Career Colleges Ontario had raised concerns to the government about potential “suspicious” financial aid activities involving students at a few college campuses in Ontario three years ago, as per disclosed documents. The association had urged the government to involve law enforcement in addressing specific issues related to the financial aid, although the exact nature of these concerns and their connection to individual institutions remains unclear.
Court records revealed that Career Colleges Ontario had communicated with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, highlighting indicators of suspicious activities in OSAP applications starting from January 2023. Subsequent discussions and meetings between the association and the ministry throughout the year further emphasized the need for police involvement in addressing these concerns.
Executive director Kate Bartz mentioned in a letter that the ministry had reached out to the police, who indicated the necessity of conducting an independent investigation to proceed. However, details of any further actions taken by the police were not disclosed by Career Colleges Ontario or the ministry.
The association, responsible for processing OSAP applications for career colleges, reported anomalous spikes in student applications at 10 schools, with one institution experiencing a significant surge from 107 applications in 2022 to 2,992 in 2024. These irregularities, coupled with reports from Financial Aid Officers, raised suspicions of eligibility misrepresentation and improper use of OSAP funds, prompting prompt reporting to the ministry’s OSAP inspection and compliance unit.
A freedom-of-information request revealed that approximately $385 million in provincial grants were disbursed to students at seven career colleges in the 2024-25 academic year, a figure equivalent to the grants received by all publicly funded colleges in Ontario and surpassing the total grants for all university students in the province. Additionally, federal grants amounting to $137 million were allocated to these seven schools in the same period.
Following Career Colleges Ontario’s data analysis, the government made five schools ineligible for OSAP due to concerns about compromised participation in asynchronous online programs. Critics raised questions about the oversight failures that allowed a few colleges to exponentially increase OSAP usage, leading to broader grant reductions for post-secondary students.
In response to the controversy, Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn announced significant changes to the OSAP program, including restricting grant access for career college students and reducing grant amounts for university and publicly funded college students. The minister’s office emphasized the robust oversight of the sector and hinted at further measures to ensure responsible use of public funds in the post-secondary education system.
Political leaders, including NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Interim Liberal leader John Fraser, criticized the government’s handling of the situation, expressing concerns about the impact on students needing financial assistance and questioning the disparities in oversight between different types of institutions.
Amidst the ongoing dispute, three Academy of Learning career college campuses challenged the government’s decision to block their OSAP eligibility for the upcoming academic year. The schools contested the minister’s authority to make such decisions and asserted compliance with inspection requirements and corrective measures.
The Academy of Learning emphasized its commitment to ethical standards in administering OSAP and highlighted the implementation of new controls based on Ministry inspection reports. Additionally, the school pointed out the potential conflicts of interest within Career Colleges Ontario’s board, comprising owners and managers of competing private career colleges.
The Ministry’s concerns with the blocked schools centered on compromised participation in asynchronous learning programs during the pandemic, a situation that arose due to temporary extensions of OSAP eligibility for online programs and subsequent permanent adjustments.