Although Canada does not have an established national or regional system that provides accreditation, post-secondary institutions can voluntarily seek accreditation from a professional accrediting body. This was the case with Trinity Western University, who sought accreditation from the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Trinity Western University (TWU) was denied accreditation because of the college’s policy that prohibits faculty and students from having same-sex sexual activity. TWU felt the decision to deny accreditation went against the college’s right to religious freedom and appealed the law society’s decision with the Supreme Court of Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favor of the decision not to accredit Trinity Western's law school. One of the key reasons the Supreme Court held up this decision was because of the law society’s enabling statute that obligates its members to protect public interest when deciding whether to accredit a law school.
This example shows both the responsibility and power that an accrediting body has and needs to consider when determining whether to accredit a post-secondary institution.
For this post, I have gathered information from the following websites:
https://www.bccat.ca/system/accreditation
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/06/18/canadian-supreme-court-upholds-denial-accreditation-proposed-christian-law-school
Trinity Western University (TWU) was denied accreditation because of the college’s policy that prohibits faculty and students from having same-sex sexual activity. TWU felt the decision to deny accreditation went against the college’s right to religious freedom and appealed the law society’s decision with the Supreme Court of Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favor of the decision not to accredit Trinity Western's law school. One of the key reasons the Supreme Court held up this decision was because of the law society’s enabling statute that obligates its members to protect public interest when deciding whether to accredit a law school.
This example shows both the responsibility and power that an accrediting body has and needs to consider when determining whether to accredit a post-secondary institution.
For this post, I have gathered information from the following websites:
https://www.bccat.ca/system/accreditation
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/06/18/canadian-supreme-court-upholds-denial-accreditation-proposed-christian-law-school