Below you will find answers to some commonly asked questions about becoming a Certified General Accountant in Ontario. You will also find questions and answers about general issues related to the field of accounting.
+-Who will evaluate my qualifications?
Based on your documents, the Ontario College of Teachers will
evaluate your language proficiency, and academic and professional teaching
credentials. When you receive a response from the College, it will advise you that you either meet
the requirements of certification to teach in Ontario or that you do not meet the requirements.
+-Do I have to send in all of my documents and fees at the
same time?
You must submit the application, payment and the documents together
in one package. The file will remain in application processing while
the College waits for other documents to arrive from other institutions.
If you submit your application without the fee or one of the documents
you need to submit (for example, criminal record check), the file
will not be processed. The College will contact you to inform you
what is still needed and hold the file for two weeks while waiting
for the information. If the missing item does not arrive after the
College has contacted you, the College will return the package to
you.
+-In my home country they do not issue the same type of documents
as in North America. How will I know what documents to ask for
and whom to contact?
Please refer to the OCT
website for information outlining the type of documents that
are acceptable from various countries, and for a link to addresses
of institutions in those countries issuing statements of professional
standing. If your country is not included in the list, contact
the College for details on how to proceed.
+-What are the College's requirements for language
proficiency?
You must be able to teach effectively in one of Ontario's official
languages: English or French. For information on how to meet language proficiency requirements, visit the Requirements
section for either teachers of General Studies or teachers of Technological Studies. If you do not meet the requirements, or need to have your language skills tested, visit the Language
Classes and Testing section for a list of English language classes and testing organizations.
+-If some of my documents are not in English or French do
I need to have them translated?
Yes. The College requires an original translation of any documents
that are not in English or French.
Please keep in mind that you will be required to pay for these translation
costs.
Please refer to the Translation
Policy section of this website for more information.
+-What can I do if I cannot obtain my academic records or
other documents from my home country?
If you have put in an application to the College and have written
proof that you have contacted your institutions to send your document(s)
but have had no success, do the following:
Keep a copy of your written attempt to obtain the documents and
forward it to the College. If the College has not received a response
from the institution you have contacted for your document within
a reasonable period of time (four to six weeks), you may then write
a letter to the Co-ordinator of the College's Membership Services Department and ask that the College
write to the institution on your behalf. To do this, you must:
- have already applied to the College
- make your request in writing specifying the name of the institution
and the document you need
- attach to your written request a copy of your written attempt
to obtain the document
The College will try to contact the institution for you. If the College determines that the post-secondary institution cannot provide the documents, you might be able to submit alternative forms of evidence of your qualifications. The College will contact you to let you know what documents it may accept.
+-How
can I tell if the teacher education program from my country is acceptable
to the Ontario College of Teachers?
When you apply for teacher certification with the College, your program
of teacher education will be evaluated to determine if you meet the
requirements.
As the College is not able to provide a pre-evaluation of your program
in advance of receiving an application from you, you are encouraged
to submit an application to the College with the required
documents. The College will then review your transcripts and
other documents to decide if you meet the requirements. If you do not,
the College will explain to you how you can upgrade your qualifications
to meet the requirements.
+-Does the College accept teacher education programs completed
by distance education or correspondence?
Currently, an initial teacher education program obtained through distance
education or correspondence courses does not fulfil the requirements
for certification in Ontario. A distance education program does not
allow for a comprehensive assessment of a student teacher's abilities
to manage a dynamic group of students.
+-Though I have been a teacher for 10 years in my country of
origin, my teacher education program did not include any practice
teaching. Are there other documents that the College will consider
as proof of teaching experience?
Yes. In lieu of a practicum, the College will consider evidence of
at least one year of teaching experience from the jurisdiction where
you were trained to teach. Acceptable teaching experience must include
the following:
- be at an institution where either elementary or secondary curriculum
is taught
- have occurred after you were certified/authorized to teach in
the respective jurisdiction
- written proof of your experience must be on official school letterhead,
signed by the principal, and mailed directly to the College
When the College receives record of your experience, it will evaluate
your program and let you know if it requires additional evidence to
satisfy the requirement of practice teaching.
+-Teaching certificates are not issued in my country. What will
you accept instead?
In most cases, if your country or jurisdiction does not license or
register teachers, the College will accept a photocopy of your diploma
for your teacher training program.
For information about obtaining documents from a specific country,
visit the Countries section
of on the College's website. If specific information about your home
country is not listed and you have already begun the application
process with the College, contact Client
Services on how to proceed.
+-How much will the certification process cost?
The College's 2006 application and evaluation fee is $345.00, and
is required as part of your application package.
As these costs may change, please refer to the
College's website for up-to-date fee information.
In addition to these costs, you may incur additional expenses
during the certification process, including costs for the translation
of your official documents, costs for a language proficiency test,
if required, and costs for language upgrading, if required.
+-How long is my application valid for?
The Ontario College of Teachers will keep your application open for
two years.
+-How long does the certification process take?
Though each case is different, once all your documents have been received
by College, the evaluation and certification process can take as little
as four to six weeks. However, please keep in mind that the process
of acquiring documents and translations (if required) will be an additional
part of the process for you.
+-My post-secondary institution sent the official academic records
to my home in error. I have not opened the envelope. Since it is
still sealed, can I bring the records in or mail them to you?
Unfortunately, no. You will have to contact the post-secondary institution
again and ask it to send another set of transcripts directly to the
College.
+-Because of political unrest, I cannot get transcripts from
my post-secondary institution. Is there an acceptable substitute?
The College does require an official transcript to be sent directly
from the post-secondary institution. However, it recognizes that it
is sometimes difficult to have official documentation sent directly
from countries where there is political unrest. If you have already
sent an application to the College, contact Client
Services to discuss this with a staff member.
+-Do I have to pass an English language test?
The College does require an official transcript to be sent directly
from the post-secondary institution. However, it recognizes that it
is sometimes difficult to have official documentation sent directly
from countries where there is political unrest. If you have already
sent an application to the College, contact Client
Services to discuss this with a staff member.
+-What can I do if my educational institution back home no longer
exists and I can't get my records?
Contact the Ontario College of Teachers to discuss your options.
+-The university says it can send my records in English, so
I won't have to translate them. Is this okay?
If the Ontario College of Teachers receives a transcript in English
or French from an institution where English or French is not the official
language of that institution, the College will accept the
transcript.
+-My academic records do not include specific course hours.
I cannot get this information. What should I do?
If you have a course syllabus that has course-hour information you
can submit a photocopy, or you may arrange to have your university
send a letter that describes this. If this is not possible, you will
have to get direction from the College once your application has been
submitted.
+-Can I teach in Ontario
without being certified by the College?
While there are opportunities in Ontario to teach without being certified
by the College, to teach in the publicly funded school system, a teacher
must be a member in good standing of the Ontario College of Teachers
and hold a valid teaching licence (with few exceptions).
While you can teach in a private school without being certified,
many of these schools now require you to be a member in good standing
of the College.
To learn more about opportunities for teaching in Ontario without
being certified, please see the Related
Occupations section of this
website.
+-Though I never went through a teacher education program, I
have taught for many years and have an excellent reputation as a
teacher. Will you consider this experience in your evaluation of
my qualifications?
To be certified in Ontario, you must meet the academic, professional,
and language requirements under Ontario legislation. Your eligibility
to be certified in Ontario is based strictly on your academic background
and the documents you provide. Although your teaching experience will
be an asset when you seek employment, it is not considered in the evaluation
process.
+-My proficiency in English
is very good even though I completed my teacher education in a language
other than English. Do I still need to meet the language proficiency
requirement?
Everyone who applies to the College must be able to teach effectively
in one of Ontario 's official languages, English or French. Please
see the section on Language
Proficiency section of this website to determine
how you can meet this qualification.
+-What subjects does a Technological
Studies teacher teach?
You can teach Technological Studies in the following areas:
- Communications Technology - these courses
examine communications systems and design and production processes
in the areas of electronic, live, recorded, and graphic communications.
- Construction Technology - students
learn about the tools, equipment, and processes required to design,
construct and maintain a variety of buildings and structures.
- Hospitality and Tourism - this area includes
food preparation as well as tourism studies.
- Manufacturing Technology - this area
focuses on the materials used in manufacturing and includes the
use of wood.
- Health and Personal Services - this area includes
courses on health care, hairstyling and aesthetics, child development,
and gerontology and medical technologies.
- Technological Design - the practical
application of the principles of design, engineering, and architecture.
- Transportation Technology - students
learn how to service, repair, and modify vehicles and vehicle systems.
- Computer engineering - an
expanding branch of engineering with roots in both electrical engineering
and computer science. It includes the design, operation, and maintenance
of computer hardware and peripherals (printers, scanners, multimedia
devices, and so on)
- Computer and information science -
the study of ways of representing objects and processes. It
involves defining problems, analysing and designing solutions,
and developing, testing, and maintaining programs.
A detailed description of these courses is available at the Ministry
of Education website.
Review complete information on the requirements
to become certified as a teacher of Technological Studies.
+-My credentials have already
been evaluated by an organization called World English Service (WES), and are said to meet
North American standards. Is this evaluation acceptable to the College?
No. The Ontario College of Teachers does not recognize credential
evaluations conducted by other organizations. The College must do its
own evaluation from documents sent as part of your application.
+-I would like to take a teacher education program in Ontario
to upgrade my qualifications. How do I apply?
If you would like to take a teacher education program in Ontario,
you must apply to an Ontario faculty of education. Please visit the Ontario
Application Centre.
The following universities offer a teacher education program in general
studies.
The following universities offer a teacher education program in technological
studies.
+-Can
the College help me find employment?
Employment is not the jurisdiction of the College. However, it does have
a program called Teach in Ontario, found online at www.teachinontario.ca,
to assist internationally trained teachers in high demand areas such
as chemistry, physics, Technological Studies, computer science, mathematics,
and French to become certified and to receive support in finding employment
in the Ontario school system.
+-Can I appeal decisions
made by the College about my certification to teach?
You may request a review by the Ontario College of Teachers Registrar
Appeals Committee within 60 days if you are refused certification.
+-Can I teach in other provinces
if I'm certified in Ontario?
+-How can I start the certification process before I come to
Ontario?
+-Can I volunteer in a school
before being certified or while I'm waiting for certification?
Yes. Volunteering is a good way of getting Canadian work experience.
While not every school accepts volunteers, if you have family or friends
with children in a particular school, the principal there might be open
to your participation. If you volunteer, ask the teacher if he or she
would provide you with a reference letter.
Generally, volunteering means you will help the teacher in the classroom
with the daily routine.
Please note that some schools have strict policies on volunteering.
Almost all schools require that you complete a criminal record check
to ensure you are suitable to be in the classroom.
During your volunteer time, familiarize yourself with the Canadian
educational system and work with children in the age group that you
would like to teach. This type of experience can be extremely helpful
for new teachers seeking employment as well as helpful if you are trying
to get accepted into a bachelor of education training program.
+-Can the College provide me
with help in improving my English-language skills?
The OCT's Teach in Ontario offers language upgrading
courses specifically designed for internationally trained teachers.
For more information visit www.teachinontario.ca.
For additional information about language upgrading, please see the
Contacts and Resources section
of this website.
