New Institution Registration
Part C. Basic Education Standards Guidelines
Is this the right form?
Use this form if you are applying for registration of a new PCTIA institution. This form is a part
of the application package.
Is this form really necessary?
Yes. The completed Basic Education Standards Compliance Form tells the Agency how your
institution will comply with the requirements for registered institutions set out in Sections 24
through 32 of the Bylaws. Registration cannot be granted unless the institution has
demonstrated that it is compliant with the Basic Education Standards.
How will the Basic Education Standards be monitored at my institution?
The onus is on each institution to ensure that they are meeting the Basic Education Standards
on a continuous basis. A Compliance Review Officer will conduct periodic site visits to your
institution to ensure that the standards are being met.
How do I complete the Basic Education Standards report?
The report is divided into several sections that require you to respond within the report. Part E
of the New Registration application is a checklist of all items that must be attached to make
your application complete.
Section 1: Mission Statement
The mission statement is the benchmark against which all plans for the institution are
measured. It should be clearly stated. Mission Statements often contain the following:
 Purpose of the institution.
 The institution’s primary stakeholders / clients / students.
 Responsibilities of the institution towards these stakeholders.
 Products and services offered.
a) Provide the Mission Statement for your institution – Enter the mission statement for
your institution in the space provided.
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b) Describe how the mission statement was developed – Explain the process that was
used at your institution including the people that were consulted during the
development of your mission statement.
c) Where is your mission statement posted/published? - The mission statement must be
posted in a location visible to the public. It may also appear in your Student Handbook
and on your website. State where your mission statement is posted and/or published.
Section 2 – Financial Stability
All institutions are required to provide the Agency with annual financial statements that
demonstrate adequate revenues and assets to meet responsibilities and ensure
continuity of service.
Institutions must demonstrate adequate revenues and assets to meet their financial
responsibilities and to ensure continuity of service to students.
Institutions must not transfer unearned tuition out of the institution. Unearned tuition
money collected by the institution is “deemed to be held in trust”, this means the
institution is holding the funds “on behalf” of the students.
An institution must not “improperly transfer unearned tuition deposits”, this means
transferring funds outside of the institution or using the funds for purposes unrelated to
the institution’s business. A breach of trust occurs when unearned tuition has been
improperly transferred and the institution defaulted on its obligation to the student.
Please indicate whether or not you understand this Bylaw requirement.
Section 3 – Organization
Each institution must have an organizational chart identifying the names and position
titles of officers and/or board members and outlining the organization’s reporting
structure. The reporting lines on the chart should reflect the reporting / supervisory
structure within the institution – it should, for example, indicate the position that
instructors report to. A sample organization chart template is available on the PCTIA
website.
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The organization chart should have both the names and position titles of everyone in a
management position at the institution. Once it gets down to staff and instructors, the
chart only needs the position titles and the number of staff in each position.
Each institution is required to have a qualified onsite administrator at the main campus
as well as at any branch locations as demonstrated through the institution’s minimum
qualification and experience requirements for this position. This position is responsible
for the oversight of the daily operation of the institution. The onsite administrator
should have experience in the operation and management of an organization. The
institution should provide documentation (qualifications, resume) to demonstrate that
the onsite administrator is appropriately qualified to hold this position.
Each institution must provide evidence that there is adequate administrative capacity to
effectively deliver the programs offered by the institution including an appropriately
qualified senior educational administrator who is responsible for maintaining programs
and evaluating instructors. The senior educational administrator must have completed
an instructor development program or its equivalent. If the senior educational
administrator at your institution has not completed one of the instructor diploma
programs already approved by the Agency, you must submit an Application for
Equivalency as a part of your application for registration.
a) Provide a summary of you institution’s organization chart and. – Using the titles on
your organization chart describe how there is sufficient staff to support the
objectives of the institution, support the anticipated student enrolment, and meet
the Basic Education Standards outlined in this report.
b) Explain how the assignment of authority for instructional delivery is appropriately
assigned - Provide an analysis of how you determined that the appropriate person
(generally speaking the Senior Educational Administrator) is responsible for
educational oversight and delivery is qualified for the role.
c) Explain how the main location (and all branches if applicable) of the institution is
supervised by an appropriately qualified onsite administrator - State who is in
charge of the day-to-day operation of the campus and the hours each day that
person spends at the campus. Provide this information for each main and branch
location listed in your registration application.
d) Provide an explanation on how the qualifications and experience of this onsite
administrator are appropriate for the role. – Provide an analysis of how the onsite
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administrator’s credentials and experience qualify him/her to manage the day to day
operations of the institution.
e) Explain how there is adequate administrative capacity at your institution in order to
effectively deliver the programs offered. - Based on the forecasted numbers of
students explain how the administrative capacity of the institution will be able to
support the operation of the institution and the students – both educationally and
administratively.
f) Provide copies of each of the following policies for your institution:
a. Admissions
b. Attendance
c. Dismissal
d. Dispute Resolution/Grade Appeal
e. Safety
f. Tuition and Fee Refund
g. Withdrawal
h. Credit Transfer (if applicable)
i. Language Proficiency Assessment (if applicable)
j. Prior Learning Assessment (if applicable)
k. Work Experience (if applicable)
g) Provide an explanation of how your institution will operate within the legislative and
regulatory framework of the Act, the Regulation and the Bylaws, in addition to all
other federal, provincial and municipal enactments and Bylaws. – Describe how you
will ensure that your institution is operating in compliance with the Agency’s
requirements in addition to any other applicable federal, provincial and municipal
regulations
Section 4 - Records
Each institution is required to maintain a complete student record that includes all of
the information that is listed in the Records section of the PCTIA Bylaws. Files should be
maintained for all students that are: applying to the institution but have not yet been
accepted, including documentation of pre-payments; current students attending the
institution; students that have withdrawn or been dismissed, including the
documentation relating to the issues involved and any refund calculations; and graduate
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student files that have all of the required information, including a copy of a signed
transcript and a copy of the signed certificate/diploma that was awarded.
As well, institutions are required to maintain complete human resource records
including current resumes and up-to-date copies of credentials of all educational staff.
All basic records and reports pertaining to students must be safely protected in a secure
storage medium in a secure location with appropriately limited access.
a) Describe/list the contents that will be maintained in each student record. – List the
items that you will keep in each student’s file.
b) Describe/list the contents that will be maintained in the record for educational staff.
– List the items that you will keep in each instructor’s file.
c) Describe how records of all written complaints received by your institution, including
resolutions, will be maintained by your institution. – Explain where you will keep
written complaints and all documents relating to their resolution.
d) Describe how student records will be maintained in a secure storage medium in a
secure location at your institution and who will have access to them. - Describe the
security that will be in place for the student and educational staff records at your
institution. Also list who will have access to these files.
e) If your institution will maintain electronic student records, provide details on how
these will be backed up and kept offsite in a secure location. Include details on
frequency of backups and file formats (e.g. PDF, RTF, TXT). – Explain how electronic
records will be managed at your institution and the name the non-proprietary
format that records will be stored in. Also explain your process for electronic back
up including who at the institution is responsible for ensuring that consistent
backups are done, how often they are done and who is responsible for ensuring that
a copy of the backup is kept off site. Please also explain how you ensure that the
off-site copy of the backup is kept secure in order to protect student privacy.
f) Describe/list the contents that will be maintained in each student record for short
duration programs (if applicable). - List the items that will be stored in the student
file for short duration programs.
g) Provide details on how student records will be archived at your institution and with
a vendor acceptable to the Agency within 60 days of the completion of a student’s
full program of study or the withdrawal or dismissal of the student. – Describe the
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process that you will use to ensure that student records are archived with an
approved storage vendor within 60 days of the completion of a student’s full
program of study or the withdrawal or dismissal of the student.
h) The archived student record must at a minimum include the student name and
Personal Education Number in the title of the record. Please indicate whether or not
you understand this Bylaw requirement.
Section 5 – Academic Policies and Student Services
Institutions must have admission policies that are well publicized and consistently
applied. Each institution sets the admission policies for their institution. Different
admission policies may be required for different programs. The admission requirements
in the admission policy must match the admission requirements provided on the New
Program Application form. The admission policy should ensure that students are
adequately prepared to enter the program. This could include requirements for: age,
previous education, language skills, medical or criminal checks, etc. The admission
policies must meet any established industry or regulatory standards to ensure that the
student would be able to be employed in the field for which the training is being
delivered.
Admission policies within the same institution may vary because of the specific program
requirements. Once the Agency approves a program, the Agency holds the institution
accountable to ensure that all of the students that are enrolled in that program have
met the admission criteria. Once these criteria have been set they cannot be waived by
either the institution or the student. Any adjustments/changes to the admission criteria
must be submitted to the Agency and approved, prior to their implementation. In
addition, it is the institution’s responsibility to ensure that any third-party recruiting
agents are providing students with accurate information.
Representatives of an institution must use only those titles which accurately reflect their
actual duties and responsibilities. Recruitment and enrolment personnel may not be
designated as counselors.
In addition, institutions must ensure that students receive regular meaningful
assessments/evaluations throughout their program and at least once prior to the
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withdrawal date at which the student is still eligible for a partial tuition fee refund.
Grading systems must be fair and easily understandable to students.
a) Describe the admission process to be used at the institution – Explain the admission
process at your institution. Describe the process from the moment a student
expresses interest in a program to the point where they attend the first class.
Describe who would meet with the student and how all the required admission
information is obtained from the potential student.
b) Describe where the institution’s admission policies will be published - Provide details
on where your institution’s admission policies will be publicized, and what measures
your institution will take to ensure that they are consistently applied.
c) Explain how you will ensure that the institution’s admission policy will be
consistently applied – Provide details of the system you have in place to ensure that
your admission policies are applied with each student by all staff members.
d) Explain the system the institution will use to ensure that any person engaged in
admissions or recruitment is communicating current and accurate information
regarding courses and programs, services, tuition, terms and operating policies Describe the training that will be provided to the person(s) responsible for recruiting
and admitting students. How will these people be monitored to ensure that they are
fulfilling the requirements of their position
e) Describe the process the institution will use to ensure that students receive
meaningful written student assessment/ evaluations at regular intervals throughout
their program with at least one assessment/ evaluation prior 30% of the Program’s
duration - Explain the system you will use to ensure that student receive regular and
meaningful assessments throughout their program, and how you will ensure that at
least one evaluation occurs prior to the date where the student is eligible for a
partial tuition fee refund.
f) Explain how the institution will ensure that students receive accurate and timely
feedback on their learning progress - Describe the system that will be used to ensure
that students receive accurate and timely feedback on their progress. Will your
instructors have specified times in which to return marked tests and assignments?
How often will tests and assignments be required throughout your program?
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Section 6 - Instructors
The institution must be able to demonstrate to the Agency that it has a sufficient
number of qualified instructors/faculty to provide appropriate instructional services for
each student. The student/instructor ratio may vary depending upon the type of training
and delivery method used.
Instructors should be appropriately qualified (education and/or experience) to teach the
subject matter assigned. As well, the institution must have clear, consistent procedures
to evaluate faculty performance. Documentation relating the faculty evaluations must
be kept up-to-date in their employee file.
The minimum requirements for full- and part-time instructors teaching in the subject areas
below are as follows:
 A bachelor’s degree in the assigned academic subject area is required for faculty
members teaching general education and other academic courses that are part of a
career-training program. For example, instructors for a Biology course that is part of
a Licensed Practical Nursing program would be required to have a Bachelor of
Science degree.
 For career programs, a degree/diploma/ certificate related to the field of instruction
supplemented by 24 months of full-time occupational experience in the field of
instruction or 10 years old demonstrated experience in the field. For example, an
Esthetics program instructor would be required to have a certificate or diploma in
Esthetics plus have a minimum of 24 months of work experience as an aesthetician
or 10 years of work experience as an aesthetician prior to being hired as an
instructor.
 For language programs, a bachelor’s degree and a credential demonstrating
specialist training in language instruction or a degree/diploma/certificate related to
language instruction supplemented by 24 months of full-time occupational
experience in language instruction or 10 years of demonstrated full-time
occupational experience in language instruction.
 For designated or recognized trade programs, an appropriate trade qualification,
supplemented by 48 months of occupational experience in the field of instruction.
For example, a Plumbing instructor would need their Plumber Red Seal qualification
plus have a minimum of 48 months of documented work experience in the plumbing
field.
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Institutions must meet these standards at a minimum, but are free to set higher standards.
In addition, for all programs, institutions need to provide evidence by way of an annual
performance review that all regular instructors have adequate instructional skills and any
identified shortcomings or areas for development in instructional design, instructional
delivery, or educational outcomes must be addressed by the institution through
appropriate professional development plans.
You will need to attach an instructor list that includes: the names of all of your instructors,
the programs/courses that they will each be delivering, their qualifications including
education, work experience and teaching experience, and the name of any instructor
development programs they have completed or are currently enrolled in.
a) Describe how the institution will ensure that there are a sufficient number of
qualified instructors to provide appropriate instructional services to each student –
Explain the rationale you used to determine that the number of instructors is
sufficient to meet the needs of the forecasted student enrolments.
b) Describe the evaluation process that will be used at your institution to evaluate each
instructor’s performance - Do you use student surveys? In-class observation of
teaching? Instructor self-assessment? Peer-assessment? Who conducts the formal
review with the instructor where these items are reviewed?
c) Explain the process/procedure used to address identified shortcomings from a
performance review and how this will be documented - Describe how identified
shortcomings resulting from a performance evaluation will be documented and
monitored at your institution. Will you require the instructor to take a professional
development course? Will you pay for it? Will you bring in an expert to conduct a
group professional development session for all instructors? How will you check in to
make sure that the identified shortcomings have been addressed?
Section 7 - Educational Program Objectives, Curriculum and Materials
Each institution must have clearly stated educational program objectives and offer upto-date curriculum that is supported by appropriate instructional materials and
appropriate technology. This will normally be documented within detailed program
outlines. A program outline should include: program title, brief description, admission
requirements, duration, learning outcomes, pre-requisites, grading scheme, graduation
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requirements, career opportunities, learning resources, certificate / diploma awarded,
special materials / equipment required, and method of delivery. A sample program and
course outline is available for download on the PCTIA web site.
Institutions offering courses or programs that require approval by the governing body of
a trade or profession for entry into that trade or profession must provide evidence, for a
licensed or certified component of a program, that they have met the requirement and
have the approval or conditional approval of that body. Institutions must provide PCTIA
with a copy of supporting documentation indicating that they have the appropriate
approval from any governing body.
If there is an agreement in place for the program to be delivered in part or in full by
another organization, it must clearly state the duration of the agreement or include a
statement that all students currently enrolled in the program would be able to complete
their training prior to the discontinuance of the contract. Institutions must also have
ownership or legal usage rights for the curriculum for their programs.
When delivering programs that include more than one course, it is the institution's
responsibility to ensure that all of the courses for the entire program will be offered
within the student’s contracted time frame.
a) Describe the methods that will be used to ensure that all programs offered will
have clearly stated educational objectives and up-to-date curriculum supported by
appropriate instructional materials and technology - Indicate how your institution
develops its programs, how it identifies the program objectives that must be
included, and how it reviews programs to ensure they are kept up-to-date with any
changes to the occupation or technology.
b) Provide a listing of programs offered by the institution requiring approval of a
governing/regulatory body and evidence of approval from the governing/regulatory
body (if applicable) - - Include the name of the program, the name of the governing
body, and the date of your institution’s last approval. Attach a copy of the notice of
approval with this report. If your institution will not offer regulated programs, put
“not applicable”
c) Describe the ownership or usage rights for all curriculum resources for each
program offered by the institution – complete this table identifying the program
name, whether the institution owns or licenses the curriculum and what evidence is
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available as to ownership or licence. If the institution has paid someone to develop
the curriculum on its behalf, then the institution will own the curriculum. Evidence
of this might be a contract between the institution and the curriculum developer
indicating that the curriculum has been developed specifically for the institution. If
the institution does not own the curriculum, then you need to have evidence that
you are permitted to use the curriculum (licence/usage rights) for the duration of
the program’s delivery. This evidence might be an employment contract or letter of
employment where an instructor signs that the institution may use the instructor’s
curriculum for a specific period (the start and end date of the program). It might
also be a copy of a Licence Agreement is the curriculum is owned government or a
publishing house.
d) For any program delivery undertaken in partnership with, or on behalf of the
institution by another organization, explain how the institution will ensure that the
organization meets Agency requirements - For any programs or portions of
programs delivered by someone other than your institution describe how your
institution will ensure that the partner organization meets Agency requirements.
Examples of this type of delivery include First Aid or CPR courses provided by St.
John Ambulance or the Red Cross, online programs purchased through the
institution but delivered online by another company and so on.
Section 8 - Facilities and Institutional Resources
Each institution must demonstrate that the facilities are appropriate to support program
offerings, instructional materials are sufficient and comprehensive to reflect
occupational knowledge and practice and that specialized equipment is appropriate for
the program delivery with adequate access afforded to students.
a) Describe how your facilities are appropriate to support program offerings and
delivery methods for the programs offered - – Provide a description of your
institution’s facilities and explain how these facilities are appropriate to support the
programs offered and their associated delivery methods.
b) Describe how the institution’s equipment and learning stations are adequate to
allow each student scheduled time for practice - Provide a listing of the equipment
and learning available for student use including the number of each item. This list
should be attached to the report. In this section of the report explain how you
ensure that the equipment and learning resources you have listed are appropriate
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for the programs you will teach, sufficient in number for the number of students you
will have and accessible to students as needed.
Section 9 - Advertising
Institutions must not engage in advertising or make representations that are false,
deceptive or misleading. Information published must be accurate and factual and must
represent the current status of the institution. Institutions must not guarantee
employment, income or eligibility for a work permit to any student or prospective
student.
Advertising must clearly indicate training or education, and not employment.
Institutions must make available to the Agency, upon request, all material relating to
advertisements whether written or oral, which has been distributed. This includes the
text of the advertisement, a record of the period of time which the advertisement was
distributed, or the English translation of the text of any advertisement not distributed or
transmitted in English.
a) Describe how the institution will maintain a record of all advertising including
publication, radio, television and internet - Explain the process that will be used to
document and track all advertising conducted by the institution.
b) Describe how the institution will ensure that any third-party engaged to promote or
refer to a registered institution will conform to PCTIA advertising requirements Explain how you will ensure that accurate information is provided to any third-party
engaged in promoting your institution, and how you will monitor the third-party to
ensure that advertising is consistently in compliance with Bylaw requirements.
Section 10 - Declaration:
It is important to read this section before signing the application. The Agency relies on
the confirmation of the items listed in this section when considering whether or not
your institution meets the Basic Education Standards. The person submitting the Basic
Education Standards Compliance Form should complete the declaration section and sign
the form.
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