Fellow PLAR Practitioners,

Welcome to 2022! We hope you had an opportunity for a holiday filled with rest, relaxation and time with your loved ones.

Since the last newsletter, BCPLAN has continued advocating for PLAR and building new partnerships in BC. We concluded 2021 with a PLAR Mingle which was a great success and a networking opportunity for PLAR practitioners joining us from around the province, Canada, and even international practitioners! We are looking forward to the next PLAR Mingle at the end of 2022, and until then, we have some great updates to share with you.

It is worth noting, we have joined Learning Agents Inc. and DP+A Associates to conduct research on options for PLAR and micro-credentials in BC as part of a research project for BCcampus. The project completion date is scheduled for March 31, 2022. Watch for an update in our next newsletter. In addition, as part of this research we were able to update most of the information in PLAR Options, Processes and Credit Allowances in BC, a research project conducted for BCCAT in 2019. 

The PLAR Podcast continues its steady growth! The second episode was just released, featuring an interview with Justine Arsenault, Program Planning Analyst with BCIT’s SITE Centre, on military PLAR. We have also welcomed Natalie Deveaux, Assessment Services Coordinator at North Island College in Courtenay, as a co-host of the podcast. Please listen to the second episode on our website or follow the podcast on Apple or Google podcasts. 

We are also happy to share that we have welcomed new members to the Sustainability & Partnerships and Communications & Advocacy committees. In addition, while BCPLAN membership has a strong representation from major BC post-secondary institutions, we saw an opportunity for growth by increasing the representation from industry associations. The Sustainability & Partnerships committee is set to build strategies to develop such partnerships in 2022. 

Professional Development wise, we are developing two sessions for February-March, and will be excited share more details once the registration is open! Please stay tuned for membership communications from info@bcplan.ca.

Last but not least, please visit the PLAR Navigator Portfolios page for new career profiles for occupations in BC recently added to the website.  

On this note, I would like to conclude this report with a feeling of gratitude and appreciation of all the efforts by our members, BCPLAN Board of Directors and the two committees – Sustainability & Partnerships and Communications & Advocacy, to continuously support and advocate for PLAR in BC. 

Best regards,
Susan Forseille