Ontario begins probe of eight private career colleges over alleged OSAP ‘fraud’

Provincial investigators have begun in-person inspections at eight private career colleges looking for potential evidence of “irregularities or fraud,” as the Ford government continues to deal with the fallout of the alleged criminal use of the student assistance program.

The government said investigators “gathered information and interviewed individuals” at the unnamed career colleges and suggested it plans to widen the inspections to additional schools, and to the “sector as a whole.”

In early October, the province said students all 242 private career colleges in the province would be barred from accessing the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) as the province investigated “serious concerns” raised by the federal government, advocacy groups and internal audits and inspections.

The government alleged that some private career colleges were co-owned by immigration services and recruitment firms, could not validate students or provide verification that they were enrolled in courses and that there was a “high concentration of OSAP applications” from the same geographic locations.

Those findings, uncovered by external audit firm KMPG, have been referred to the OPP for an official investigation.

The system-wide OSAP suspension, however, has been met with an outcry from college administrators who insist the government is blindly targeting schools without evidence of any wrongdoing.

Trinity College, which offers health, business, technology and trades programs, suspended in class instruction last week “to establish viable financial arrangements following the province-wide pause in OSAP funding,” according to an internal memo obtained by Global News.

Meanwhile, other colleges have warned the government they might have to shut their doors if OSAP funding dries up.

While the Ford government said the pleas from colleges and students are “not lost on us,” the province will only revive OSAP access once “integrity to the system” has been restored.

“We are working to develop a strengthened validation process for private postsecondary institutions associated with OSAP approvals for the 2026-27 academic year,” Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities said in a statement.

“This process is expected to be implemented in the new year. OSAP will not resume for private postsecondary institutions until the strengthened validation process is in place.”

Quinn said the government plans to introduce caps on OSAP-funded enrollment at the colleges, exclude online-only programs, and will enhance student identification and verification controls.

Meanwhile, the government said it’s still working on connecting thousands of students with banks and financial institutions for bridge loans to cover the cost of their education, but that the province is still working on the “program criteria.”

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.