Authority

Subsection 53(1)(a) of the Act enables the superintendent to issue policy directives setting out standards for vocational programs or classes of vocational programs.

Pursuant to subsection 53(2) of the Act, policy directives issued by the Superintendent of Career Colleges are legal requirements that are binding on all career colleges and every career college must comply with and operate in accordance with the policy directive.

This document is a legal document and is binding on all career colleges. Every career college shall comply with and be operated in accordance with this policy directive.

Effective May 6, 2016.
 

Program approval

Pursuant to section 23(1) of the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005, career colleges that offer programs to prepare students for employment teaching English as a second language require program approval by the Superintendent of Career Colleges.

Career colleges seeking approval for Teaching English as a Second Language programs (TESL) must comply with the directive outlined below and submit a complete program approval application to the superintendent for consideration.

Mandatory requirements

Career colleges are required to meet one of two minimum standards for TESL programs:

TESL Ontario Accreditation – Programs of 300 hours or more

Programs with a minimum duration of 300 hours must be accredited by TESL Ontario and must maintain TESL Ontario recognition to maintain approval to deliver the program.

TESL Canada Standard One – Programs of 120 hours or more

Programs with a minimum of 120 hours must be accredited by TESL Canada and maintain, at a minimum, the TESL Canada Standard One accreditation to maintain approval to deliver the program.

Career colleges must include a disclaimer in student contracts for programs which are not recognized by TESL Ontario and must ensure promotional materials are clear that graduates will not qualify for government funded employment.

The disclaimer is below and forms part of this policy directive.

Enforcement

Under subsection 24(1) of the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005 a career college's program approval may be revoked if the superintendent believes that the program fails to meet the conditions of the approval. If a career college does not comply with the directive set out above, any or all of the following enforcement actions may be taken:

  • issuance of a Notice of Program Revocation
  • issuance of a Compliance or Restraining Order
  • application to a court for a Judicial Restraining Order
  • proposal to Revoke or to Not Renew Registration
  • prosecution for offences under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005

Duty to inform

Disclaimer for college use only

Important note for registered career colleges providing programs that are not recognized by TESL Ontario:

The disclaimer:

  • must use the wording below exactly as specified
  • must be provided by the career college to students when the contract is reviewed and signed
  • must be kept in the student's file as a record of the disclosure

Disclaimer regarding training programs not recognized by Ontario

This Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program has been recognized by TESL Canada. Graduates of Canada programs can work in various settings, such as institutions that teach English as a second language to international students.

Please note, you will not qualify to teach English as a second language in federally- funded programs, such as Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) programs.

In order to teach federal government-funded language programs in Ontario, individuals must be certified by TESL Ontario and have graduated from a program recognized by TESL Ontario.

For more information regarding TESL program recognition, certification and employment requirements, please contact TESL Canada Federation (www.tesl.ca)  or TESL Ontario (www.teslontario.org).

Contact

If you have questions about the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005 contact the Ministry of Colleges and Universities at:

Career Colleges Branch
Ministry of Colleges and Universities
77 Wellesley Street, Box 977
Toronto, ON M7A 1N3