter term.

The Council must meet at a minimum once per year and otherwise as accreditation reviews are scheduled.

Membership

The Accreditation Council consists of the following members:

1. The Chair is an experienced faculty member from a Canadian university midwifery education program who is a full voting member of CAMEd appointed by the CAMEd Board of Directors
2. Two (2) midwives who are faculty members from Canadian midwifery programs and are full voting members of CAMEd, appointed by the CAMEd Board
3. A representative of CMRC (Canadian Midwifery Regulators Council)
4. A midwife member of CAM (Canadian Association of Midwives)
5. A midwife member of NCIM (National Council of Indigenous Midwives )
6. A member of the public with knowledge of midwifery and education programs at a university level, or a member of a health profession familiar with university level preparation for professional practice appointed by CAMEd
7. A senior student currently enrolled in a midwifery program or a new graduate of a Canadian midwifery baccalaureate program appointed by SMAC

Further provisions for membership of the Council include:

• At least one member must have capability in oral and written French
• Regional representation must be considered
• Term of office: normally 3 years, renewable once except for the senior student/new graduate whose term of office is a maximum of 18 months
• Quorum: Chair and 4 members of whom at least two are midwives
• Decision-making is by consensus.

Terms of Reference of the Accreditation Council

1. Establish and implement policies and procedures for accreditation reviews.
2. Schedule accreditation reviews of individual programs in coordination with each program and notify the programs as well as relevant stakeholder groups of upcoming reviews.
3. Conduct training and/or provide access to the AAAC online training program for peer reviewers. recruit and maintain a pool of qualified reviewers.
4. Determine the composition of review teams in conjunction with the Head of the program to be reviewed.
5. Review documentation submitted by the program and make recommendations regarding specific areas to be addressed by the Review Team.
6. AC Chair reviews the written report from peer reviewers to identify any area of confidentiality and forwards the report to the program for verification of factual information.
7. Consult with reviewers if changes are needed to ensure accuracy. Document all changes and their reasons.
8. Formulate a preliminary decision about the accreditation status and term of accreditation based on the peer reviewer’s report and recommendations. Communicate the preliminary decision to the Program Head for review and response.
9. Consider the response submitted by the Program Head and revise the decision if warranted after careful review of the reasons presented.
10. Notify the CAMEd Board in writing of the final accreditation decision.
11. Notify the Program Head and Dean of the Faculty in writing of the final accreditation decision. (Letter to be signed by CAMEd President and Accreditation Council Chair.)
12. In the event of a notice of appeal, the Council Chair will inform all Council members and request the CAMEd Board in conjunction with the Liaison Committee to appoint an Appeals Committee (whose members are not Council members). The Council will reconsider the accreditation decision if requested by the Appeals Committee.
13. Develop interim reporting requirements and communicate this to the Program Head, including a timeline.
14. Conduct periodic reviews of the accreditation standards, the accreditation policies and process and related documents/materials.
15. Present recommended revisions of Standards to the CAMEd Board for approval. Report changes to policies and procedures as warranted.
16. Report annually to the CAMEd membership the outcome of accreditation reviews completed in that year.
17. Represent CAMEd to the Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada (AAAC).