Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is an ABQ/AQ?

A. Additional Basic Qualifications (ABQs) and Additional Qualifications (AQs) are qualifications earned by taking courses or programs listed in Regulation 184/97, Teachers' Qualifications. The qualification earned by successfully completing a course is listed on your certificate.

Q. Do I have to be a certified teacher to take courses leading to additional qualifications?

A. ABQs/AQs are offered for members of the Ontario College of Teachers by providers on our web site with links to information about what the institution offers. Teacher candidates in Ontario faculties of education who have successfully completed their initial teacher education program can register for ABQs/AQs, except those in Schedule E, before they are certified.

Q. Are all ABQ/AQ courses offered in the same way and at the same time?

A. Each provider approved by the College chooses what courses they offer and submits a course application to the College for accreditation. The provider decides whether or not the course will be offered entirely face-to-face or online, or in combination of methods. Contact the provider for information about specific course availability and format.

Q. Why do some qualifications listed on your web site not have any guidelines?

A. If a qualification has been recently added, the guideline may still be in development. When a draft guideline is available for review and comment, it will be posted on our web site with a feedback form.

Q. Some qualifications have been renamed but the guideline is under the old name. Why is that?

A. The guideline will eventually be reissued with the new name and an indication if there is any change to the content. At the moment, the posted guideline is the most up to date.

Q. How can I get a copy of my certificate that shows I have completed an ABQ/AQ?

A. You can download a copy of your certificate with your updated additional qualifications through the Members' Area of the College web site. If you don't see an earned qualification on your certificate within six weeks of completing the course, please contact the provider to confirm they have forwarded the information to the College.

Q. The list of AQs on your site says that the course I took a few years ago is being discontinued. Will it be removed from my certificate?

A. No. The qualification will remain on your certificate.

Q. The list of AQs on your site says that the name of the course I took a few years ago is being changed. Will I have to take that course again to keep that qualification?

A. No. The qualification with the name it had when you earned it will remain on your certificate as proof that you are qualified to teach in the related subject or area.

Q. I have taken the first part of a three-part qualification leading to a Specialist qualification. Your information says it is being discontinued. What happens now?

A. Discontinued qualifications will be phased out by August 31, 2012. Members of the College who have started may continue to take the second and third part to earn the qualification as long as they are offered by an approved provider. However, the last part will not be offered after the summer of 2012.

Q: I completed an additional qualifications course but was awarded a qualification with a different name. Why?

A: The qualifications that are listed on your certificate are governed by the Teachers' Qualification Regulation. The College conducted an extensive review of teachers' qualifications, consulting widely with education stakeholders and members. As a result of what we heard about the need for updating and revising some qualifications, a number of changes were made to the regulation effective August 31, 2008.

Some ABQ/AQs were either withdrawn from the regulation and are no longer available, or they were renamed. The College no longer has the authority to award these qualifications under their old names.

The College has awarded you an equivalent qualification as it appears in the revised regulation.

Q: Does this mean I took the course for nothing?

A: No. If we receive information from a provider that you successfully completed an ABQ or AQ, we will recognize the course you completed and add the qualification to your record under its new name.

Q: Can I end up with a qualification for something I really am not qualified to teach?

A: No. The renamed qualification is equivalent to the qualification you earned. The new name was assigned to better reflect its relationship to the Ontario curriculum.

Some courses were removed from regulation because there is no related Ontario curriculum. More than 60 qualifications were added to the Teachers' Qualification Regulation. If you completed a course that was removed from regulation effective August 31, 2008, the College has awarded you the equivalent new qualification.

Q. Is my employer aware of the changes to ABQs/AQs? What if they say I don't have the qualification they need me to have because they don't recognize the name?

A. The College is communicating to all boards that the name changes to qualifications do not affect what they can assign their employees to teach. We also refer employers to the list of former and current qualifications with information as to an equivalent to any qualification that has been renamed or removed from legislation.

Q. I'm planning to take an AQ in the summer. Who do I call at the College when I have completed it to make sure it's on my certificate?

A. The information that you have earned a qualification comes to the College from the providing institution. If the qualification does not appear on your certificate within six weeks of your successfully completing the course, contact the provider to ensure they have sent the information to the College.

Q. I have taken the Schedule C course Teaching Writing, which will be discontinued on August 31, 2008, and I note that the College is developing a three part Schedule D Writing course. Will my schedule C qualification serve as the equivalency for Part I of the new course?

A. The relationship between subject-related qualifications in schedules C and D is under discussion at the College, and an answer to this question will be determined.

Q. Some of the guidelines are indicated as drafts? Will they change?

A. Members and education stakeholders have been involved in the process of developing guidelines for new additional qualifications. However, we would still like to hear from members and other interested parties about any additions or revisions that would improve the guideline. Each guideline marked as still in draft form has a feedback form attached which you may fill out and forward to the College.

Q. Who decided what new additional qualifications should be created?

A. New qualifications were developed as a result of a two-year review of the teachers' qualifications regulation. The College conducted the review, consulting widely with members, provincial education stakeholders and other groups across Ontario, to ensure that teachers continue to be well prepared to assist students in their learning.

The College is working with experts to develop guidelines that providers must use in creating the courses and programs that members can take to earn the new qualifications. Guidelines establish content, learning expectations, instructional strategies and forms of assessment. The College itself does not conduct courses or programs.

Q. There are courses not currently identified on the Regulation 184/97 schedules that I would like to see offered for Ontario educators. How do I advocate for these courses to be added?

A. You may send a letter to the Registrar of the College, outlining the changes you would like to see and the rationale for those changes. The College intends to establish a process to regularly review the schedules in the teachers' qualification regulation, and submissions like this will be considered as part of that review. As well, should there be a significant change to the curriculum, or to Ministry of Education policy about particular subject areas, the schedules and the related additional qualifications course guidelines will be reviewed to consider those changes.