Ontario Universities' Application Centre
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The Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC) () is a
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
based in
Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...
that processes
online application A web application (or web app) is application software that is created with web technologies and runs via a web browser. Web applications emerged during the late 1990s and allowed for the server to dynamically build a response to the request, ...
s for
admission Admission may refer to: Arts and media * "Admissions" (''CSI: NY''), an episode of ''CSI: NY'' *''Admissions'' (film), a 2011 short film starring James Cromwell * ''Admission'' (film), a 2013 comedy film * ''Admission'', a 2019 album by Florida sl ...
to
universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
in
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada. It was founded in 1971 by the
Council of Ontario Universities The Council of Ontario Universities (COU) provides a forum for Ontario's universities to collaborate and advocate in support of their shared mission to the benefit and prosperity of students, communities and the province of Ontario. A membership ...
and the Ontario Universities' Council on Admissions, to reduce the duplication and costs involved in processing applications. The OUAC processes applications to undergraduate programs, medical school, law school, teacher education, and rehabilitation sciences programs at nearly all of Ontario's universities - only the RMC does not process applications through the OUAC.


History

The OUAC was founded in 1971 by the Committee of Presidents of the Universities of Ontario, now called the
Council of Ontario Universities The Council of Ontario Universities (COU) provides a forum for Ontario's universities to collaborate and advocate in support of their shared mission to the benefit and prosperity of students, communities and the province of Ontario. A membership ...
, and the Ontario Universities’ Council on Admissions (OUCA). Before the OUAC was formed, each university processed its own applications. Students could accept offers of admission to more than one university, which left universities with vacant spots in the fall (since students were not required to notify the universities they had decided not to attend). Processing all applications in one place meant less duplication and costs. Since the 1970s, the OUAC has expanded its services to include publications, transcript distribution, surveys, data collection and statistical reports used by governments and universities. In 1972, the OUAC processed more than 135,000 undergraduate applications. Today, more than 200,000 applicants submit approximately 600,000 applications to the OUAC every year. By 2012, the OUAC had processed more than 14 million applications, submitted by more than 4.5 million applicants. Starting in 1975, the OUAC began processing applications to professional programs, including medicine (1975), teacher education (1979), law (1997) and rehabilitation sciences (2000). Each program has its own application service. These services were developed by admissions officers at the respective universities to reduce duplication and save time and money for the applicants and the universities. In 2003, during the double cohort year when the last group of Grade 13 students graduated at the same time as Grade 12 students, the OUAC received 86,000 online applications in two months. Applications were paper-based until the late 1990s. By 2011, 99 percent of all applications were completed online.


Funding

The OUAC is a non-profit agency funded through student application fees and the contract services it provides for the universities. After all costs are recovered, the OUAC gives any remaining revenue to the universities to help with their admissions processing costs.


Primary role

The OUAC processes English and French applications for undergraduate and professional programs (medicine, law, teacher education, and rehabilitation sciences), and graduate programs at some universities in Ontario.


Secondary roles

* Maintaining th
Ontario Universities' Info website
(in English and French), a searchable database of information on all Ontario university programs, including admission requirements, scholarships, etc. * Overseeing th
Ontario Universities’ Fair (OUF)
a three-day event held each fall in Toronto. Ontario universities are exhibitors at this event, where students and parents can learn about university life. * Coordinating th
Ontario Universities' Regional Fairs
a series of events held each fall in cities and towns across Ontario. Representatives from the universities make presentations and speak to students, parents and educators. * Providing online tools that allow Ontario high school guidance counsellors and school officials to access student information in the OUAC database and exchange it with universities. Users can create student accounts, submit grades, update academic files, view completed applications, etc. * Maintaining the Ontario Universities’ Electronic Transcript System (OUETS), where students can request, through the OUAC website, to have copies of their academic transcripts (from Ontario universities and
colleges A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...
) sent to any Ontario university.


Application types

The OUAC processes all undergraduate and professional applications on behalf of Ontario’s universities (except the
Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...
). Applicants submit their application to the OUAC, indicating all choices they wish to apply for. The OUAC does not make any admission decisions.


Undergraduate

The OUAC forwards undergraduate applications to all requested universities and/or programs.


Professional

The OUAC processes applications for professional programs at Ontario universities (medicine, law, teacher education, and rehabilitation sciences). While the OUAC processes the applications, it does not make any admission decisions. The Ontario Law School Application Service (OLSAS) processes applications for admission to Ontario’s law schools. This includes applications for
Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...
at
York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
, Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at
Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...
, Lincoln Alexander School of Law at
Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...
,
University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...
, the
Queen's University Faculty of Law The Queen's University Faculty of Law is a professional faculty of Queen's University at Kingston in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. According to the most recent ranking of law schools conducted in Canada by Macleans, Queens Law Scho ...
,
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, Western University, and
University of Windsor The University of Windsor (UWindsor, U of W, or UWin) is a public university, public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 17,500 students. The university was incorporated by ...
. The Ontario Medical School Application Service (OMSAS) processes applications for admission to Ontario’s medical schools. For the
Northern Ontario School of Medicine Northern Ontario School of Medicine University (NOSM University; , ''Université ÉMNO'') is a public medical university in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is mandated both to educate doctors and to contribute to care in Northern Ontario's ...
,
Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, known as the McMaster University School of Medicine prior to 2004, is the medical school of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences. I ...
at
McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...
,
Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...
,
University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...
, Queen's University,
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
and
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry is the combined medical school and dental school of the University of Western Ontario, a public university in London, Ontario, Canada. The medical education section is one of six in Ontario and one ...
at Western University. The Ontario Rehabilitation Sciences Programs Application Service (ORPAS) processes applications to
occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy, is a healthcare profession. Ergotherapy is derived from the Greek wiktionary:ergon, ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active. Occupational therapy is based on the assumption t ...
, physiotherapy and physical therapy,
audiology Audiology (from Latin 'to hear'; and from Ancient Greek, Greek branch of learning , ''wikt:-logia, -logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactivel ...
and speech-language pathology programs offered at the graduate level at some Ontario universities. The Teacher Education Application Service (TEAS) processes applications for admission to Ontario’s faculties of education. +RMCC offers undergraduate programs; but the applications are not processed by the OUAC.


See also

*
List of Ontario Universities Universities in Canada are established and operate under provincial and territorial government charters or are directed by First Nations bands or by federal legislation. Most public universities in the country are members of Universities Canad ...
*
Ontario College Application Service OCAS Application Services, formerly known as the Ontario College Application Service (OCAS) is a non-profit corporation created in 1991 by the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology and Institutes of Technology and Advanced Learning in the provin ...


References


External links


Ontario Universities' Application Centre
{{Coord , 43.5210, N, 80.22960, W, display=title Universities in Ontario University and college admissions