The certification of college studies

• Attestation of College Studies (ACS)

  Type of certification awarded by the colleges since 1984. Programs leading to the ACS are developed by each institution to meet local technical training needs. Before 1984, programs leading to an ACS were developed and certified by the Ministère, and students who successfully completed a second program leading to a Diploma of College Studies (DCS) prior to that year received either an Attestation d'études collégiales de perfectionnement (attestation of advanced college studies), if the second program was in the same field as the first, or an Attestation d'études collégiales postscolaires (attestation of postcollege studies), if the program was in another field.

• Certificate of College Studies (CCS)

  Type of certification awarded by the Ministère for technical studies begun between 1973 and 1993. Programs leading to a CCS were developed by the Ministère and generally corresponded to the program-specific component of a technical DCS. These programs did not have a general education component.

• Certification regulation:

  The conditions that govern the awarding of the DCS. For example, the certification regulation in force since the fall 1994 term comprises the following requirements: achievement of the objectives and standards of a program, passing the comprehensive examination for the program and passing the Ministerial language of instruction and literature examination. The certification regulation applicable to a student for a given program is the one that was in force during the term in which the student first enrolled in the program. An institution may, however, decide to apply a more recent certification regulation.

• Comprehensive examination for a program

  Examination to assess whether a student has attained the objectives and standards of a program. This examination is drawn up by the college for each program leading to a DCS that it offers. Passing this examination is one of the conditions for obtaining the DCS.

• Diploma of College Studies (DCS)

  Type of certification awarded since 1967 by the Ministère for technical or pre-university studies. Programs leading to a DCS have a general education component and a program-specific component. Between 1967 and 1993, the Ministère prescribed the courses for the programs leading to a DCS that it developed. Since 1994, the Ministère has defined such programs in terms of objectives and standards, and the colleges have determined the learning activities (courses) required to attain the objectives and standards.

• Diplôme de perfectionnement de l'enseignement collégial (DPEC) (diploma of advanced college studies)

  Type of certification awarded by the Ministère for technical studies begun between 1984 and 1993. The programs that led to the DPEC were drawn up by the Ministère and were designed to enable students to further develop the competencies they had acquired in programs leading to a technical DCS or a CCS. These programs were exclusively for the holders of a technical DCS or CCS, and had no general education component.

• Ministerial Examination of College English, Language of Instruction and Literature

  Examination to assess whether, after three language of instruction and literature courses in the general education component common to all programs, a student has acquired enough proficiency in reading and writing to understand literary texts and to defend his or her point of view in a statement that is relevant, coherent and well written. Passing this examination is one of the conditions for obtaining the DCS. For more information, consult the Ministère's épreuves uniformes, Ministerial Examination of College English Language of Instruction and Literature Web site.

• Statement of marks (also called a transcript)

  Official document issued by a college to a student at the end of each term. This document, whose form is prescribed by the Minister, sets out the results obtained by the student in each course. Where appropriate, the report may also indicate the college-level examinations students have taken, the objectives and standards they have attained, the internships they have completed as part of work-study programs, and any other form of certification they have earned at the college-level.