Ontario to Propose Changes to Private Career Colleges After Alleging OSAP Abuses
Adedokun Waliyu
3 min read
The Ontario government has announced plans to introduce new legislation aimed at restoring integrity to the province’s student financial assistance programme following allegations of widespread abuse and fraud involving private career colleges.
The proposed changes come after the government received complaints about a growing number of Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) applications from students seeking admission into private career colleges, particularly those offering online-only programmes.
Nolan Quinn, the Minister of Colleges and Universities, said the proposed reforms would include limiting the growth of OSAP-funded enrolment at private institutions, making predominantly online programmes ineligible for OSAP funding, and requiring career colleges to maintain physical campuses.
The government also plans to strengthen requirements for institutions to verify students’ eligibility, class attendance, participation and completion of coursework.
Quinn disclosed that investigations had uncovered disturbing allegations, including third parties completing academic work on behalf of students, entire courses allegedly completed within a single day, and final examinations completed in as little as six minutes.
He also revealed that thousands of OSAP applications were reportedly submitted from the same IP addresses, while some students could not identify their schools, programmes or the courses they were supposed to be studying.
UNRELATED BUSINESSES ON CAMPUSES TO BE BANNED
The provincial government also intends to restrict relationships between private career colleges and third-party organisations, including immigration and recruitment agencies.
As part of the proposed measures, unrelated businesses will be prohibited from operating on college campuses.
Quinn described the alleged activities as more than minor administrative irregularities, saying they appeared to involve coordinated efforts to exploit students and taxpayers for personal gain.
The government had earlier issued notices of non-renewal to six private career college campuses and subsequently suspended their eligibility for OSAP funding.
It also suspended grants to all students attending private career colleges for the 2025–2026 and 2026–2027 academic years over suspected financial aid fraud.
The government has referred its concerns about the private post-secondary education sector and OSAP to the Ontario Provincial Police and notified the provincial Auditor General.
SYSTEMATIC AND WIDESPREAD PROBLEMS
Quinn described the alleged misconduct as systematic and widespread.
According to him, Career Colleges Ontario informed his office that memberships had been withdrawn from 24 additional campuses, while another 13 campuses were under review. A further 33 campuses had also been identified over concerns involving the alleged backdating of student enrolments.
He condemned the activities and said the government had already introduced several measures to address the situation.
These include engaging KPMG to conduct a sector-wide audit of OSAP usage at private institutions and suspending all OSAP payments to students attending private career colleges pending the outcome of investigations.
However, the minister said he could not provide an estimate of the total amount of money allegedly lost through the suspected abuses and fraud because investigations were still ongoing.
CONCERNS FROM STUDENTS AND INSTITUTIONS
Quinn acknowledged that many genuine students and legitimate educational institutions had been affected by the government’s actions and may have been victims of dishonest operators.
He expressed sympathy for their frustration and disappointment, describing the alleged activities as reprehensible.
He emphasised that OSAP was established to support individuals seeking to build successful futures through education.
The minister assured legitimate students and institutions that the government was working to hold those responsible accountable under the law while finding ways to restore access to the financial assistance programme for genuine beneficiaries.
He further expressed the government’s intention to resume OSAP payments to legitimate students attending private career colleges by the beginning of the new year, although no specific date was announced.
