Program Curriculum Requirements

A number of credentials have Program Standards and others have Program Descriptions/Goals. Program standards (where they exist) are to provide public accountability for the quality and relevance of college programs.

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) is responsible for the development and approval of system-wide standards for programs at Ontario colleges.

"The development of program standards by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities started in the 1990s to bring more consistency to college programming, broaden the skills of college graduates to include essential employability skills and provide accountability for the quality and relevance of college programs” Ontario Ministry of Colleges & Universities

When a program has provincial program standards, colleges must adhere to - or exceed - the program standards.

Although program standards are established provincially, the standards do not set out what specific courses will meet those standards. That is up to each college. Individual colleges also determine whether additional learning outcomes will be required to reflect specific local needs and/or interests.

Program standards are updated depending on changing requirements of the sector. This ensures that standards continue to be appropriate and relevant to both the needs of students and employers. For programs that have standards, colleges are required to implement new program standards when updates are provided. These updates maintain relevancy and respond to industry changes.

Program Standards vs. Program Goals

Program standards apply to all similar programs of instruction across the province. Programs that do not have provincial program standards, still have to adhere to the same elements as program standards.

The only difference between programs with and without provincial program standards is that there is more flexibility in developing the VLOs for that program. In this case, these VLOs are known as Program Goals For these programs, VLOs are developed by each college, but they do follow a set of guidelines in order to maintain the themes and dimensions of programs under the same ministry code offered at different colleges.

The VLOs - or program goals - set out the culminating demonstration of learning and achievement that the student must reliably demonstrate before graduation. Learning outcomes are inter-related and when viewed as a whole, they identify what students will be able to do at the completion of a program.

This diagram summarizes the elements of program standards which are the building blocks of curriculum in our programs of instruction. 

Each program standard for a postsecondary program of instruction also includes the following elements: