Trillium College, an Ontario-based career college, has suspended its academic operations due to a province-wide halt on student financial assistance for private post-secondary institutions. This decision was effective as of Friday, as indicated in a notice obtained and confirmed by The Canadian Press.
The suspension of operations follows the announcement by Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn earlier this month, stating that Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) payments to career colleges and other private institutions will be paused while an audit is conducted. The halt impacts various educational establishments, including private universities, chiropractic and naturopathic medicine colleges, and performing arts schools such as Canada’s National Ballet School.
In its communication to students, Trillium College expressed concerns regarding its students’ ability to make tuition payments without OSAP funding. Although the college is offering interest-free payment arrangements, many students have reported that they cannot afford these payments during the suspension of financial assistance. The college noted that numerous students have requested additional time to evaluate their financial situations, investigate alternative payment methods, and consider whether they can realistically continue their studies.
Trillium College remarked, "Continuing normal classroom operations without a viable funding solution would place the orderly completion of student programs at greater risk." The suspension allows students the necessary time to assess their options while giving Trillium the chance to restructure schedules, staffing, funding arrangements, and plans for returning to classes.
Since the announcement, Quinn’s office has indicated that while OSAP payments remain paused, the government is actively looking into alternatives. However, no clear timeline has been provided. Bianca Giacoboni, a representative from Quinn's office, stated, "We recognize the impact that this pause is having on students and are working to develop options for low-interest, third-party loans facilitated by financial institutions to support students through this period of transition."
The broad nature of the pause has faced backlash from schools and students, who argue that the implications should not be so sweeping and should target specific institutions suspected of misconduct. Giacoboni noted concerns have arisen regarding wider issues, leading the government to take this protective measure to safeguard taxpayer dollars and hold wrongdoers accountable. “Evidence of systemic issues that have compromised the integrity of the OSAP system left our government with no choice but to pause OSAP payments to all private institutions,” she emphasized.
Career Colleges Ontario has consistently warned the government about potential suspicious OSAP usage among certain colleges, citing dramatically increasing numbers. Data obtained through a freedom-of-information request by The Canadian Press revealed that OSAP usage at some schools had surged by several hundred percent over the past three years, with increases exceeding 1,000 percent in certain cases. Despite this, Quinn has not disclosed any specific colleges under scrutiny. Notably, Trillium College's campuses were not among the six institutions that had their OSAP eligibility revoked earlier this year.
During the period from 2021-22 to 2024-25, OSAP usage across Trillium’s campuses increased by a comparatively low rate of 64%, coinciding with the opening of a new campus in that timeframe. The trend of rising OSAP usage at some colleges appears to have commenced after the provincial government adjusted OSAP eligibility to encompass students enrolled in online or asynchronous programs, a modification that was initially implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and later made permanent.
Quinn has indicated that many of the significant concerns regarding OSAP usage have emerged from online-only programs. He stated that the government plans to introduce legislation this fall to re-establish ineligibility for OSAP for these types of programs.
