The College acknowledges service and certification delays that members and applicants have experienced. Over the past 12 months, we have dedicated significant resources to solving these issues and have achieved considerable gains. The College submitted a proposed action plan to Council that details a cost-effective and sustainable approach that would solidify and build upon those gains.

We have received several questions from internationally educated teachers about how they can apply for College certification.

You can learn more about applying to the College as an internationally educated teacher, including advice specific to individual countries, by clicking Becoming A Teacher on the College website at oct.ca.

You can monitor the status of your application, including updates on required documentation, by signing into your applicant status page on the College website. Please note that Client Services staff have access to the same information that is in your profile.

The College’s primary source of revenue is through the annual membership fee. As such, we monitor our expenditures carefully, and alternative office locations are not within the scope of our current budget.

The entire application process can be completed online and without visiting the College office. Documents can be submitted to the College digitally or mailed as hard copies to our office at 101 Bloor Street West in Toronto. You can also deposit documents in-person by using the dropbox located behind our office.

Any member or applicant who needs additional assistance can contact the College’s Membership Services department by emailing info@oct.ca or by phone at 416.961.8800 or 1.888.534.2222. That number is toll-free in Ontario only.

The College does not have jurisdiction relating to employer responsibilities such as employment opportunities, supply lists and assignment of duties.

We urge all applicants to begin the application process as soon as possible. We do not need to receive all documents at the same time. However, by law we cannot begin processing an application until all required documents and applicable fees have been received by the College.

While timelines for individual applications vary, our target timeline for processing complete Ontario applications is 30 days and our target for processing complete applications from internationally educated teachers is 120 days.

You must be a certified member in good standing with the College to be eligible to teach in Ontario’s publicly funded school system. All College certificates, including Temporary Certificates and Certificates with Conditions, are equal.

Hiring decisions are outside of the College’s mandate as Ontario’s teaching regulator. Questions around employment are best directed to school boards.

There is no universal answer for this question since the details of individual cases can vary. However, our Membership Services team is available to assist applicants from all jurisdictions that may require additional help or guidance with the application process.

Certification by the College only enables you to teach in Ontario’s publicly funded school system. However, many jurisdictions will recognize the qualifications and training that College certification attests to. We recommend you get in contact with the regulator or Ministry of Education in the jurisdiction where you would like to teach.

The College is Ontario’s teaching regulator with a mandate to protect the public interest by certifying qualified teachers and accrediting teacher education programs.

We do not offer our own pre-service teacher education courses. A list of accredited teacher education programs can be found on our website.

While the College is not a course provider, we do offer several scholarships to eligible teacher candidates in Ontario. You can learn more about eligibility and how to apply on our website.

Ontario Certified Teachers seeking certification or licensure outside of Ontario should contact that jurisdiction’s licensing body, such as a Ministry of Education, for more information about their application process. In many cases, a Statement of Professional Standing will be required. They can be ordered via the E-Services portal on our website.

Temporary Certificates are automatically converted to General Certificates of Qualification and Registration when the College receives proof that the certificate’s holder has completed their teacher education program. This proof must be sent directly to the College by the certificate holder’s faculty of education or other issuing institution. The certificate holder is responsible for making this request to their issuing institution.

We must also receive proof before the Temporary Certificate expires.

Members do not need to complete the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program to keep their membership in good standing. The deadline to complete the Program was Sept. 15. If you have yet to complete it, your public register page identifies the Program as “Incomplete.”

Members can access the Program by signing into the Members area on the College’s website.

The Selection and Nominating Subcommittee is responsible for reviewing applications from individuals who wish to serve on Council, committees, or rosters. Their recommendations are then approved by Council. These recommendations are guided by a competency matrix that can be found on the College website at oct.ca.

The timeline for that Council dissolution was in fact later than anticipated, and those who were elected and appointed to the eighth Council knew they would be serving a shortened term.

When it comes to Investigations & Hearings, the new governance model has delivered on the efficiency that was promised. The unit held more than 140 hearings in 2021, reducing the hearings queue from more than 300 matters waiting to be heard to about 100. This is an unprecedented reduction in volume.

There are several publicly available reviews that affirm the effectiveness of the College’s new governance model, including a governance review of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers that was conducted by top consultants Harry Cayton and Deanna Williams.

The new structure also aligns with the modernized principles of Right Touch Regulation, which was recently introduced by the U.K.’s Professional Standards Authority.

The best way to become involved is for qualified members of the public and members of the profession to apply for a position on Council, committees, and rosters. More information can be found on the College website.

The College recently commissioned a thorough review of office-related expenditures, and it was determined that staying in this location is the most cost-effective of current options. However, we will continue to carefully examine office space requirements as the College adapts to new hybrid work arrangements.

All College members pay the same annual membership fee. Likewise, all College members have access to services that are funded by the revenue it provides.

Your Annual Membership Fee is due on January 1 of each year, and you have until April 15 to pay it.

The Annual Membership Fee is set each year as part of Council’s yearly consideration and approval of the College’s budget. The 2023 budget, including any changes to the AMF, will be considered at Council’s meeting on December 8.

The College takes concerns about members very seriously. Provincial legislation requires employers to report concerns about professional misconduct, including mistreatment of students, to the College. This duty to report is the College’s primary source of complaints and concerns. Members of the public and members of the profession who wish to file a complaint about an Ontario Certified Teacher are encouraged to contact the College’s Investigations & Hearing Unit. You can find more information about the disciplinary process on our website at oct.ca.

Any questions about salary or employment are outside of our mandate and best directed to school boards.

Any questions about curriculum are outside of our mandate and best directed to the Ministry of Education.