MTCU Discussion Paper Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions in Response to Federal changes to the International Student Program (ISP) Overview Ontario is a leading education jurisdiction, with a significant and growing enrolment of international students. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced that beginning January 1, 2014, student visas will be only be issued for students who have been offered admission to an institution which has been designated by a provincial government as eligible to enrol international students. This discussion paper outlines MTCU s proposed criteria and approach for determining institutions that will be designated for the International Student Program. Objectives The overall objective of CIC s proposed amendments are to strengthen the integrity of Canada s immigration program by requiring study permit holders to actively pursue their studies, reducing the number of non-genuine and poor quality educational institutions hosting study permit holders, and facilitating the entry into Canada of those foreign nationals that sincerely wish to obtain a Canadian education. Ontario fully supports CIC s objective of increasing the integrity of the study permit process and ensuring that international students attend educational institutions that are bona fide and accountable. Ontario s role is to ensure that the bar is set high for postsecondary education in Ontario through the implementation of a policy framework that protects our shared, earned global reputation for quality programs, student protection, and a positive student experience. Eligible Institutions In Ontario, a range of institutions offer postsecondary education. MTCU recognizes and/or oversees, to varying degrees, institutions that have been authorized under various legislative frameworks. These include: Publicly assisted universities and colleges; Affiliates and federates of publicly assisted universities; Other private degree granting institutions created through an Act of the Ontario Legislature; Postsecondary education institutions with consent to offer degrees in Ontario through a Ministerial consent arising from the Minister s authority under the Postsecondary Choice and Excellence Act (PSCEA); Private career colleges regulated under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005. MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 1
All of the above-listed institutions will be eligible to apply for designation. The process for applying and the requirements for designation may be different for different types of institutions, in recognition of the varying levels of existing accountability and policy frameworks in place. The ministry recognizes that there are other types of private institutions operating in Ontario that provide educational programs. MTCU may decline to designate institutions that are not approved, regulated or inspected under existing legislative or policy frameworks, or where there is no existing statutory authority to establish and confirm high standards of education delivery and student protection. In the event MTCU does designate these institutions, they may be subject to additional criteria to supplement the quality assurance that is normally confirmed through MTCU s other legislative and policy frameworks. Institutions that propose to provide educational programs for international students that would normally be governed by existing legislative and policy frameworks, such as a program typically offered by a registered private career college, will be directed to seek approval or registration through those existing frameworks, where applicable. In other words, MTCU will not designate institutions to provide education for international students if the institution has not met the conditions required to provide such an educational program for Canadian students. MTCU anticipates that a number of institutions currently operating independently in Ontario may elect to apply for designation and that the criteria governing these types of institutions may evolve as institutions adapt their practices or as their circumstances become better understood by the ministry. Questions for Discussion and Feedback Overview and Eligibility 1. How consistent are your institution s existing practices with the objectives of the proposed program? Key considerations include: a. Student protection b. Quality of student experience c. Student support 2. How might the government s designation process for the range of postsecondary institutions in Ontario best meet the proposed program objectives? Key considerations include: a. Different institutional characteristics b. Current legislative and regulatory frameworks c. New accountability frameworks 3. What impact might the proposed changes to the ISP have on your institution? a. Application process b. Meeting criteria and ongoing conditions of designation c. Not receiving designation MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 2
Criteria for Designation Pan-Canadian Common Elements for Designation Canadian provinces and territories and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) have developed common elements for designation criteria in order to assure the integrity of Canada s International Student Program (ISP), enhance accountability to all students Canadian and international and assure Canada s standing as a destination of choice for international students seeking a quality education. Ontario Criteria for Designation Ontario supports all of the pan-canadian principles, and has further defined and built upon the pan- Canadian framework to more clearly specify the requirements for Ontario, in consideration of Ontario s existing regulatory and policy requirements for institutions. The Ontario criteria are intended to provide a clear set of performance standards for a designated institution. The Ontario criteria are intended to reflect the high standards for the delivery of education and the protection of students that are both explicit and implicit in the legislative and policy frameworks governing the education of Canadian students, and to ensure that international and Canadian students have an equivalent educational experience when attending a designated institution. The Ontario criteria draw on key elements that are present in MTCU s existing legislative and policy frameworks, such as requirements for tuition refunds or student complaint policies, and make these best practices requirements for all designated institutions. The ministry is currently undertaking an analysis of existing legislative and policy frameworks to determine where existing processes may serve as confirmation that the Ontario criteria have been met. In addition, these criteria are intended to ensure that the specific needs of international students studying in Ontario can be met or supported by the designated institution. Ontario s criteria are presented with commentary and examples to demonstrate MTCU s anticipated approach to confirming eligibility or compliance with each criterion. Proposed Ontario Criteria 1. Business History An institution must have been in operation, delivering education programs, for a minimum of three years. Typically, this criterion will require an institution to have been operating under one of MTCU s legislative or policy frameworks for three years, such as the Private Career Colleges Act or the Ontario Student Assistance Program. Where an independent, unregulated institution wishes to apply for designation, MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 3
MTCU will consider other forms of documentation to confirm a prior record of education program delivery, such as income tax statements and/or a business licence. 2. Financial Capacity An institution must be able to demonstrate it has the financial capacity to provide programs of study to international students. The ministry will look at audited financial statements as an indicator of financial capacity. An institution must provide at least two consecutive years of audited financial statements. 3. Student Contract The institution must provide a clear student contract that outlines the educational program that will be provided to the student in exchange for a documented tuition fee. The student contract must outline all required elements of a student s program as well as all fees and costs, including tuition, associated with the program. The institution has a student contract that clearly documents, at a minimum: The elements of a student s program and the requirements for successful completion of the credential being pursued; The expected duration of the program; The expected hours of instruction, lab participation and/or placement expectations required to successfully complete the program; All tuition and fees associated with the program, as well as the costs of required textbooks and equipment; and The tuition refund policy. Where a student contract is required under other legislative or policy frameworks (e.g. PCCA), institutions are required to continue to meet the requirements of those frameworks as well as the elements listed above. Publicly assisted institutions are not required to provide a student contract, as MTCU will recognize other institutional registration processes in lieu. 4. Published Admissions and Academic Policies An institution must have clearly documented admissions and academic policies that are available to students at any time before, during, and after the program of study. The institution has clearly documented admissions policies, including policies regarding language proficiency and foreign credential assessment and recognition, as well as academic policies that a student must respect in order to remain in good standing, including but not limited to policies covering plagiarism and academic ethics, student evaluation policies, and policies with respect to attendance and submission of assignments. MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 4
These policies must be published and made available to students and prospective students in an easily accessible format, such as a website or academic calendar. 5. Student Supports An institution must demonstrate that it has adequate supports in place to meet the specific needs of international students. The institution can demonstrate that it has the capacity to provide the following supports: Housing supports, such as links to organizations that can assist a student in obtaining appropriate housing; Counselling supports or links to counselling supports in the community; Supports for students who wish to connect to cultural or religious community organizations; Health and other social service supports, or links to such supports in the community; Links to the embassy or consulate representing the student s country of origin; Academic supports, including academic and/or career counselling The Institution can demonstrate that it hires staff with knowledge of an experience in international education or offers staff that are responsible for international education management, development and recruitment the opportunity to participate in international education training and professional development programs. 6. Student Dispute Resolution Process The institution must have a clearly documented student dispute resolution process that is available to students and prospective students at any time before, during, and after the program of study. The process must be available to students and prospective students at any time in an easily accessible format, such as a website or academic calendar. 7. Tuition Refund Policy The institution must have a clearly documented tuition refund policy that is available to students and prospective students at any time before, during, and after the program of study. The refund policy must be in compliance with relevant Ontario regulations and/or policies governing fee refunds, where applicable. It must be made available to all incoming international students upon offer of admission and included in the student contract. Where no existing ministry policy or regulation exists, the refund policy must meet specified minimum requirements. The ministry will be consulting on what would be an appropriate minimum tuition refund policy. MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 5
8. Financial Protection of International Students An institution must provide financial protection for international students. Designated institutions are not permitted to require deposits or payments from students other than those outlined as tuition or other fees in the student registration agreement. Where financial security is not currently required under an institution s existing legislation or where there is no applicable legislation, a trust account would be required in which unearned tuition revenue would be held and only withdrawn when tuition is earned. In order to be designated, institutions will need to submit evidence that a trust account has been created. Institutions will be required to submit an audit of their trust account activities upon application for renewal/extension of the performance agreement for designation. Publicly assisted institutions are exempt from this requirement. Registered private career colleges and private institutions with Ministerial consent to offer degrees in Ontario will be considered adequately covered by their registration and/or terms and conditions of consent, respectively. 9. Educational Premises: An institution must maintain appropriate premises for the delivery of its education programs. An institution must hold title or a current lease to the premises that are being used to provide education programs, and all educational programs must be delivered in premises that meet Ontario building code and fire code standards. The premises must be appropriate and adequate for the delivery of the educational program being offered, and must provide the necessary equipment to meet the program requirements (e.g. simulators, lab/design space, computers, or specialized equipment). 10. Ethical Recruitment and Promotion: An institution must demonstrate an ethical approach to recruiting international students. Designated institutions must market their programs to international students in a transparent, responsible and accurate manner, conforming to ministry requirements, where applicable, and to the guidelines established by the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. International students must receive with their offer of admission: a copy of the student contract a copy of the institution s student complaint policy a copy of the institution s tuition refund policy a description of the location of their place of instruction, including directions for accessing this location relative to major airports, rail and highway points of access to Ontario. Institutions should make every effort to ensure that their marketing materials and websites, and their offer of admission package, clearly advise students about the location and facilities for their program of study. Marketing materials and institutional websites should include descriptions and images of the MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 6
location and instructional facilities that the student will experience and avoid reliance on stock photos that do not illustrate the institution s own facilities. Where an institution has multiple or satellite locations, images should be labelled and students should be advised about the exact location and facilities where their program will be offered. Institutions eligible and authorized to use the Imagine Canada brand must comply with the requirements of their agreement. 11. Maintenance of Student Files An institution must maintain records of enrolment, academic assessment, academic progress and program completion for both international and domestic students and must have a designated registrar or other individual who will submit these records as required by the provincial or federal government in order to track enrolment of international students. Institutions that are governed under another ministry legislative or policy framework (E.g. PCCA or OSAP) must continue to maintain the student file requirements outlined in those frameworks. Designated institutions are not permitted to retain original student passports, visas or travel documents, although they may retain copies of these documents in student files. 12. Compliance with provincial regulations/policy governing educational institutions or programs An institution must be in good standing with respect to any applicable Ontario legislation, regulations and/or policies governing the delivery of education programs. Institutions applying for designation must be in compliance with their applicable legislation and regulations and must not have been subject to any enforcement action under governing postsecondary legislation for the three previous years. Once designated, institutions that are subject to enforcement actions under governing postsecondary legislation or other Ontario and Canadian statutes may be subject to the withdrawal of their designation or having conditions placed on their designation by Ontario, depending upon the circumstances of the enforcement action and the institution s subsequent compliance. Examples of non-compliance or enforcement actions under governing postsecondary legislation could include enforcement orders issued under PSECEA for advertising as a university or college without consent; delivering a degree program authorized through a Ministerial consent in a manner that did not respect the terms and conditions issued with the consent; an order under the PCC Act, or lack of compliance with registration, renewal or TCAF premium payment requirements or an enforcement order issued with respect to OSAP eligibility issued under the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act. 13. Compliance with other provincial or federal regulations/policy requirements An institution must be in good standing with respect to any applicable Ontario or federal legislation, regulations or policies and must not owe any debt to the province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, or any other jurisdiction in Canada. MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 7
Institutions applying for designation must have no known history of compliance or enforcement actions under other statutes for the three previous years. Institutions must undertake to advise the ministry immediately of any instances of non-compliance during the period of the agreement. Examples of non-compliance with other Ontario or Canadian statutes could include being in arrears with respect to payment of Ontario or federal taxes. 14. Quality Assurance Where an institution offers an educational program that has not been reviewed or approved through one of MTCU s legislative or policy frameworks, MTCU may require, as a condition of designation, a third party review of the academic quality of the program to be undertaken by the applicant institution at their own expense. MTCU s designation frameworks, such as the program approval requirement for PCC programs or the Postsecondary Education Quality Assurance Board review requirement for Ministerial consent under the PSCEA are intended to provide assurance about the quality of the academic program being offered by the institution. Where such a review of the academic program has not been undertaken by MTCU or its designates, a third party review may be required. Such a review could be expected to evaluate whether: The programs offered are relevant, current and offer students who complete the program a reasonable chance of gaining entry to the vocation for which the program is intended to prepare them. The institution has admission standards that are relevant and appropriate for the program being offered, such that students meeting the admission standards may have a reasonable expectation of completing the program successfully. The institution employs instructors that are qualified to teach the program being offered. The institution has the library resources and equipment to deliver the program appropriately. The institution delivers the programs as approved. Academic quality assurance review is a substantial undertaking and MTCU does not currently have the capacity to offer this to independent unregulated institutions. MTCU will assess the nature of such institutions that express interest in applying for designation under this policy and evaluate appropriate options. 15. Performance on Inspections The institution must perform satisfactorily on institutional inspections to confirm compliance with the criteria outlined above. An initial inspection prior to designation will be required for any institution not inspected under one of MTCU s other legislative or policy frameworks, or any institution that has not been inspected within the previous twelve months. Inspections of designated institutions will be required at minimum intervals set by MTCU. MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 8
MTCU expects to introduce a reasonable cost recovery framework for the inspection of designated institutions. MTCU will not require an inspection of publicly assisted institutions. PCCs that have been inspected recently by the PCC Branch or by the Student Financial Assistance Branch of MTCU may be exempted from an initial inspection. MTCU will establish a schedule of initial and ongoing inspections for designated institutions as appropriate. Questions for Discussion and Feedback Criteria for Designation 1. The Ministry believes these criteria support the proposed program objectives and the equitable treatment of international and Canadian students. Are there any criteria that would better measure or demonstrate an institution s ability to comply with program objectives? 2. What practices may need to change in order for your institution to meet the proposed criteria? 3. The Ministry is seeking a better understanding of tuition refund policies at postsecondary institutions where those refund policies are not mandated by the ministry. The ministry would welcome examples of tuition refund policies from institutions. 4. For institutions that do not currently undergo a quality assurance process or program assessment process that is recognized by MTCU under existing legislative, policy or funding frameworks, what types of quality assurance or program assessment is done by your institution? Do these assessments include an on-site inspection? Examples might include: Accreditation processes Assessments by postsecondary quality assurance bodies in other jurisdictions Recognized professional association assessments Proposed Designation Process Overview There will be several pathways to designation: 1. Publicly assisted colleges and universities will be designated provided they indicate their interest and confirm their compliance with the criteria for designation through a performance agreement with the ministry. 2. Some institutions, such as Federates and Affiliates of publicly assisted institutions or other institutions that are partnered with publicly assisted institutions (e.g. language schools and Aboriginal Institutes) may be eligible for designation if the publicly assisted institution attests on behalf of its affiliate/federate/ partner that the institution meets all the criteria. MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 9
Designated partners would need to be specified in the publicly assisted institution s performance agreement with the ministry. 3. Other institutions may be eligible for designation through a process that will include an application, an assessment against the criteria for designation, and an annual performance agreement. This pathway can be used by private career colleges, consent holders and other private institutions, as well as institutions affiliated, federated or partnered with publicly assisted institutions if the publicly assisted institution does not attest on its behalf. The ministry is currently undertaking an analysis of existing legislative and policy frameworks to determine where existing processes may serve as confirmation that the proposed Ontario criteria have been met. For example, private career colleges already submit student contracts as part of the registration process, and as a result, they may not be required to resubmit them through the designation process. Application for Designation Institutions wishing to apply for designation will complete an Application for Designation to Admit International Students. The application forms will be developed, along with information regarding the required supporting documentation. The application and its attachments will be submitted to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Contact details will be provided on the application. An initial inspection prior to designation will be required for any institution not inspected under one of MTCU s other legislative or policy frameworks, or any institution that has not been inspected within the previous twelve months. Performance Agreement Following MTCU s assessment of the application, it is proposed that an institution will be required to sign a Performance Agreement with MTCU to attest to its agreement to comply with the criteria outlined above on an ongoing basis. Performance Agreements will be subject to renewal terms set by MTCU. Agreements will be time-limited. A draft Performance Agreement will be developed. This Performance Agreement will reflect the criteria outlined in this discussion document and will outline the undertaking that a Designated Institution provides to MTCU in order to obtain and retain its status and eligibility to enrol international students. Reporting Requirements A designated institution will be required to report to the ministry immediately if it is no longer capable of meeting the requirements of the Performance Agreement at any time throughout the duration of the agreement. A designated institution will be required to submit an annual report to the ministry, containing audited financial statements, an audit of the trust account requirements, and international student enrolment information to comply with federal objectives for the program, including the number of international students who enrolled, withdrew and graduated in the past year. MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 10
This report must be submitted in addition to any other reporting required as part of the designation process. The ministry will look at existing reporting requirements to determine where processes can be streamlined. Revocation of Designation MTCU reserves the right to revoke designation of institutions in the event of a material breach of the conditions that form the basis of the Performance Agreement. Institutions that no longer wish to enrol international students will be able to opt-out of the Performance Agreement voluntarily without penalty. Questions for Discussion and Feedback Designation Process 1. How might the application process be strengthened to ensure it reflects an institution s ability to meet the proposed program objectives and requirements? 2. Might there be another way for your institution to demonstrate how you provide international students with quality programming and a positive educational experience? 3. How might the federal deadline of January 2014 affect your institution s recruitment and planning for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years? Feedback The Ministry appreciates your review of Ontario s proposed approach for designation of institutions in response to changes to the International Student Program. Written responses to the discussion paper and the questions for discussion and feedback can be provided to the Ministry by email to Paul.Heasman@ontario.ca. The deadline for feedback is February 22, 2013. Expression of Interest In addition, the Ministry is seeking an understanding of how many institutions may seek designation. Please send an expression of interest on behalf of your institution to Paul.Heasman@ontario.ca. Expressions of interest are not binding and will have no impact on future designation. MTCU Proposed Approach for Designation of Institutions Eligible to Admit International Students Page 11