College program standards
Read the program standards if you’re deciding on what to study, or designing a program for a college.
Why have program standards
All Ontario colleges of applied arts and technology must follow the program standard for their programs—if one exists.
With these program standards in place, graduates will develop the same minimum skills and knowledge regardless of where you choose to study.
If you’re designing a program for one of these colleges, the program standard is a good starting point.
What each program standard tells you
The program standards do not tell you what specific courses you will take, or how you will take them. That is up to each college.
What each program standard does tell you is what you’ll know and be able to do by the time you graduate.
This includes:
- knowledge and skills to do the work in their chosen field
- knowledge and skills to help you in a workplace and in day-to-day living
- for example, critical thinking, problem-solving, numeracy, interpersonal relationships, communication
- general education requirement
- for example, courses with themes such as arts in society, civic life, science and technology
Find a program standard
You can search for a specific program standard in one of the following ways:
- Search this table to find a program standard in one of 6 areas of interest.
- Applied arts
- Business
- Health sciences
- Human services
- Hospitality and tourism
- Technology
- Enter the 5-digit code the ministry assigns to a program standard for colleges’ use.
How to use a program standard
When you use a program standard to help you decide on a college program, or to design a college program, keep in mind:
- skills and knowledge described in each program standard are interrelated and learned as a comprehensive whole over the entire length of the program
- each program standard tells you what student must learn from a program—not how
- how a program is structured and delivered is up to each college
- each program standard describes how a student will put into practice what they’ve learned through the program
Developing and updating program standards
When we consider which program standards to develop or update, we consider factors such as:
- the number of students enrolled in the program
- the number of colleges offering the program
- whether the field has changed through new regulations or requirements
- whether data collected by the ministry shows the program is working (for example, graduation rates)
- the age of an existing program standard (if applicable)
We use a broad-based consultation process when developing or updating a program standard involving a range of stakeholders with a direct interest in the program area. This includes consulting with employers, professional associations and program graduates working in the field, in addition to college students, faculty and administrators.
We also work with the Credential Validation Service to validate each program standard to ensure each program meets the requirements for a particular credential, such as:
- college certificate
- diploma
- advanced diploma
- graduate certificate
Updating the program standards
We review program standards regularly in collaboration with colleges, employers, graduates and industry groups.
To make sure you have the most recent standard, contact the ministry’s Postsecondary Education Quality Assessment Branch: