about CFAB

The Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board (CFAB) was established in 1989 by the five provincial professional foresters/forest engineering associations and the Canadian Institute of Forestry (member agencies) with the support of the Association of University Forestry Schools in Canada (AUFSC). Professional associations in Nova Scotia and in Newfoundland and Labrador have since been formed and have joined the CFAB as member agencies.

The Board accredits Canadian forestry programs at the baccalaureate level or higher as a servers to member agencies. This process ensures that accredited programs meet or exceed common educational standards acceptable for professional forestry registration in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Board applies the terms, conditions and requirements of its Policy Statement and the Academic Standards agreed by the member agencies in the undertaking of its responsibility. Accreditation applies to an individual program that leads to a forestry-related degree. The CFAB does not accredit departments, faculties or universities.

Accreditation of a program is achieved through an on-site visit to the university faculty by a team of forestry professionals drawn from a range of disciplines and segments of the forestry sector. The visit is undertaken with the mutual consent of the faculty housing the program to be evaluated. The faculty contributes significantly to the process through the development of extensive documentation in advance of the visit and the making of arrangements for the site visit team to meet with university officials, faculty members, undergraduates and graduates.

The academic curriculum is thoroughly reviewed. Learning facilities, physical plant, educational environment, faculty experience and qualifications, student/graduate skills and competencies, competency assessment procedures, and program stability and support within and outside the university are all considered during the visit. The findings of the site visit team are recorded in a report which is considered and deliberated by the Board leading to an accreditation decision.

Programs may be accredited for a maximum of six years. Accreditation for shorter periods may be granted if there are shortcomings in the academic program or in other aspects of the educational environment. Accreditation may be rejected if critical academic shortcomings exist.

The Board publishes an announcement of each accreditation granted. It publishes also an annual report and a listing of the university forestry programs currently accredited in Canada under this national accreditation process. The Board is a member of the Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada.