Program Awards

The Program Awards recognize excellence in university continuing education programs in Canada and aim to nurture the concept of the scholarship of practice inherent in the program development process.  

These awards honor credit and non-credit university continuing education programs and courses at CAUCE member institutions for excellence in achieving their educational objectives. The awards also aim to nurture the concept of the scholarship of practice inherent in the program development process.

Up to six awards are made annually, distributed over the four programming categories. Non-credit contract training can be considered for the non-credit awards and should be submitted to the appropriate hours-based category. If fewer than six applicants are deemed worthy of awards, then fewer awards are made.

We are no longer accepting entries for 2024.

Criteria for Nomination

The nominated program or course must be a credit or non-credit program or course offered by a CAUCE member institution within the last two years: March 1, 2022, to Feb 28, 2024.

The program or course must have completed at least one cycle to be considered.

Institutions can submit multiple entries.  

1. An abstract (not exceeding 200 words)
2. The program description, not exceeding three (3) pages. (Be selective; please do not include a detailed curriculum of all the course materials.)
3. A statement that substantiates why the program or course warrants nomination by addressing each of the adjudication criteria noted below, not exceeding three (3) pages. Nominators should clearly identify the specific award category (i.e. credit or non-credit; over or under 48 hours).  
4. A copy of the promotional material(s).

• Value and service: What need does the program meet for the student clientele? What service does the program provide to the community collaborators or partners, as well as the home institution?  What are the specific indications of its value or the importance of the service it provides?

• Complexity in program development: What is the degree of complexity in program development; for example, negotiations with partner institutions, agencies or target groups, financing or delivery challenges, diversity of students or evaluation? How difficult is it to achieve the program’s stated learning objectives?

• Innovation of content and program design: Is the program innovative, imaginative, or unique in terms of its overall concept, or in terms of specialized curriculum or pedagogical approach?

• Ingenuity and/or complexity in delivery: Has the program developed innovative ways to deliver content or to support students to take the program? The focus of this criteria is on how the program is delivered to meet the needs of non-traditional students.

• Profile of continuing education: How does the program enhance the profile of continuing education within its home university and the community in terms of research, practice or service?

We are no longer accepting entries for 2024.

We are very proud to share the winners of our annual program awards competition. In addition, a great big thank you to all of our members who enter the program awards competition each year.