About the Canadian Post-Secondary Access Partnership

The Canadian Post-Secondary Access Partnership (CPSAP) is led by the YMCA of Greater Toronto, working with a Founding Council of leaders from the education and business secotrs.  The YMCA is also working with Ernst & Young to further develop its role as the inaugural corporate sponsor and National Volunteer Champion for the Canadian Post-Secondary Access Partnership and is looking to involve other private sector champions and enlist new partners in the CPSAP Network.  

The CPSAP has two components:  (1) the CPSAP Network and (2) Community Partnerships. 

The CPSAP Network, a national best practices forum, will offer a range of member services (see Membership), from regular conferences and workshops, to support for the development of community-based post-secondary access services, to Web-based member information and technical resources.

The CPSAP Network will:

  • Provide an ongoing source of professional development opportunities and training for those working to support access and success
  • Provide support to communities seeking to start-up initiatives to broaden access to post-secondary studies in their communities and encourage student success
  • Act as a clearinghouse for new ideas, resources and applied research
  • Be a platform for joint advocacy on issues related to broadening post-secondary access and ensuring student success
  • Act as a vehicle to channel broad-based national efforts aimed at improving post-secondary access and student success in Canada through fundraising and social marketing
  • Constitute a forum for international exchange and collaboration, working across borders with groups such as National College Access Network in the USA and the UK-based European Access Network.
Community Partnerships include the pilot post-secondary access centres and programs of the YMCA now located in 12 cities.  These sites were developed with seed funding and training provided by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation over a three-year period from 2007-2009.  These YMCA sites deliver the CPSAP YouCanGo Program (see www.youcango.ca). 
 
Other CPSAP-affiliated access initiatives are also underway in a variety of communities, including access initiatives developed as part of the 1st Community Access Challenge, as well as projects in British Columbia, Biggar, La Ronge and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Quebec.