Student Rights and Responsibilities
Fee Collection
A private career college is only allowed to charge or collect fees for a program in Canadian dollars. Furthermore, the college is not allowed to charge or collect any compulsory fee for a program that is not published on the Service Ontario website or that is higher than what is published. The college is also not allowed to charge or collect any optional fee for a program that is not approved by the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges.
Before a contract is signed, a private career college is prohibited from collecting any fees from you, except 20% of the total fees for the program or $500, whichever is less. These fees must be in relation to processing your application or conducting any admission tests or assessments.
A private career college is required to issue you a receipt every time you pay a fee. You should keep all receipts on file.
Sale of Students’ Goods and Services
A private career college is only permitted to sell goods you produce or create, provide your services to the public or arrange for the delivery of such services if the sale is part of completing your program. The college cannot profit from these sales; it can only charge an amount that allows the college to recover its cost.
Fee Refund
A private career college is required to issue a fee refund within 30 days of you giving a written notice of cancellation or withdrawal or 30 days of you receiving a written notice of expulsion from the college. If you do not meet the admission requirements at the time the program begins, the college is required to issue you a refund of fees within 30 days of the start of the program. If you do not attend the first 14 days of classes, the college can cancel the contract and must issue a refund within 45 days of the start of the program.
Only the compulsory fees published on the ServiceOntario website or the optional fees approved by the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges are covered by the refund policy. You must return any goods you received under a contract in the same state they were in when supplied to you within 10 days of withdrawing in order to get credit for them. All refunds must be in Canadian dollars.
A private career college is prohibited from deducting any monies owed by you for other services or non-vocational programs offered by the college from a refund that you are entitled to for a vocational program.
The same refund policy applies when you withdraw from a program or are expelled from a private career college in accordance with the college’s expulsion policy.
Cooling Off Period
You can cancel a contract within two days of signing it if you deliver a written notice to a private career college at the address shown on the contract. You are entitled to a full refund of fees paid for the program, including any application fee, from the college.
Full Refund
In any of the following circumstances, you have a choice of cancelling a contract and making a written request for a full refund of fees paid for a program or accepting the shortcoming and continuing your training with the private career college:
the college collects any fees for the program before the college is registered or before the program is approved under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005;
you are expelled from the college in a manner or for reasons that are not permitted under the college’s expulsion policy;
the college collects more than 20% of the total fees for the program to a maximum of $500 before signing a contract with you;
a total of more than 10% of the program is taught by unqualified instructors;
the contract does not include all the mandatory terms required (refer to the “Contract” section); or
the college, while still operating, discontinues the program before you can complete the program.
In addition, you also may seek a full refund if a private career college or its representative makes certain types of untrue statements for the purposes of convincing you to enrol in the program and the statements constitute a fundamental breach of the contract. The categories of inappropriate statements include: a false or misleading statement, a statement that guarantees admission to or successful completion of the program, employment after graduation or the right to enter Canada or receive a student visa.
If you do not make a request for a full refund within a reasonable time of finding out about the shortcoming, you may lose your right to make a claim for a refund.
If a private career college charges or collects any compulsory fee that is not published on the Service Ontario website or that is higher than what is published, you are entitled to a full refund of the unpublished fee or the difference in amount between what is published and what was collected. The same applies if the college charges or collects any optional fee that is not approved by the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges.
Partial Refund Before a Program Begins
You are entitled to a refund of fees paid for a program, except that a private career college is allowed to retain 20% of the total fees for the program or $500, whichever is less if:
you withdraw from the program before it begins;
you do not meet the program’s admission requirements before the program begins; or
the college cancels the contract for the program within 45 days of the start of the program because you do not attend the first 14 days of classes.
Partial Refund After a Program Begins
If you withdraw from a program after the program begins, you may be entitled to a refund of fees paid for the program, depending on how much of the program has been delivered by a private career college. In most cases, the college is allowed to retain 20% of the total fees for the program or $500, whichever is less, plus the fees paid with respect to the portion of the program that has been delivered by the college.
Transcript
You have the right to access your transcript for 25 years after you leave a private career college. You may request a copy of your transcript by contacting your college.
After September 18, 2007, in the event of a private career college closure, you will be able to access your transcript from an approved third party transcript issuer. It is suggested that you ask your college for the name of the third party issuer when you graduate.
Credential
A private career college is required to issue you a credential (diploma or certificate) within 60 days of completing a program. The college does not have to issue your credential until you have paid your fees in full.
Student Complaint Procedure
Effective January 1, 2007, all private career colleges are required to have a student complaint procedure in place to resolve issues arising between the college and its students.
You must first go through a private career college’s student complaint procedure before filing a complaint with the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges. A Student Complaint Form for a complaint to the Superintendent can be downloaded from the Service Ontario website at a href=”www.forms.ssb.gov.on.ca”>www.forms.ssb.gov.on.ca.
International Students
If you are attending or planning to attend a private career college under a student visa, some special rules apply.
Fee Collection
You should make sure that you are familiar with the rules mentioned in the “Fee Collection” section. A private career college is allowed to charge special international student fees in relation to a vocational program but these fees cannot be higher than what are published on the ServiceOntario website. Only the compulsory fees published on the Service Ontario website or the optional fees approved by the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges are covered by the refund policy.
Effective October 18, 2006, after you sign a contract, a private career college is allowed to collect no more than 25% of the total fees for a program from you before the program begins.
Some private career colleges are required to hold the money in a trust account until you begin the program. You should ask your college for details of its trust fund arrangement when you pay your fees.
Fee Refund
You can cancel a contract with a private career college or withdraw from a program for any reasons. The same refund policy for domestic students also applies to you and any written notice of cancellation or withdrawal is acceptable.
In addition, a special rule applies to international students if you are unable to obtain a student visa to enter Canada. As long as you deliver a written notice of this fact to a private career college before half of the portion of a program has passed, you are entitled to a refund of fees paid for the program, except that the college is allowed to retain 20% of the total fees for the program or $500, whichever is less.
Insurance
Every private career college is required to have insurance in case you have an accident in class or while on an offsite placement. If you are injured while attending a private career college, you should immediately inform the relevant official at the college.
Midway Evaluation
If you enrol in a program that is 12 months or shorter or that is delivered over an undefined period of time (e.g., trucking), a private career college is required to provide you with the result of at least one evaluation of your progress before you complete half of the total length of the program. If your program is longer than 12 months, for each 12-month period, the college is required to provide the result of at least one evaluation before you complete half of the period, i.e., 6 months.
Qualified Instructors
You are entitled to be taught by an instructor who holds the required combination of academic, practical and teaching experience. In case of emergency, a private career college is allowed to use a substitute instructor who is not fully qualified. However, the college is not allowed to use unqualified instructors to teach a total of more than 10% of a program.
Closure
Special rules apply when a private career college closes. If your college closes before you finish your program, efforts will be made to arrange for you to complete your program. Instead of participating in a training completion, you may choose to receive a refund of fees paid for the portion of the program that has not been delivered.
It’s Never Okay: An Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment
On March 8, 2015, International Women’s Day, Ontario issued an Action Plan against Sexual Violence and Harassment (www.ontario.ca/document/action-plan-stop-sexual-violence-and-harassment) calling, among other things, for increased safety on Ontario’s postsecondary campuses.
Every private career college student who experiences sexual violence or harassment has the right to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect. In addition, every student has the right to choose among any available options for addressing incidents of sexual violence or harassment, whether these options are provided on campus or off. Except in extreme situations, where there is an imminent threat to the campus or broader community, the choice of options (including the choice not to exercise any option) always remains with you, the student.
If you experience sexual violence or harassment at your private career college, you may:
Request information about any counselling, health services, or other supports that are available at your private career college from your campus administrator;
Engage the services of an off-campus organization, such as a crisis and counselling centre, in your community;
Contact the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario; and/or
Report the incident to the police.
For information about resources in your community, visit draw-the-line.ca and tracons-les-limites.ca. These websites list services available throughout Ontario.
Should you witness an incident of sexual violence or harassment at your private career college, you may bring your concerns directly to the attention of the campus administrator or another staff member at the private career college.
As a student at a private career college, you also have a role to play in creating safe campuses for This document is provided for your information and convenience only. It is not a legal document. For further information and the exact wording please refer to the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 and regulations.
Need More Information?
You can find more detailed information about student protection measures in the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 Facts Sheets, including information about fee refund calculation. All Fact Sheets can be downloaded from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities website at www.tcu.gov.on.ca/pepg/audiences/pcc/.
If you have questions about the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 and regulations, contact the Private Career Colleges Branch at:
Private Career Colleges Branch Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities 77 Wellesley Street West Box 977 Toronto (Ontario) M7A 1N3
Telephone : (416) 314-0500 or 1-866-330-3395
Fax : (416) 314-0499
E-mail : pcc@ontario.ca
OR
Visit our website at : www.tcu.gov.on.ca/pepg/audiences/pcc/
The full text of the act and regulations can also be downloaded from the Ontario government E-Laws website at: www.ontario.ca/laws
STUDENTS RESPONSIBILITIES
Provide PCCs with written notice of important decisions and events (e.g., withdrawal from a Program or filing a complaint) and keep copies of written communication with PCCs
Sign a written contract for the delivery of a vocational program
Keep all receipts issued by a PCC
Meet the admission requirements for a program before the program begins:
Have an information session
Write the admission test
Interview with the director of the Academy or a representative
Have received a High School diploma or passed the Adult Achievement test
Have basic knowledge in Sewing
Return any goods received under a contract in the same state they were in when they were supplied by the PCC within 10 days of withdrawing in order to get a refund for them
Request a full refund within a reasonable amount of time of finding out about PCCs violation of the Act
Successfully complete the program and fulfill all contract obligations in order to receive a credential from the PCC
Go through the PCC’s student complaint procedure before filing a complaint with the Ministry
Immediately inform the appropriate official at the college if injured while attending a PCC
DEFINITION AND A USE AND PROTECTION INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Intellectual Property (IP) is a product of the act of creation, such as of an invention, a piece of writing, a painting, a design, etc. An invention is any product of the human intellect that is unique, novel, and unobvious to a person skilled in the field of the invention. Individuals and/or Institutions can own their creativity and innovation in the same way they can own physical property. An owner of IP can control and receive payment for its use, so IP has value in the marketplace.
The Law provides that students, like any other individuals, have Intellectual Property rights to their written or artistic work, and any inventions they create.
Who owns the Intellectual property?
Employees
IP created by the Academy’s staff in the course of their employment is the Academy’s property if the work was created at the direction of the director or the Administration Officer and was paid for through payroll of the Academy.
Students
A student is free to pursue commercialization on his/her own design creation, copying a garment design and/or duplicating a commercial pattern or duplicate another student’s design or part of a design as if it was the student’s own original design is considered plagiarism and is dishonest and will initiate a procedure ref. Richard Robinson Academy of Fashion Design Honesty policy.
Any forgery, alteration, unauthorized possession or misuse of the Academy’s documents or materials, including the alteration or misuse of College documents by means of computer resources or other equipment as well as Use or misuse of copyright materials or documents belonging to the Richard Robinson Academy of Fashion Design, for other purpose than teaching or learning at the Academy, used for any other organizations without a written permission from the Director of the Academy are considered as serious offence at the Academy.
There are four main types of statutory IP protection:
patents for inventions—new and improved products and processes that are capable of industrial application;
trademarks for brand identity—of goods and services, allowing distinctions to be made between different traders;
designs for product appearance—of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, or materials of the product itself or its ornamentation; and,
copyright for material—literary and artistic material,
In addition, a moral right, is the right to integrity of the creation in its original form. Some examples of IP include:
Presentations
Publications
Ideas that can be documented
Inventions
Unique name
Business methods
Students Rights and Responsibilities – Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities 09-09-15