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101 Declaration

Declaration and Notice of Collection, Use, Disclosure and Treatment of Personal Information provided as part of your application to Ontario University(ies) Undergraduate Program(s) (101)

The Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) was created by the universities of Ontario through the Council of Ontario Universities (COU). The OUAC has been processing applications on behalf of universities in Ontario since 1971. To apply for admission to a university undergraduate program and/or a non-degree‑granting program in Ontario, your application must be processed through the OUAC. The OUAC forwards your application information to the university(ies) of your choice. By applying through the OUAC, you agree that the university(ies) of your choice will obtain the personal information you have provided to the OUAC and that the OUAC will collect, use, disclose and otherwise manage your personal information as set out in this Declaration and Notice.

The personal information requested in this application is required by the OUAC and by the university(ies) for the purpose of your application and must be provided together with your application fee. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Universities may require additional personal information from you to complete your application. Universities may use and disclose your personal information for other purposes in accordance with their own admission and personal information policies and practices, including requirements for government enrollment reporting, which you must investigate yourself. For example, some programs at some universities (e.g., Nursing) may require you to provide them with information about whether and to what extent you have a prior criminal record. Universities also disclose personal information to regulatory authorities, law enforcement or other persons, when authorized or required to do so by law.

Academic data, including the Ontario Education Number (OEN), for all students expected to be eligible for university upon completion of the current secondary school academic session will be obtained by the OUAC from your school and/or board in order to facilitate the application process. Your current grade information will be obtained by the OUAC several times during the application cycle. All of your application data is made available to your guidance office and board officials in order to assist you with your university application. Of the individuals who have access, only a restricted number of school or board officials have the right to update your secondary school academic data and diploma information.

To enable you to apply online, your school must register with the OUAC. The OUAC will assign you a personal access code in a confidential letter, which will be distributed to you through your secondary school guidance office. Your guidance counsellor will also be informed of your OUAC access code on a confidential basis in order to assist in the application process. You are solely responsible for keeping your access code and other login and registration information confidential and secure. Please notify the OUAC immediately if you suspect any unauthorized use or disclosure of this information.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your application information and all supporting documentation is truthful, complete and correct. The OUAC and the universities reserve the right to verify any information provided as part of this application. If any information in your application is determined to be false or misleading, concealed or withheld, or written by a third party, at the absolute discretion of the OUAC and/or a university, your application may be invalidated. This could result in its immediate rejection or in the revocation of an offer of admission or registration at a university. Any such information may be shared by the OUAC or by universities and colleges with other universities and colleges across Canada.

The OUAC is committed to protecting your privacy in relation to the personal information you provide in support of your application. Supplementary material in support of applications submitted to the OUAC is not kept by the OUAC and will not be returned to you or forwarded to third parties prior to being destroyed at the end of each application cycle.

The OUAC does retain the current (and historical) electronic version(s) of your application(s) in accordance with the OUAC’s records retention policy and maintains administrative, technical and physical safeguards in an effort to protect against unauthorized access, use, modification and disclosure of your personal information. The OUAC will maintain the confidentiality of all personal information it collects in connection with the application and will disclose such personal information only for the purposes described in this Declaration and Notice. The OUAC stores electronic records off-site as part of its disaster recovery procedures. You are solely responsible for keeping your access code, login information and other registration information confidential and secure. Please notify the OUAC immediately if you suspect any unauthorized access, use or disclosure.

Collection of Personal Information:

  • The OUAC collects the personal information you provide in your application, or in reference to your application, to process your application for the university(ies) of your choice.
  • The OUAC collects academic information about you, including the OEN, from the Ontario secondary school and or board at which you are registered as explained above.
  • The OUAC may collect information about your status as a Canadian Aboriginal, if you provide it. You are not required to provide this information, but if you provide it, the OUAC will forward it to the university(ies) of your choice to allow the university(ies) to inform you of specific services available to Canadian Aboriginal students.
  • The OUAC may collect information about your status as a first-generation postsecondary (university or college) applicant, if you provide it.
    You are not required to provide this information, but if you provide it, the OUAC will forward it to the university(ies) of your choice to allow the university(ies) to inform you of specific services available to first-generation students.
  • The OUAC collects payment information from you (or from whoever is paying for this application) to arrange for the processing of payment for your application. All credit card processing is done by a third party and no cardholder data is collected, transmitted or stored on OUAC systems.
  • If you are accepted and then register at an Ontario university, the university will send your registration information and the program for which you are registered to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU). The OUAC collects this information about your registration from the MTCU.

Use of Personal Information:

  • The OUAC will compile and process your application and payment.
  • The OUAC and/or the university(ies) may use your personal information to validate or assign an OEN. The OEN Registry is maintained by the Ministry of Education, and is used for tracking and research purposes by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Training, College and Universities, and postsecondary institutions, as allowed within the Education Act.
  • The OUAC uses personal information from all undergraduate applications to create aggregate, non-personally identifiable information for use by the public via the OUAC website; Ontario’s government ministries (Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and Ministry of Education); the COU; Ontario universities; Ontario colleges; Ontario College Application Services (OCAS); Ontario secondary school boards; and academic researchers (at the discretion of the OUAC) for admissions, enrollment and other academic policy development and research purposes.
  • The OUAC uses personal information obtained from MTCU on university registration to create aggregate, non-personally identifiable information for use by Ontario’s government ministries (Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and Ministry of Education); the COU; Ontario universities; Ontario colleges; OCAS; and academic researchers (at the discretion of the OUAC) for admissions, enrollment and other academic policy development and research purposes.

Disclosure of Personal Information:

  • The OUAC will disclose your application information to the university(ies) of your choice.
  • If a third party who is paying for this application has questions regarding the payment for your application, the OUAC will disclose personal
    information about you as necessary and appropriate to respond to the inquiry.
  • The OUAC will disclose your application information to facilitate the application process to guidance offices and/or school boards associated with the Ontario secondary school at which you are registered.
  • In the event that you have applied to a joint or collaborative university/university or university/college program, the OUAC and/or the universities will disclose your application information to the relevant partner Ontario college(s) or university(ies).
  • The OUAC discloses your personal information, and application and confirmation information to the OCAS to research postsecondary trends for applicants who have applied to both Ontario universities and colleges.
  • If you applied to a university outside of Ontario, the OUAC will disclose your Ontario secondary school academic data, upon your request, to those Canadian universities outside of Ontario. If you applied to a university outside of Ontario, and if requested, the OUAC will disclose your Ontario secondary school academic data and application information to those Canadian universities outside of Ontario.
  • If any information connected with your application is determined to be false or misleading, concealed or withheld, contains evidence of academic dishonesty or inappropriate conduct, universities and colleges across Canada will be advised, at the absolute discretion of the OUAC and/or a university.
  • The OUAC discloses your identifying information, the secondary school you attend and whether you have applied to, or registered with a university to the Ministry of Education, as authorized by law for the purposes set out in subsection 8.1(1) of the Education Act.
  • The OUAC discloses your academic, application, confirmation and registration information in non-identifiable form to the Ontario universities for admissions, enrollment and other academic policy development and research purposes.
  • The OUAC discloses personal information from all university applications in aggregate, non-identifiable form, to the public via the OUAC website; Ontario’s government ministries (Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and Ministry of Education); the COU; Ontario universities; Ontario colleges; Ontario secondary school boards; OCAS; and academic researchers (at the discretion of the OUAC) for admissions, enrollment and other academic policy development and research purposes.
  • The OUAC may disclose your personal information to regulatory authorities, law enforcement or other persons, as authorized or required by law.

For more information about the collection, use, disclosure, and treatment of your personal information at the OUAC, review the OUAC’s Privacy Code at www.ouac.on.ca/privacy/ or contact the OUAC Privacy Officer by email at privacyofficer@ouac.on.ca, by phone at 519-823-1940, or in writing at 170 Research Lane, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 5E2.

Applicant’s Declaration:

I certify that the personal information and documents submitted in this application, or to be submitted (all of which constitutes the application), are true, complete and correct in all respects, including my declarations as to citizenship and immigration status in Canada and that all information requested in this application has been disclosed. I understand that it is my responsibility to keep the OUAC and the university(ies), to which I have applied or at which I register, informed of any changes to the information in my application materials and I agree to do so in writing immediately after any such change occurs.

By pressing “I Verify and Agree”, I accept and consent to the personal information and academic data in my application being submitted to Ontario or any other university(yies) to which I choose to apply. I consent to the personal information, use and disclosure practices as set out in the “Declaration and Notice of Collection, Use, Disclosure and Treatment of Personal Information provided as part of your application to Ontario University(ies) Undergraduate Program(s) (101)”, which I have read and understand.

Last updated:  June 28, 2012