Issued: December 31, 2007
New format re-issued July 2023, (no policy changes)

Overview

Colleges may seek funding from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) to offer programs of instruction that are consistent with the objects set out in the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002. The board of governors is responsible for approving the programs of instruction a college will offer.

The act also provides the Minister of Colleges and Universities with the authority to issue policy directives that are binding on all colleges of applied arts and technology. The criteria that programs of instruction are to meet to be approved for funding are detailed in the Minister’s Binding Policy Directive Funding Approval of Programs of Instruction.

Purpose and application

The purpose of this operating procedure is to describe procedures for the colleges of applied arts and technology to inform the ministry of changes to their offerings of programs of instruction.

Glossary

Approved program sequence (APS) number
a unique five-digit number assigned to an approved program of instruction by the Credentials Validation Service and used for enrolment reporting to the ministry.
Cancelled program of instruction
a program the college is no longer offering and in which no students are enrolled.
Dormant program
a program approved for funding that has never been delivered or that has not been delivered for more than five years and has not been reported to the ministry as cancelled.
Suspended program
a program into which a college has decided not to admit first year or beginning level students.
Program of instruction
a group of related courses leading to a diploma, certificate, or other document awarded by the board of governors.
MTCU code
a five-digit number assigned by the ministry to postsecondary programs of instruction and used to identify the provincial program category to which programs that are broadly similar in their vocational objectives and titles have been assigned.
Credentials Validation Service
A system-wide self-regulating service that provides reasonable assurance that all postsecondary programs of instruction for certain credentials offered by the colleges, regardless of funding source, conform to the Credentials Framework and are consistent with accepted college system nomenclature/program titling principles.

The credentials (or the French language equivalent) include:

  • Ontario College Certificate
  • Ontario College Diploma
  • Ontario College Advanced Diploma
  • Ontario College Graduate Certificate

Board of Governors’ responsibility

The Board of Governors is required to inform MCU of a final decision to suspend or cancel a ministry funded program of instruction at all campuses and all delivery modes including part-time.

Responsibility to students

Prior to a decision to suspend or phase out a program, the college is to provide the students enrolled in the program the opportunity to complete the program within the normal time period.

As a general principle, the college is to provide the students with the opportunity to complete the program at the college in which they are enrolled. However, there may be special circumstances where it is not possible for the college to do so, or where the transfer of students to another college would be more practicable for both the students and the college.

Under such circumstances, the college has the responsibility to assist the students to become enrolled in the same program offered by another college located within a reasonable distance from the college. The college is required to inform students of this provision by publishing it in the college calendar.

Dormant, suspended and cancelled programs

In order to keep program lists used for the audit of enrolment up to date, a program that has not been in operation for five years (suspended or dormant) will be cancelled automatically by the ministry and will require re-approval if it is to be re-instated.

Notifying the ministry

Upon deciding to suspend or cancel a program at all campuses, a college will inform the ministry by a letter signed by the college president and sent to:

Program Funding Approvals Colleges Unit
Postsecondary Accountability Branch
Ministry of Colleges and Universities
315 Front Street, 16th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 0B8

or e-mail: Colleges.Unit@ontario.ca

The letter should provide the following information where applicable:

  • The program title, MTCU code and APS number of the program to be suspended or cancelled.
  • The effective date of the suspension (the date after which first-year applicants will no longer be accepted) or the effective date of cancellation (the date after which students will no longer be enrolled in the program at any level).The college may provide the suspension and cancellation dates at the same time.
  • The name, title, and telephone number of the college employee who may be contacted about the suspension and/or cancellation.

Program suspensions and cancellations are used by the ministry to prepare the program lists used in the audit of enrolment. Students reported as enrolled in programs identified as cancelled will not be counted for funding calculations.

Ministry acknowledgement

The ministry will respond to the college president with a letter acknowledging the suspension or cancellation and indicating the amendments that will be made in the approved programs list.

Notification to the colleges

The ministry will inform the colleges of decisions to suspend or cancel programs in the quarterly program memorandum.

Re-activating a suspended program

Upon approval by the board of governors to resume student intake to a program that has been suspended for less than five years, the college will notify the ministry of the decision in a letter signed by the college president and sent to:

Program Funding Approvals Colleges Unit
Postsecondary Accountability Branch
Ministry of Colleges and Universities
315 Front St, 16th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 0B8

or e-mail: Colleges.Unit@ontario.ca

The ministry will respond to notification of a college’s decision to re-activate a suspended program by sending a letter to the college president acknowledging the change in program status and informing the college of the amendment to be made to the programs list.

Cancellation of dormant programs

The ministry will review program lists at regular intervals to identify programs that have been dormant or suspended for five years or more.

A list of programs identified for automatic cancellation will be sent to each college president. The college will have 30 days to notify the ministry of changes to the status of a program on the list.

At the end of the 30-day period, the programs that have not been identified as still active will be cancelled and the changes will be included in the quarterly program memorandum.

Programs that have been cancelled will not be re-activated. A new funding approval application form should be submitted to the ministry if a college wishes to offer the program in the future. Please refer to Funding Approval of Programs of Instruction Procedures for more information.

For further information regarding this operating procedure, contact: Colleges.Unit@ontario.ca.

Summary of responsibilities

Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology

The board of governors is responsible for:

  • approving all programs of instruction that a college will offer, suspend or cancel

  • ensuring that students enrolled in the program have the opportunity to complete the program within the normal time period at the college where they are enrolled

    or, under special circumstances

  • assisting students to become enrolled in the same program offered by another college located within a reasonable distance from the home college
  • informing the ministry of final decision to suspend or cancel a program offering

Ministry of Colleges and Universities

The ministry is responsible for:

  • maintaining up-to-date listings of programs of instruction offered at the colleges
  • informing colleges via a quarterly program memorandum about final decisions to cancel or suspend programs