“As part of its regular oversight, the ministry actively reviews complaints and monitors OSAP application activity. As concerns grew and following information provided by the federal government in May 2025 about certain private career colleges, the ministry expanded its review and, in July last year, launched targeted inspections. In December last year, the ministry also engaged the government’s Forensic Investigation Team (FIT) to provide advice to further strengthen oversight of the sector,” Quinn said
Quinn further added that the ministry continued its work with Career Colleges Ontario to monitor compliance and also took corrective action and, in May this year, issued notices of non-renewal to six campuses. The government has since suspended their OSAP eligibility.
“Given the volume and nature of the issues identified by the ministry, in August this year the government engaged an independent third-party auditor, KPMG, to assess the broader integrity of OSAP applications at private postsecondary institutions. While that work is ongoing, preliminary findings have identified serious concerns about the integrity of the OSAP system in the private postsecondary sector,” the minister said.
The minister further added that these include common ownership, the involvement of immigration services firms and co-location between private career colleges and immigration recruitment or immigration services firms, inadequate student validation and verification of course enrolment and outcomes, and unusually high concentrations of OSAP applications submitted from the same geographic locations.