Policies and Guidelines
These policies and guidelines are set by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario Additional Qualification department (ETFO AQ) and apply to all candidates participating in our AQ courses.
Academic integrity is a fundamental value upon which post-secondary learning is built. Candidates, instructors, and staff are expected to contribute appropriately while participating in the discussion and exchange of ideas.
For learning and scholarship to thrive, academic communities cannot tolerate acts of academic dishonesty including, but not limited to:
- Cheating;
- Plagiarism;
- Fabrication of information or citations;
- Facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others;
- Submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor and securing written approval; or
- Tampering with the academic work of other candidates.
ETFO AQ will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty in AQ courses. Should a candidate be suspected of academic dishonesty, the work in question will be forwarded to staff at the ETFO Provincial Office for review. If the candidate is deemed to have engaged in academic dishonesty, they will not be recommended to the Ontario College of Teachers for the credentials, nor will they be given a refund of the course registration fee.
If a candidate wishes to dispute this decision, they may initiate a review through the AQ Registrar.
Candidates are responsible for ensuring they satisfy the specific eligibility prerequisites prior to the course start date.
Please note that teaching experience forms must be submitted prior to the start of the course to aqteachingexperienceforms@etfo.org. Failure to submit the necessary documents will result in the candidate being removed from the course.
A separate form must be submitted for each part 2 or part 3 course. One form will not be accepted (e.g., AQ Course Name: Teacher Leadership 2 & 3, Session: Spring/Summer, Checking both Part 2 and Part 3)
Admission into Schedule C (one-session) or Part 1, Schedule D (three-session) course:
- OCT member in good standing with a permanent or transitional teaching certificate; and
- If the AQ has a divisional focus (i.e., Primary Education), you must be certified in the applicable division.
Admission into a Part 2 (Schedule D) Additional Qualifications course:
- OCT member in good standing with a permanent or transitional teaching certificate; and
- Must hold the corresponding Part 1 AQ (shown on your OCT Certificate of Qualifications);
- Must provide evidence of at least 194 days (one year) of successful teaching experience in Ontario certified by the supervisory officer/superintendent (not a principal) or evidence of at least one year of successful teaching experience outside of Ontario certified by the appropriate supervisory officer or signing authority.
Admission into a Part 3 (Schedule D) Additional Qualifications course:
- OCT member in good standing with a permanent or transitional teaching certificate; Must hold the corresponding Part 1 AQ (as shown on your OCT Certificate of Qualifications);
- Must provide evidence of a least 388 days (two years) of successful teaching experience in Ontario, including one year of experience in Ontario in the subject in which the qualification is being sought, certified by the appropriate academic supervisory officer/superintendent (not a principal) or evidence of at least one year of successful teaching experience outside of Ontario certified by the appropriate signing authority.
Admission into French as a Second Language Part 1
Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in French as a Second Language by submitting one of the following exemption documents or successfully completing the French Proficiency Test prior to registering for the Part 1 AQ course.
- A bilingual certificate (from high school French Immersion program)
- Graduated from a Francophone Secondary School (official transcript required from the secondary school)
- a major in French language, linguistics or literature (official transcript required from the post secondary institution)
- A B.Ed in a Francophone B.Ed program
- DELF level B2
All ETFO AQ courses consist of 125 hours of work as mandated by the OCT. ETFO AQ online courses are asynchronous. If a synchronous session is scheduled by the instructor during the course, participation is optional.
Summer online courses run approximately five weeks which requires a minimum of no less than five days per week online and 25 to 30 hours of work per week. The exact time online varies from course to course, but you should anticipate at least 60% of the course work will require you to be online.
Winter, spring, and fall courses run approximately 11-weeks and the general expectation is 10 hours of work per week and being online every three days.
Students who do not meet the attendance and discussion requirements will not be successful in the course and the AQ(s) will not be submitted to the OCT.
Candidates can take a maximum of two courses during any winter, spring, summer or fall session.
ETFO AQ is committed to providing candidates with an inclusive and rich learning experience.
- Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities, Act (AODA) compliant: videos subtitles and descriptions
- Text to speech assistive technology (ReadSpeaker) is integrated in all courses
- Live video conferences (BONGO), for non-mandatory sessions
- Audio response options available to participate in discussions
Applicants who require special accommodations are asked to contact ETFO AQ at aqcourses@etfo.org at least two weeks prior to the start of the course.
Candidates do not need to provide medical documentation.
Candidates may transfer to another course prior to close of registration for that session, if space is available and the candidate meets the course prerequisites.
Deadline for Course Transfer:
Prior to close of registration for the upcoming session.
In rare situations, ETFO will cancel courses if enrollment is not sufficient to provide for a viable learning opportunity. Should this happen, candidates will be provided with a full refund of the registration fee ($685.00).
Refunds are credited back to the original method of payment used at time of registration (credit card or PayPal).
Course Withdrawal
Candidates may formally withdraw from an ETFO AQ course for a course credit or refund following the submission of a Request for Refund or Course Credit Form to aqcourses@etfo.org. Candidates who do not formally withdraw are still considered registered in the course. The AQ department will not accept an email to a course instructor/lead as proper notice of intent to withdraw.
Candidates may choose to receive a course credit (i.e., a deferral) for the course in which they are currently registered.
The course credit must be used within two sessions from the original session registered (e.g., the last session to defer a fall course is the following spring session).
There are no refunds once a course credit has been issued.
A course credit can only be applied once.
Candidates may transfer a course credit to another AQ course if the candidate meets the course prerequisites.
A course credit will not be issued for the French as a Second Language Proficiency Test.
Deadline for Course Credit
Winter, spring, summer or fall session:
Last day of Learning Experience Module 1 (LE1) by 11:59 p.m. (EST)
Candidates can withdraw from a course for a refund of $585.00.
A refund is not provided for the French as a Second Language Proficiency Test.
Deadline for Course Withdrawal for Refund (All Sessions)
Withdraw within the first five (5) business days of the start of the course: $585.00 refund
Refunds are credited back to the original method of payment used at time of registration (credit card or PayPal).
Forms
Submit completed Request for Refund or Course Credit and Waiver Forms to aqcourses@etfo.org.
Teaching Experience Forms must be submitted to aqtef@etfo.org.
See specific policy or guideline for additional details.
* A separate Teaching Experience Form must be submitted for each part 2 or part 3 course. One form will not be accepted.