Our Story
IAESC Origin Story
Origin Story
Our leadership shapes tomorrow. As Canada’s only Indigenous-led post-secondary quality assurance body, IAESC leads with humility and purpose, showing that when we embed Indigenous values and ways of being into learning, this can transform post-secondary education. It is our responsibility to ensure that we provide the highest quality standards of evaluation and accreditation for Indigenous Institutes in Ontario. We do so by ensuring that we centre our work around cultural ways of knowing, being, and language.
We recognize the history of Indigenous education in Canada, and how for many, this history is accompanied by deep trauma. We recognize the work of those who have come before us, who advocated for the importance of Indigenous controlled education, and who led the way for the development of this work. We acknowledge our responsibility to fulfil our mandate in a way that not only honours and recognizes Indigenous culture and tradition, but in a way that uplifts and celebrates our People and our accomplishments. We recognize our responsibility to walk with and care for our knowledge, culture, language, and responsibilities as an Indigenous-led and governed organization.
About the IAESC Logo
In Anishinabek teachings, rocks are our Grandfathers, often a part of ceremony and acknowledged in other traditional contexts. Rocks have held our teachings since time immemorial. Rocks are resilient, forged by the natural elements over generations. The strength of the rocks represents the preservation of language, culture and tradition.
The Quality Assurance Process
Organization and Program Review applications undergo a thorough review process lead by the IAESC quality assurance team with input and guidance from the Indigenous Institutes Quality Assessment Board (IIQAB).
Indigenous Institutes Act, 2017
In 2017, the Indigenous Institutes Act was passed and came into effect to recognize the Indigenous post-secondary pillar and the 9 Indigenous Institutes that make up this pillar. The Act recognizes the Indigenous Institutes as Indigenous governed and community-based education institutions, mandated and accountable to community.
IAESC’s mandate per the Indigenous Institutes Act is to:
– Establish a quality assurance board for the assessment of applications from the Indigenous Institutes
– Establish standards and benchmarks for the assessment of Institute organizational applications and program applications from Indigenous Institutes
– Establish and undertake to maintain standards regarding the interests of students at Indigenous Institutes
– Make recommendations to the Ministry for Indigenous Institutes to receive operating funding
– Provide approval to grant a diploma, certificate or degree program
– Provide approval to an Indigenous Institute to use the term “university”
Per the direction of the Indigenous Institutes Act, IAESC has established the Indigenous Institutes Quality Assessment Board (IIQAB) for the assessment of applications from the Indigenous Institutes.
What does this mean?
Indigenous Institutes who receive an approval for an organization review then become formally recognized by the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security as an approved standalone post-secondary institute. As of August 2026, each of the nine Indigenous Institutes have successfully achieved approval of their organization review. As an approved Indigenous Institute, the institutes are eligible to submit a program review application to delivery certificate, diploma, degree, and master’s degree programs independently. See the list of approved program reviews here.
Approved program applications have undergone the review process outlined by program type, and additionally, have been reviewed and approved by the the Indigenous Institutes Quality Assessment Board (IIQAB). Some programs undergo additional review throughout the review and approval process, such as a review conducted by an external expert panel to ensure that the program’s curriculum and learning outcomes meet IAESC’s distinct standards and benchmarks.
