Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada

What Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada does

The Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada (AAAC) is a Toronto-based non-profit membership association founded in 1994 that serves as the national collaborative forum for Canadian professional education accrediting bodies. It represents 24 Full Member organizations and 3 Associate Members across professions including architecture, nursing, pharmacy, law, engineering, psychology, occupational therapy, and dentistry, with a staff of 1-10. AAAC advances shared accreditation standards through its published Guidelines for Good Practice (originally April 2010, revised March 22, 2024), which members are required to adhere to, covering quality assurance, transparency, fairness, Indigenous reconciliation, and emerging considerations such as AI and social media in educational programs.

The organization's core product is the 'Conducting Accreditation Reviews' online training module — a seven-part bilingual (English and French) course covering the accreditation process, evaluation teams, university culture, evidence gathering, interviewing, and reporting, with self-assessment quizzes and a final certification exam. The module is provided free to Full Members and available on request to non-members. AAAC also delivers recurring value through an annual conference (most recently April 8-9, 2025 in Ottawa), webinars, virtual member forums, and an online community forum. The organization operates three formal operational committees (Program, Recruitment, Member Services) to drive member engagement and recruitment.

AAAC's revenue model is built on annual Full Membership dues of $1,280 plus GST/HST, generating a small, predictable recurring revenue base. Distribution is direct membership only, with applications reviewed against eligibility criteria covering accreditation status, post-secondary focus, professional program scope, and adherence to the Guidelines for Good Practice. The technology stack is minimal, relying on Wild Apricot membership management software for member administration. There are no funding rounds, acquisitions, parent companies, or external investors — AAAC operates as an independent association governed by a Board of Directors and supported entirely by its member organizations.

Name

Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada

Legal name

Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada

Website

https://aaac.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada is a Toronto-based non-profit founded in 1994 that serves as the national forum for 24 Canadian professional education accrediting bodies, delivering membership services, the bilingual 'Conducting Accreditation Reviews' online training course, and shared Guidelines for Good Practice.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Education Accreditation Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

Keywords

• Professional education accreditation
• Accreditation standards
• Membership association
• Peer reviewer training
• Quality assurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Full Membership Dues: Annual membership dues for full member organizations providing access to all member benefits including online training, webinars, annual meetings, and online resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AAAC operates as a national membership association that provides a collaborative forum and collective voice for Canadian professional education accrediting bodies. It offers Full Membership access to online training, webinars, annual meetings, and resources, and delivers a structured seven-module online training course titled 'Conducting Accreditation Reviews' for onsite visitors, peer reviewers, and evaluators. The association also publishes and enforces Guidelines for Good Practice that all member accreditors adhere to.

Product overview

AAAC provides a collaborative forum and collective voice for Canadian professional education accrediting bodies, primarily offering membership services and a single structured online learning product. The core offering is the 'Conducting Accreditation Reviews' online training module, a seven-module course for peer reviewers and evaluators. AAAC also delivers membership benefits including webinars, an annual conference, an online community forum, and downloadable membership resources, all governed by its published Guidelines for Good Practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Conducting Accreditation Reviews (Online Learning) Seven-module online training course for onsite visitors, peer reviewers, and evaluators conducting accreditation reviews. Covers accreditation overview, process steps, evaluation teams, university culture and professional ethics, evidence gathering, interviewing, and reporting, with self-assessment quizzes and a final exam. Available in English and French; free for AAAC member organizations.
• AAAC Full Membership Annual Full Membership for Canadian professional education accrediting bodies, providing access to online training (Conducting Accreditation Reviews), webinars, the Annual Conference, online resources, member forums, and adherence to AAAC Guidelines for Good Practice. Annual dues of $1,280 plus GST/HST.
• AAAC Annual Conference Annual in-person conference for AAAC members and the broader accreditation community, providing programming, committee recruitment, and networking opportunities. Most recent conference held April 8-9, 2025 in Ottawa.
• Guidelines for Good Practice Published AAAC Guidelines for Good Practice in professional education accreditation that all member accrediting bodies must adhere to, covering standards for the accreditation process, reviewer training, public recognition, equity, inclusion, and continuous improvement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 24 Full Members + 3 Associate Members representing Canada's professional education accreditation sector

Named customers26 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA): UK's independent quality body for higher education. While QAA is itself an accreditor rather than an association of accreditors, it shares AAAC's mission of advancing quality assurance standards and offers comparable guidance, training, and benchmarking services.
• Colleges and Institutes Canada: National association for publicly-funded Canadian colleges and institutes. Operates in the same Canadian higher education ecosystem as AAAC and serves as an adjacent advocacy and convening body for institutional members.
• Universities Canada: National voice for Canadian universities and university-degree-granting colleges. Universities Canada serves a related Canadian higher education constituency and offers some overlapping convening and policy functions, though its members are institutions rather than accreditors.

Regional players

• Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA): Australia's national higher education quality and standards regulator. Performs government-mandated accreditation oversight comparable in function to AAAC's voluntary accreditation community, but operates in a different regulatory environment and geography.
• Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN): Regional quality assurance network serving Asia-Pacific higher education accreditors. Operates the same membership-association model as AAAC but focuses on a different geography, with comparable member services and conference programming.

Others

• Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC): Canadian membership association for university and college registrars. Operates a similar small-staff, member-funded, volunteer-governed model and convenes a related Canadian higher education professional community, though its focus is academic records rather than accreditation.

Direct peers

• European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR): Official register of European quality assurance agencies that meet agreed standards. EQAR performs a function analogous to AAAC's accreditation-of-accreditors role, providing external quality assurance oversight for member agencies.
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): US-based coordinating body for higher education accreditors that performs a near-identical function to AAAC for the United States. Both organizations serve as umbrella associations that convene accrediting bodies, advocate for the accreditation community, and develop quality standards — making CHEA the closest international counterpart.
• International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE): Global membership network of higher education quality assurance and accreditation agencies. INQAAHE operates the same model as AAAC — a membership forum for accreditors with guidelines, conferences, and training — but at international scale.
• European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA): European umbrella association for national quality assurance and accreditation agencies in higher education. ENQA's membership model, member services portfolio, and role as a collective voice for accreditors closely mirror AAAC's structure and value proposition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-of-accrediting-agencies-of-canada-aaac

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada