TORONTO--Yesterday evening, the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities announced that it has ordered the Goodwin College of Technology and Management Inc. to cease operations because the 'Private Career College' was offering unapproved programmes and operating an unregistered campus. The announcement came nearly one month after the owner of the corporation was charged with bribery for attempting to pay off a public official in exchange for a favourable report on whether the business was meeting the provincial government's standards for operating a 'Private Career College'.

The Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario is calling on the provincial government to find spaces in public colleges for former students of the now closed diploma mill so they can complete their studies at no additional cost. The province should also implement a moratorium on any new 'Private Career College' approvals and take steps towards eliminating for-profit private colleges.

QUOTES
"It seems that every year there's another scandal about a private career college leaving students stranded with nothing to show for the tens of thousands of dollars they've paid in tuition fees," said Shelley Melanson, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario. "It's astonishing that our government continues to give these diploma mills legitimacy."

"For-profit businesses offering credentials prey on immigrants, undocumented students and first generation Canadians," said Melanson. "Students expect that, by studying in Canada, they will be protected from the type of dishonesty and fraud that tends to be associated with private, for-profit companies selling education. We have an excellent public system of colleges and universities and these fly-by-night outfits undermine the quality of education in Ontario."

QUICK FACTS
* Many 'Private Career Colleges' charge tuition fees that are 4 to 5 times as high as the average tuition fees paid by students attending public colleges.
* 'Private Career Colleges', though not funded by the government directly, siphon money from the public system because students attending private colleges are allowed to apply for and receive loans through the publicly subsidised Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).
* In 2007, the OSAP repayment default rate for 'Private Career Colleges' was 6.5% higher than the rate for public colleges and 13.2% higher than the rate for public universities.
* According to Statistics Canada, private college certificate holders earn roughly the same amount as high school graduates.

The Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario unites over 300,000 college and university students and more than 35 students' unions throughout the province.