The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is now offering a $99 Post-Secondary Student Metropass – saving students $22 each month compared to the adult fare metropass. Since January of this year, the OACC has asked the TTC for information in regards to private career college students’ eligibility. The OACC consistent position has been that career college students should be eligible to access the passes.

However, OACC learned late last week from the Chair of the TTC Commission that students attending registered private career colleges in the City of Toronto would not be eligible for the new TTC Post-secondary Student Metropass. OACC believes that this policy is unfair and discriminatory, and voiced that firmly with the Toronto Star, resulting in an article on this inequity being published on August 31.

“Career-college students locked out of TTC post-secondary pass”

OACC is working with the TTC Commission and with City of Toronto Councillors in an effort to change this policy. However, we need support and assistance from all registered private career colleges with campuses located in the Toronto area. We also need support from our students who are being denied access to the post-secondary student passes.

In the following pages we have included steps for students as well as owners and administrators to take to make TTC Commissioners and City Councillors aware of the seriousness and scope of this issue for current and future students.

We have also included talking points to guide members and their students when discussing this unfair and inequitable policy.

Our goal is to have the policy amended to include career college students at the TTC Commission meeting on September 30, 2010 or sooner, if possible.

TTC $99 Post-secondary Student Metropass

Talking Points

• Approximately 15,000 post-secondary students in the City of Toronto make the choice to attend registered private career colleges annually, and over 46,000 students in Ontario make the same choice.

• The Toronto Transit Commission’s new $99 Post-Secondary Student Metropass is not available to post-secondary students at registered private career colleges in the City of Toronto.

• The discount Metropass saves students at public colleges and universities $22 per month, with an annual savings of $264.

• This is unfair and discriminatory

• The Ontario Association of Career Colleges (OACC) firmly believes its members and their students in the City of Toronto should be eligible for this new discounted metropass. All post-secondary students live on tight budgets regardless of where they attend class.

• A student attending a university or college while working full-time taking one or two courses is eligible for the $99 Post-Secondary Student Metropass, however full-time private career college students are not. This is unfair.

• OACC represents over 250 registered private career colleges in the province, about half of which are in the Greater Toronto Area. The number of registered private career colleges is approximately 230 (112 OACC members) in the City of Toronto alone.

• The costs for including the students of registered private career colleges would be small compared to the overall costs associated with the new $99 Post-secondary Student Metropass initiative

• The OACC is willing to work with the TTC in an effort to include students in diploma programs attending registered private career colleges in the coverage areas.

Students

• Students should contact their city councillor and make them aware of the issue and ask for their support.

• Send them an email and call them

• Tell them that this issue is very important to you

• Let them know you attend a registered private career college, which is regulated by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU). Make them aware that your diploma program is also approved by the Ministry.

• Tell them you live in their ward and attend a registered private career college and find the TTC policy grossly unfair.

• Ask your councillor to help get the OACC and the $99 Post-secondary Student Metropass issue on the agenda for the TTC Commission’s September 30th meeting.

• Go to http://app.toronto.ca/wards/findAddressForVotingPlace.do to find your ward and the name of your Toronto City Councillor.

• If contacting the councillor via e-mail, please CC your college so we can see how many students make their voices heard.

• Join our Facebook group Ontario Association of Career Colleges (and our TTC initiative group) and follow us on Twitter for regular updates @ontarioacc.

Owners/Administrators

• Owners and administrators of private career colleges should also contact their Toronto City Councillor and make them aware of the issue affecting your students. Inform them you live in their ward and own or work for a private career college and find the TTC policy for the post-secondary metropass unfair.

• Ask them to write a letter to the TTC Commissioners asking them to include post secondary students attending private career colleges in the Metropass discount program

• Ask your councillor to help get the OACC and the post-secondary metropass issue on the agenda for the TTC Commission’s September 30th meeting.

• Visit http://app.toronto.ca/wards/findAddressForVotingPlace.do to find your ward and the name of your Toronto City Councillor.

• Please let the OACC know about the contact you or your staff and students have with councillors so we may keep track of the effort.

• Join our Facebook group by searching “Ontario Association of Career Colleges” (and our TTC initiative group) and follow us on Twitter for regular updates @ontarioacc.

Links to share

Facebook Group: Include Private Career College Students in TTC Post-Secondary Metropass

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=150753031615197

Go to this link to determine the ward and the name of your City Councillor

http://app.toronto.ca/wards/findAddressForVotingPlace.do

This is the list of City Councillors

http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp

Tour showed ADM the variety in PCC sector

Assistant Deputy Minister of the Postsecondary Education Division of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Nancy Naylor, was treated to a whirlwind tour of some of  Ontario’s Private Career Colleges on June 28.  A diverse range of private career colleges were visited to give ADM Naylor a look into the private career college sector.

Assistant Deputy Minister Nancy Naylor (front, left) speaks with staff at Canadian Business College during her tour of the Bloor Street West campus.

The tour featured stops at a variety of private career colleges including Canadian Business College, Pre-Apprenticeship Training Institute, Liaison College, Metalworks Institute, triOS College as well as The Canadian Academy of Dental Hygiene. ADM Naylor was shown just how varied the registered Private Career College industry is in Ontario.

At Canadian Business  College, students and staff were just getting started as ADM Naylor saw the college. The 22^nd floor campus in downtown Toronto offers a variety of programs and a testing centre. The main level dental hygiene facility gave ADM Naylor a firsthand look at the unique classroom for dental hygiene students.

During the course of the tour, ADM Naylor spoke with students and staff alike to gain some perspective on higher education and PCCs. Tom Bozic spoke about his former job being moved off shore. He decided to attend Pre-Apprenticeship Training Institute in order to get a jump start on his career, and already has a job interview with one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies.

At Liaison college, a light lunch was followed up with a tour and a brief stop to speak with one of the students. Monica Osei-Bonsu felt going back to college was a challenge being around fellow students who are much younger, but after some encouragement from her faculty, she has stayed the course and helped serve up a delicious three-course meal to ADM Naylor.

The tour made its way to Metalworks Institute, a one-of-a-kind college where the students learn the tools of the music trade. The college is next to Metalworks Studios where big names in Canadian music, such as Drake, Rush and Anne Murray, have recorded albums.

triOS Mississauga Campus welcomed ADM Naylor with a tour the newly renovated facility and learned about the college’s unique features.

ADM Naylor was very interested in the facilities she visited along the tour, stopping often to snap photos to bring back to the Ministry offices.

Here’s a behind the scenes look at the tour!

ADM Naylor (left) speaks with students at Pre-Apprenticeship Training Institute about why they chose to continue their education at one of Ontario’s many registered Private Career Colleges

At The Canadian Academy of Dental Hygiene ADM Naylor spoke with staff about their new facility and the dental hygiene industry.

triOS CEO Frank Gerencser (centre) speaks with ADM Naylor about one of the many programs triOS offers.

Chef David Bakker (left) helps one of his students “plate” the lunch for ADM Naylor at Liaison College Lakeshore Campus.

ADM Naylor (left) poses with Metalworks Institute owner Gil Moore, OACC Board member Frank Gerencser and PCC sector consultant Carol Bruni inside one of the school’s many recording studios.

The OACC Executive Committee attended the Canadian Club in Toronto on Monday to hear John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, speak about Ontario’s post secondary education system. During the reception held just prior to his speech, the OACC Executive had an opportunity to speak briefly with Minister Milloy, Senior Policy Advisors from the Minister’s office and former Training, Colleges and Universities Ministers Mary Anne Chambers and Chris Bentley.

In his speech, Milloy outlined the results of Reaching Higher, a 5-year, $6.2-million plan introduced in 2005 to transform the province’s PSE sector. There are 100,000 more students in Ontario’s PSE system since Reaching Higher was launched.

Minister Milloy also directly highlighted the contributions of the private career college sector. Despite the fact that the event was sponsored by Colleges Ontario and the Council of Canadian Universities, Milloy spoke to the great work done by career colleges.

“There’s another group with us today that also does important work in training and education and I want to recognize the representatives from the private career college sector and acknowledge the important contribution that they make to the system,” said Milloy. “Many of you will be surprised to know this, but Ontario is home to over 400 private career colleges. These colleges offer vocational training to about 30,000 students in 70 communities across the province.”

Milloy also made mention of the role PCCs are playing in delivering the Second Career program.

“By the end of March, our public and private colleges will have welcomed 28,000 laid-off workers through our new Second Career retraining program,” he added.

Click here to read Minister Milloy’s speaking notes.