Background of the Centre
The OUAC was founded in 1971 by the Council of Ontario Universities (formerly the Committee of Presidents of the Universities of Ontario) and the Ontario Universities’ Council on Admissions. With the encouragement and support of the provincial government and with the significant growth in the demand for postsecondary studies in Ontario, there was a desire to improve a variety of enrolment management and planning activities. The OUAC soon began partial operation in August 1971 and completed its first official processing cycle for first-year undergraduate applications in the fall of 1972.
The benefits of centralization were realized very quickly, resulting in the centralization of admissions processing work to many of Ontario’s professional programs. The following lists their first official processing year:
1975 – Ontario’s medical schools
1979 – Ontario’s faculties of education
1996 – Ontario’s law schools
1999 – Ontario’s rehabilitation sciences programs (OT/PT/AUD/SLP)
Centralization improved the ability to control multiple acceptances of offers of admission, and helped to significantly reduce the amount of duplication and costs in processing multiple applications for admission. Over the years, the services of the OUAC have expanded in other areas including the production and distribution of numerous publications; the centralized distribution of application materials worldwide; the administration of various university and applicant surveys; the production of statistical reports used for government and institutional planning purposes; the electronic collection and distribution of university transcripts; and other related tasks.
The OUAC’s current automated, web-based application and grades collection processes are achieved through innovative technology, system, policies and procedures, and data management activities and are highly regarded internationally. These user-friendly, cost effective and efficient data collection processes continue to be a source of pride for the Ontario university system.
Registered as a non-profit agency operating under the auspices of the Council of Ontario Universities, the OUAC serves the province’s 20 universities including OCAD University.
The activities of the OUAC are monitored by a 20 member Advisory Board, which includes representatives from all of the OUAC’s user groups.