OntarioLearn

What OntarioLearn is

OntarioLearn is a shared catalog of online post-secondary courses and programs, run by Ontario's public colleges together, for adults who want a college course without moving to a campus. In its own words, "All 24 of Ontario’s publicly-funded colleges, along with 2 Indigenous Institutes and 1 Support Organization, work together in OntarioLearn to offer you easy access to a wide variety of high-quality courses, programs and services online." It is not a college in its own right and not a marketplace where independent instructors sell their own courses: a learner registers with the member institution that offers a course, and OntarioLearn is where that course is found and studied. The footer describes the organization as a non-profit corporation, and the site publishes its bylaws and its policies and procedures. The home page calls the offer "the most impressive collection of shared online post-secondary courses in North America", a claim it makes about itself. The site has English and French versions.

How it works for a learner

The home page spells out the process in one sentence: "Search our inventory to find your online course or program at a preferred start date, register with one of our member institutions offering it, and log in to our Portal for one-stop access to your learning." So there are three steps. The learner searches by subject area, and the site also keeps separate listings of courses, programs and member institutions. Registration then happens with the college or institute that runs the chosen course. The studying itself happens in the OntarioLearn Portal, which the site presents as one-stop access to a learner's study.

The point of pooling the colleges is that distance stops mattering inside the province. The site describes OntarioLearn as "a connection to the courses you want and need, no matter where you live and no matter where it’s offered across Ontario", and gives an example: "If you live in Sudbury, you can take a course taught by our instructor in Kingston. Live in London? Meet deadlines for our course facilitated in Toronto." The example also shows how the courses run. They have start dates, instructors and deadlines, so taking one is closer to a college term delivered online than to a self-paced video course.

Support is promised around the clock: "we’re here to help with dedicated support specialists 24/7/365." The main menu adds a student services section, help pages, registration and a log-in for the Portal.

What you can study

The subject list on the home page runs to dozens of areas, most of them practical and tied to an occupation.

Business and office work takes up a large share: accounting, business, business writing, eBusiness, management, marketing, human resource management, office administration (legal, medical and general), and combined areas that pair business with community work, health or information technology. Technology and trades cover computer programming, computer software applications, information technology, technology, technology and trades, trades, and home inspection.

Health is the other big group. Besides health, health sciences and community health, the catalog carries named nursing pathways: PSW to PN, PN to BScN (the menu also has an RPN-BScN entry), a Hyflex PN Pathway, and an Internationally Educated Nurses Pathway (IEN). Three of them also have their own entries in the main menu.

Public safety and service has justice, corrections, police foundations, security, and military arts and science (DMASc). Education covers early childhood education, education, educational assistant, teacher training, and a separate area for teacher training in online teaching, training and education, plus library and information studies. The arts and general side includes creative writing and literature, media and design, liberal studies, social sciences, sciences, mathematics, language, communications and languages, general education, general interest, personal development, two hospitality areas (tourism and leisure, travel and tourism), and sports, leisure and recreation.

There are also on-ramps and higher levels. The Academic and Career Entrance Program (ACE) and college preparation are listed as subjects of their own for learners getting ready for college study, while the list also includes degree-level courses, post-graduate courses and a Leadership Development Series (LDS).

Credentials and career goals

OntarioLearn frames the catalog around what learners are working toward. The site says that whether you are upgrading skills, "working towards a micro credential, certificate, diploma, or degree", improving your job prospects or "seeking specialized professional development", you will find the courses and programs you are looking for there. For a reader looking at university-level online study, that means courses and programs from public colleges, from short micro credentials to degree-level work. For a manager or professional, the leadership series, management courses and post-graduate courses are the executive and professional development side of the same catalog.

Size and track record

The organization has been doing this for a long time. The home page says OntarioLearn is "a leader in the delivery of high-quality online education for more than 25 years" and that it "has supported nearly 1 million course enrollments since our early days as a start-up in 1994." Those are the site's own figures.

Fees and registration

The home page publishes no fees and sends learners to register with the member institution offering the course. Because registration runs through the institution, a learner deals with that college or institute when signing up and with OntarioLearn for the Portal and support.

Who it suits

OntarioLearn suits adults in Ontario who need a real college course online and want to choose from every public college at once rather than one. A working adult upgrading skills in accounting, IT or office administration can search the shared inventory by subject instead of checking college by college. Learners on the PSW to PN or PN to BScN routes, and internationally educated nurses, will find named pathways for those moves. People in policing, corrections and security, early childhood educators and educational assistants, and teachers learning to teach online each have their own subject areas. An adult preparing for college study can start with ACE or college preparation. Managers and professionals can use the Leadership Development Series and the post-graduate courses.

The caveats come from the model. Everything is built around Ontario's colleges, so the catalog, the member list and even the site's examples are Ontario's. Courses follow start dates and deadlines, which suits learners who want structure and a college course, less so those who want to dip into short videos whenever they like. And because each course belongs to a member institution, a learner registers with that college or institute rather than with OntarioLearn itself.