TORONTO: Inspection reports prepared by government officials reveal massive financial irregularities and academic fraud occurring at prominent career colleges operating in Ontario. Reports submitted in court by Ontario government officials indicate that third parties were completing coursework and exams on behalf of students at these colleges. In some instances, students completed entire courses in a single day, while a few students were unable to name the college or the program they were enrolled in.
Major irregularities were uncovered during inspections conducted at three franchise locations of the ‘Academy of Learning’ (AOL). Consequently, the Ontario government cut off financial aid eligibility under the ‘Ontario Student Assistance Program’ (OSAP) for these institutions. The reports containing these serious allegations surfaced in court records after college authorities filed a petition challenging the government’s decision.
Key Inspection Findings:
- Courses Completed in Days: An inspection of a student’s account at the Brampton campus revealed that all quizzes and the final exam for a business writing course were completed on the same day, with the final exam taking just 6 minutes. Another student passed their final exam for a business course on the very first day they accessed the course.
- Shared IP Address Logins: A student account at the North York campus was accessed from more than 211 IP addresses. At the Bay Street location, 39 student accounts were accessed using the exact same IP address. These students were all referred by the same recruiting agent, indicating coordinated activity and unauthorized access.
- Uninformed Students: When officials contacted selected students following suspicious activity, some were unable to name their institution or program. Many were also unable to communicate in English.
Millions of Dollars in Fund Misdirection:
Following warnings flagged by Career Colleges Ontario, investigations revealed a massive 500 to 600 percent surge in student grant applications from these three campuses over two years. In the 2024–25 academic year, over $219 million in government grants was disbursed to approximately 14,800 students across these three institutions—a disproportionately high amount considering all public colleges in Ontario collectively received about $385 million in OSAP grants that year.
Following these findings, Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities disqualified these institutions from OSAP eligibility effective August 1, 2025. The Canadian federal government has also raised similar concerns regarding these schools.
College Management Denies Allegations:
Academy of Learning management has denied the government’s allegations. The college explained that shared IP addresses occur naturally due to dynamic IP assignment by internet service providers (ISPs) like Bell, Rogers, and Cogeco, and suggested that students may not have answered inspectors’ questions out of fear of scam calls. The institution added that it has since implemented corrective measures, including two-factor authentication and enhanced monitoring of rapid course completions.
Because the matter remains before the court, no final judicial verdict has been delivered on the allegations.
