Appeal: Angolan Student Appeal by SAIT |
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Appeal Ruling
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2011-12 SeasonOctober 21, 2011Environmental Context
Ruling: The well thought out presentation by SAIT which outlined the academic content of the program, convinced our appeals committee that the Angolan students were in fact students who were in the process of educating themselves for a career in the field. Although this program appears to be delivered within the governing academic philosophy of SAIT, unfortunately the program these students are enrolled in is not accredited by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Technology as operated by the Government of Alberta. Post Ruling Commentary: Any decision other than denying the appeal would be precedent setting for the Conference. Future administrative efforts to address the inclusion of Workforce Development or Workforce Nationalization Program as it is called at SAIT, must be addressed through the governance process of the ACAC. It is well understood and a functional element of our current parameters of participation that only ‘credit’ based academic programs as validated through Academic Council and eventual Advanced Education and Technology processes are used to grant participation in our League, as well as our National Championships. Students of Colleges offering course deemed non-credit or non-validated through an Academic Council and Advanced Education and Technology process are considered as not enjoying the privilege of participation in our competitive enterprise. Post Ruling Commentary: Recommendation to the Governance and Finance Committee: Since the ACAC defines “full-time status as being registered in and attending a minimum of three (3) credit courses totaling nine (9) credit hours (or equivalent as determined by the institution’s Registrar) in each semester in which they participate in ACAC competition”, it would be advisable for the Governance Committee to give more direction to institutions in regards to interpreting the translation of ‘class hours’ to ‘credits’ as there is currently the possibility of institution’s differing in what exactly defines a credit hour. This is particularly important since we have a number of institutions within our conference that offer courses that are measured in hours versus credits. It seems that we need to establish parameters that speak more specifically to this issue. Recommendation to the ACAC Executive: Based on the presentation of initiative on the part of SAIT, and dialogue within the Appeal Committee, we ask that the Executive explore a willingness on the part of our ACAC membership to address the expansion of our valid course programming to include other options beyond our traditional reference to Advanced Education and Technology. Such discussion may require feedback from our Presidents Council as it is apparent that a number of our member Colleges are currently growing their program areas of expertise outside the traditional educational delivery our Conference was founded upon. Further Discussion and Direction It is clear that SAIT is seeking some type of inclusionary sport participation opportunity for these students registered in a Workforce Development program with one for credit course during the Fall semester. Having confirmed the students in question are not registered in a full time designated or accredited program of study, the appeal committee strongly suggests that SAIT explore other, more inclusionary leagues of post secondary participation. The Alberta Colleges Athletic League (ACAL) does have a membership application process that can be accessed through www.acal.ab.ca and this same league has been identified by the CCAA eligibility committee as not costing of eligibility in our own conference based on their willingness to permit participation of part-time students. The Committee would like to acknowledge the good work of the SAIT Registrar for correctly interpreting these five (5) Angolan students as not meeting the foundational eligibility aspects of our Conference. Respectfully submitted, Wade Kolmel Gregg Meropoulis Grace Scott
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