Apprentice Professional – are individuals who have successfully applied for membership with the PGA of Canada and are in the training stages in the PGA of Canada Training Academy to achieve their Class “A” status.

Class “A” – Class “A” status signifies the completion of all required training. Once Class “A” is achieved, members no longer have deadlines or mandatory continuing education points and credits required.

Individuals reinstating back into the association will be subject to an individual course audit and may be subject to the loss of credits previously attained for any courses that have been updated since the individual left the association.

Any former member who is reinstating their membership after a 5+ year leave is eligible for an internal audit of previously completed training plus the submission of previous workplace experience and education.  The submission will be $300 and conducted by a task-force committee.
 

Steps to initiate the process;
Please email a detailed resume of your education, workplace, and volunteer experience with a specific focus on business to Matt Allen (matt@pgaofcanada.com) in order to get the process started.

To achieve a Class “A” specialization in one of the elective categories, 10 credits must be achieved in that specified category.
Specializations are valid once Class “A” status is achieved.

The Specialization in Management and Leadership is only available once an individual has achieved their Specialization in Golf Operations.

As of February 28th 2019,  Class “A” members will be grandfathered based on the below member categories.

Head Professional – Golf Operations
Head Teaching Professional/Teaching Professional – Teaching
Any member with NCCP Certification in the Competition Stream - Coaching
Executive Professional/Master Professional – Golf Operations and Management and Leadership.

To maintain Active' Status, Apprentice Professionals are expected to meet the annual credit minimum for their Training Year  by December 1st. Any credits above the minimum requirement will count towards the following year deadline.

Failure to fulfil these expectations will result in an adjustment of membership status effective December 1st, until the outstanding requirements are  met for a maximum of two years.

Example of total credits required for each training  year:

In the first year, the following courses are required:

Instructor of Beginner Golfers Workshop*
Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders
History & Background of the PGA of Canada
Career Literacy Part 1: Map Your Career Path

The additional 10 Core Credits and 15 Elective Credits can be achieved at any point over the six-year tenure.

 

 Inactive Apprentice Professionals can only return to active by registering for a scheduled workshop. This registration fee is 100% non-transferrable and non-refundable.
 
If attendance at the workshop is missed, the registration fees will be forfeited. The Apprentice will return to inactive status and can only return to active status after completing the full three day IB workshop.
 
  **the apprentice no longer has the option to register for the workshop and return to active, they must complete training.
 
By not attending the IB workshop in this 2nd year, the Apprentice will be suspended. Any reinstatement status would be back to inactive until the workshop is complete.

To reach Class “A” status, Apprentice Professionals must complete a total of 30 credits (15 Core Credits and 15 Elective Credit) over a maximum of six years

To earn Class ''A' Membership, Apprentice Professionals must have all core courses completed, along  with 15 elective credits by their program deadline (maximum of 6 years).

After six years, if the Apprentice Professional has not completed their 30 credits and achieved Class “A” status, their membership will be suspended. This deadline is final, and there is no inactive membership period following the six-year completion deadline.

Apprentice Professionals failing to meet the minimum credit value or required courses in a given year will become an inactive member, not in good standing.

To return to active, you must complete the minimum of five credits from the previous year. The additional five credits for the current year’s deadline are still required. 


Failure to attend the Instructor of Beginner Golfers Workshop in your first full year will result in your membership status changing to ‘inactive’.
 
Inactive Apprentice Professionals can only return to active by registering for a scheduled workshop. This registration fee is 100% non-transferrable and non-refundable.
 
If attendance at the workshop is missed, the registration fees will be forfeited. The Apprentice will return to inactive status and can only return to active status after completing the full three day IB workshop.
 
  **the apprentice no longer has the option to register for the workshop and return to active, they must complete training.
 
By not attending the IB workshop in this 2nd year, the Apprentice will be suspended. Any reinstatement status would be back to inactive until the workshop is complete.
 

Part of any professional designation and career comes responsibility and commitment to meeting deadlines. The PGA of Canada Class “A” status is renowned both globally and domestically as ‘best in class.’ This designation opens career opportunities unique to PGA of Canada members because of the association’s world class education program and exhaustive research to understand the responsibilities of a PGA Class “A” member. While we understand Apprentice Professionals are busy and manage many different responsibilities, only medical and extreme extenuating circumstances will be considered.  

Process for requesting an extension:

Send a email to Matt Allen, Chief Innovation Officer (matt@pgaofcanada.com) outlining the following:

- a letter outlining the basis for the extension ask (medical/extenuating circumstance), when you are requesting the extension until and what your commitment will be to achieving the outstanding credits.

- If the request is for medical purposes, we will need a doctors note

Please allow 5-10 business days for your request to be processed.

Each course within the PGA Training Academy will be delivered in a different and unique learning platform. A passing grade within the PGA Training Academy will be a minimum 70%, or in some cases, 100% for specific click through modules. This form of evaluation may be different for each course and learners are encouraged to review the learning outcomes and evaluation methods before registering to ensure it aligns with their time commitments, methods of preferred learning, and priorities at the given time. 

Each course within the PGA Training Academy may have different course passing grades, different evaluation methods and as such, learners are encouraged to review this before registration. Any learner who does not meet the equivalent passing grade, does not meet the late policy, resubmission policy, missed time policy or contravene the Academy Integrity policy in a given course will receive no credit ("Not Yet") for that course.

Any learner that receives a "Not Yet" grade and is choosing/required to re-take the course will be able to do so at 50% cost of the course registration fee.

Learners have a maximum of three resubmissions per assignment, project, or knowledge check to achieve a course's passing grade. A missed deadline is considered an attempt.

After receiving a 'Not Yet' grade for an assignment, the learner has a maximum of 2 weeks to resubmit the assignment. If the course passing grade is not achieved after the 3rd attempt, the learner will receive a grade of "Not Yet" and not receive credit for this course.

Workshops:

Early departures for in-person workshops are not permitted. To obtain your Training Academy credits, individuals must be present for the entirety of the scheduled agenda. Individuals who depart earlier than the allotted time for a workshop may be subject to re-taking the workshop and not receiving Training Academy credits. 

Live instructed online courses:
Learners will only be permitted one missed class per course. If this total is exceeded, the learner will receive a not-yet grade for the course.

Degree/diploma programs outside of the programs offered at Georgian College, Humber College, McMaster University or any of the formerly recognized institutions will not receive equivalencies or exemptions for any courses within PGA Training Academy. This is based off industry research from stakeholders and employers to ensure all Apprentice Professionals have relevant education, training, and experience to what is needed in the ‘real world’.    
Individuals who have experience or education in similar courses to the PGA of Canada Training Academy, are encouraged to take courses in other areas that may be of a benefit or interest to them. 

Courses will be reviewed on a one to three-year basis based on the revision cycle to ensure the most up-to-date and relevant content is being delivered to the membership. Once the content of a course has been replaced, credit will no longer be given to non-members wishing to reinstate once six years has passed from the date the course was taken.  

This section is only relevant to members who have been suspended and not met their six-year deadline or have resigned and reinstated after their six-year deadline has passed. This same process is applied to specializations, however, though credits counting towards specializations can expire, your Class “A” status will not be rescinded.
 

Courses will be valid for a minimum of six-years once they are completed. If a former member reinstates, all courses that were completed over six-years prior will be audited and if updates have been made to the content and learning outcomes, no credit will be given. All courses with the same content and learning outcomes will remain valid for longer than six-years, until content is updated.
Once Class “A” status is achieved, the credits will not expire; however, Class “A” members are encouraged to continue taking credits as they pertain to their career, as well as retaking updated courses.

Online Courses – Asynchronous:
Within 7 days of registration – full refund 
Within 30 days of registration – half refund of the course 
After 30 days of registration - $0 refund

Online Facilitated Courses:
Within 7 days of registration – full refund (minus $25 administrative fee)
Within 30 days of registration – half refund of the course (minus $25 administrative fee)
After 30 days of registration - $0 refund

Live Instructed Course:
After registration – full refund (minus $25 administrative fee)
After the first class – half refund of the course (minus $25 administrative fee)
After second class – $0 refund

Mentorship Program:
After registration – full refund (minus $25 administrative fee)
After the first touchpoint – half refund of the course (minus $25 administrative fee)
After second touchpoint – $0 refund

Workshops:
Cancellations before the registration deadline will receive a full refund, no cancellation fee.
Cancellations after the registration deadline but before the first day of the workshop will receive half the refund of their registration fee and minus a $75 cancellation fee.
Cancellations on day one of the workshop (or absentees) will not receive any refund of their registration fee.

*any member who is 50% or more through a PGA Training Academy course will receive a $0 refund. 
*any failing grade for a course will receive a $0 refund.  

In accordance with the PGA of Canada Code of Professional Practice, any forms of plagiarism will be managed accordingly and the PGA member may be subject to a “Not Yet” grade in that course with no refund.

Any breach of Academic Integrity will be managed by the PGA of Canada Education staff and will be communicated with the PGA member individually.

Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

• claiming, submitting or presenting the words, ideas, artistry, drawings, images or data of another person, including information found on the Internet and unpublished materials, as if they are one’s own, without appropriate referencing;
• claiming, submitting or presenting someone else’s work, ideas, opinions or theories as if they are one’s own, without proper referencing;
• claiming, submitting or presenting another person’s substantial compositional contributions, assistance, edits or changes to an assignment as one’s own;
• claiming, submitting or presenting collaborative work as if it were created solely by oneself or one’s group;
• submitting the same work, in whole or in part, for credit in two or more courses, or in the same course more than once, without the prior written permission of the instructor;
• Minimally paraphrasing someone else’s work by changing only a few words and not citing the original source.

Any discipline as a result of a breach of the PGA of Canada Code of Professional Practice is subject to the PGA of Canada – Appeals policies. 

Students who are enrolled in any of these programs will be able to complete courses with learning outcomes that match the PGA Training Academy.

The PGA of Canada has partnered with the following post-secondary programs and will have access to audit course learning outcomes.

Upon completion of the outlined courses and a minimum grade of 70%, the student (if a PGA of Canada member) will receive credit in the Training Academy for that course.

It is the responsibility of the student to provide the PGA of Canada with updated transcripts annually in order to receive the equivalent credits.

Formal education is not a mandatory requirement of the PGA of Canada. Formal education is strongly recommended based on the individual’s career path as an outcome in the career literacy course. 

Individuals who have completed their formal education will receive 3 -5 credits towards their Class “A” designation based on the following criteria:

3 credits – 3 year diploma from a recognized college
4 credits -- University degree or 3 year diploma with additional certificate/diploma program
5 credits – Masters or PhD 

Formal education submissions will be reviewed individually and must be related to the individuals’ career path in golf (example - business, commerce, marketing, communications, kinesiology or sport science, sport management). 

To complete the process of achieving credits for your formal education, click here to register to submit your transcripts.

LPGA Class “A” members will be exempt from the Play Ability Test (PAT) and will automatically receive 20.0 of the 30.0 credits required to achieve Class “A” status with the PGA of Canada. A reference guide outlining course equivalencies and additional courses required to achieve Class “A” status is available below.

Download LPGA Pathway

Apprentice Professionals will be required to submit official transcripts to the Education Department at the PGA of Canada to receive the allotted credits. Unofficial transcripts will not be accepted for credit.

Download Fanshawe Pathway

The PGA of Canada will provide an individualized course audit for any Apprentice Professional who completed or partially completed a PGM diploma at a formerly recognized institution.

The list of formerly recognized PGM programs are as follows:

Camosun College
Lethbridge College
Grant MacEwan
Holland College
Niagara College
St. Clair College

Any Apprentice Professional who wishes to have a course audit done will be required to sign up for the Post-Secondary School course (the fee is $50.00) and submit their official transcripts for review.