The OCQAS maintains a clearly defined organizational structure that supports the effective, efficient, and transparent delivery of its mission and quality assurance activities. The structure is organized around two core operational functions:

• the Credential Validation Service (CVS), responsible for program-level validation aligned with the Minister’s Binding Policy Directives and Ontario Qualifications Framework; and
• the College Quality Assurance Audit Process (CQAAP), responsible for cyclical, institutional-level audits of Ontario’s 24 public colleges.

These functions are supported by defined operational roles, the Executive Director and a Quality Assurance Manager, who together ensure consistency, rigor, and continuity in the planning, coordination, and delivery of quality assurance activities across both CVS and CQAAP. The Executive Director (ED Job Description) reports to the OCQAS Management Board and is directly responsible for both the strategic leadership and the day-to-day operation of the organization. In practice, the Executive Director personally carries out core operational activities, including auditor recruitment, selection and vetting, policy implementation, coordination of audit cycles, and oversight of all quality assurance processes, in addition to holding overall decision-making authority.

The Quality Assurance Manager (QAM Job Description) works alongside the Executive Director and is responsible for the daily execution of quality assurance activities. These responsibilities include program reviews, audit preparation and support, documentation management, coordination with reviewers, and ensuring that all official OCQAS communications, documentation, and quality assurance materials are produced and disseminated in both official languages. Together, the Executive Director and Quality Assurance Manager jointly ensure consistency, integrity, procedural compliance, and effective implementation of all the OCQAS quality assurance processes.

In response to recommendations from the 2021 INQAAHE review, the OCQAS strengthened its internal capacity by creating the full-time Quality Assurance Manager role and by formalizing recruitment processes for additional support roles (Secondments and Professional Development Opportunities Policy 15).

Depending on workload and specific operational needs, the Executive Director and Quality Assurance Manager are supported by consultants and secondees who are engaged to provide targeted expertise or short-term operational support. These roles are clearly defined, time-limited, and aligned with specific projects or functional needs, ensuring flexibility while maintaining accountability and oversight within the core organizational structure.

In response to recommendations from the 2021 INQAAHE review (INQAAHE Statement on OCQAS – January 2021, 1.4-3, p. 3), the OCQAS strengthened its internal capacity by creating the full-time Quality Assurance Manager role and by formalizing recruitment processes for additional support roles (Secondments and Professional Development Opportunities Policy 15).

Following the introduction of the full-time Quality Assurance Manager role, which strengthened internal capacity and supports continuity and succession planning, reliance on secondees has decreased.

Roles and responsibilities are documented through job descriptions, policies, and operational guidelines, promoting clarity, accountability, and resilience in the agency’s operations. This structure allows the OCQAS to respond effectively to evolving system needs while maintaining the integrity and independence of its quality assurance functions.

Decisional authority within the OCQAS is clearly established and documented in policy and job descriptions (ED Job Description, QAM Job Description) to ensure transparency and accountability.

• The Management Board holds ultimate authority for strategic direction, governance policy, and oversight of the Executive Director to which the Board “delegates … the responsibility and authority to manage the everyday operations of the organization while overseeing and monitoring processes, and the organization’s robustness” (Management Board Roles and Responsibilities Policy 06, p.1)
• The Executive Director holds primary authority for operational and managerial decision-making and is directly responsible for the oversight and execution of the OCQAS’s quality assurance activities. In addition to strategic leadership, the Executive Director personally undertakes core operational functions, including the implementation and monitoring of quality assurance processes, auditor recruitment, selection and vetting, coordination of audit cycles, procedural oversight across CVS and CQAAP, staff and contractor management, and final review and approval of key documentation and decisions. The Executive Director also represents the OCQAS in provincial, national, and international forums and ensures that operational decisions align with governance expectations, policies, and system priorities.
• The Quality Assurance Manager, reporting to the Executive Director, exercises defined operational authority for the coordination and day-to-day management of quality assurance activities. This includes conducting program reviews, supporting and coordinating audits, managing documentation and records, coordinating with reviewers and auditors, and ensuring consistency in the application of standards and procedures across both the Credential Validation Service (CVS) and the College Quality Assurance Audit Process (CQAAP). The Quality Assurance Manager is trained and authorized to make routine and time-sensitive operational decisions during temporary absences of the Executive Director, ensuring continuity of operations while maintaining established governance, accountability, and decision-making frameworks.
• Auditors and Secondees operate within defined procedural frameworks.
• Consultants are retained for specific projects and defined timeframes under formal agreements that clearly set out their scope of work, responsibilities, reporting relationships, and decision-making parameters. They provide specialized expertise and operational support within established procedural frameworks, while decisional authority remains with designated OCQAS leadership roles.

Through this defined governance and operational structure, decisional authority for strategic direction, organizational oversight, and day-to-day quality assurance activities is clearly allocated within the OCQAS.