PRIVATE CAREER COLLEGES (PCC)
Private Career Colleges (PCC)
Registering a Private Career College in Ontario
Who Has to Be Registered
The Superintendent of Private Career Colleges, under the authority of the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 registers institutions that provide instruction in the skills and knowledge required in order to get a job in a particular vocation. Before these programs can be delivered, the institution must be registered and the program approved.
Until an institution has been registered and its programs approved, it is a violation of the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 to deliver or advertise the delivery of vocational programs. An institution cannot enrol or collect tuition from students until the registration and program approval process is complete.
Private career colleges are private postsecondary institutions that enter into contracts with individual students to provide one or more vocational training programs for a fee.
- The Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 does not apply to a college of applied arts and technology, university, public or private elementary and secondary schools and institutions that do not have a physical presence in Ontario.
It should be noted that some institutions are exempt from registration and some programs do not require approval under the Act. For more information on who is covered under the Act, see Fact Sheet: Private Career Colleges Act, 2005: Fact Sheet #1 – Exemptions Under the Act. (PDF, 78 KB)
How To Register a Private Career College in Ontario
In order to allow for transition to the new Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 the ministry will not be accepting applications for registration between August 11, 2006 and October 31, 2006.
For a detailed overview of the registration process, please consult the Guide to Registering a Private Career College. All the necessary registration forms, can be found on the ServiceOntario website at www.ServiceOntario.ca.
To register a private career college, applicants must complete a three step registration process:
- Registration Pre-Screening
- Application for Registration
- Site Visit/Inspection
Please note that some programs do not require the approval of the Superintendent under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005. If you are intending to offer only non-vocational programs, you may not be required to register. For more information on institutional and program exemptions under the Act, please refer to following document: The Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 : Fact Sheet #1 - Exemptions Under the Act (PDF, 78 KB).
Private Career College Pre-Screening
If you are interested in registering your organization as a private career college in Ontario please complete a Private Career College Pre-screening Form (PDF, 80 KB) and submit it to the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges.
Ministry staff will review the information provided in your completed Pre-screening Form to determine if your organization needs to be registered. If additional information is required, staff in the ministry's Private Institutions Branch will contact you directly. Once it has been determined whether registration is required, you will receive a formal response from the Private Institutions Branch. The normal turnaround for a response to a Pre-screening Form is approximately one month.
Please ensure that your Registration Pre-Screening form has been completed accurately. It is important to provide as much information as possible about the program you intend to offer and to include, if possible, all proposed course outlines and any additional information that you believe will be helpful in determining the status of the proposed program under the Act.
Registration Application
If the ministry tells you that you require registration and program approval, you are required to submit an Application to Operate a Private Career College – Part I and Part II and an Application for Program Approval for each program you intend to offer.
The registration process is a rigorous exercise. It normally takes between six and eight months to complete the necessary requirements to become a registered private career college in Ontario. The new Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 is now in force. As several components of the new legislation are phased in, there will be some changes to the current registration and program approval processes. It is possible that you will be asked to meet some of the new requirements prior to having your application finalized.
Once your application has been reviewed by the ministry, an e-mail will be sent to you outlining any corrections or additional submissions required. You will be given a firm two-week deadline in which to submit the required information. It is important to ensure that you have submitted a complete and accurate application by the two-week deadline. If the information is not submitted by the deadline, the application and supporting documents will be returned with instructions to re-submit a complete application. Any re-submissions of applications will be treated as new and are processed in the order received. Please note, it is an offence to knowingly provide false information on any material related to the registration of your private career college.
