An AQ (Additional Qualification) course expands your leadership and subject knowledge in the divisions you are currently qualified to teach in (i.e., Special Education, Librarianship, Guidance & Career Education).

ABQ courses (Additional Basic Qualifications) allow you to teach in new divisions and/or subject areas (i.e., Primary, Junior, Intermediate or Senior).

These are specific AQ courses that fulfill terms and conditions on a Certificate of Qualification. The Complementary Education courses are categorized as “One Session” courses found in our AQ, ABQ and PQP Course listing.

Teachers with conditions on their OCT Certificate are required to fill out a Consent Form which can be found on the OCT Website.

You can expect to spend at least 15 hours per week on your course.

You are not required to be online at a specific day or time. These courses are fully asynchronous, meaning there is no need for real-time communication. They do not include any on-campus components. The course will have specific start and end dates, as well as set due dates for assignments and assessments. Occasionally, the instructor may schedule an optional online virtual session.

A Transitional Certificate of Qualification is a special certificate granted only to those in specific work-while-you-study Education programs across Ontario. Although you cannot take AQ/ABQ courses while you have a Transitional Certificate of Qualification, your teaching days will count towards Teaching Experience for Part 2, Specialist, and Honour Specialist courses.

OCT defines one year of teaching experience as 194 days of teaching.

Teaching experience must be verified by the Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent of your school. If you teach in a private school, your teaching experience must be verified by the Ministry Official appointed for your school (i.e., Education Officer).

If your school is not governed by a Superintendent or Ministry Official, the appropriate person to sign the form is the person your principal reports to.

Experience forms are necessary for Part 2, Specialist, and Honour Specialist courses. If you already have a Specialist or Honour Specialist qualification on your OCT Certificate, you do not need to submit an experience form for any additional Part 2 courses you take. However, a new experience form is always required for Specialist and Honour Specialist courses.

Once you have finished all components of your teacher education program, you can take AQ/ABQ courses before graduating. If you are not a candidate in Brock’s teacher education program, you will need to fill out the Waiver for New BEd Graduates.

If you’re uncertain about meeting the academic requirements for a course (Honours Specialist, Intermediate, Senior, or Tech Ed courses) and would like a pre-assessment, please fill out the Pre-Assessment form. Pre-assessment requests are handled in the order they are received, with priority given to assessments for the current session.

All of our courses are asynchronous and can be completed without any real-time interaction. Each course consists of 125 hours, as required by the Ontario College of Teachers. This time allotment includes ongoing and active participate in online discussions, participation, readings, tasks, assignments, and assessments. To successfully pass the course, all components of the course must be met.

On the first day of your course, to our online learning platform called Brightspace. You and your fellow candidates will quickly get to know each other and form an online learning community where you will share ideas, engage in online discussions, and receive individual feedback from your instructor.

Your course will consist of several modules, each with its own due date. During the course, you are not required to be online at a particular time, but your assignments and discussion board tasks will need to be handed in by the established due dates.

When you have completed your course, you will receive a final grade. Within four weeks of the end of the course, the Professional and Continuing Studies Office will confirm completion to the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT). Shortly thereafter, you can expect to see an update to your Certificate of Qualifications.

If you are not a member of the Ontario College of Teachers and never plan to be, you are still eligible to register for an online AQ/ABQ course. During the online application, you will identify as a non-OCT member by inserting 0000000 under the OCT # field. As well, you will be required to complete and submit the Waiver for Non-OCT Members. Under this condition, the the Professional and Continuing Studies Office will not report successful completion of your course to the Ontario College of Teachers now, or at any time in the future.

If you wish to receive recognition from the Ontario College of Teachers for a course you have taken as a non-OCT member, you will be required to register into and successfully complete the same course again, in accordance with the policies and fees in effect at that time.

Submitting your application and providing payment does not guarantee your enrollment. Every application undergoes a review and approval process. If, after this review, it’s determined that you do not meet the necessary requirements, our office will contact you to discuss your eligibility.

We do not require original hard copies of your documents. Your documents can be uploaded to your current application which can be accessed by logging into your learner portal. You can also email your documents to ce@brocku.ca

Original transcripts are not required.

You can submit a scanned or downloaded unofficial copy from your university. Please ensure your full name, course names, and grades are showing on your document. Please upload these documents as a PDF to your current application or send them via email to ce@brocku.ca

No. AQs, ABQs and PQPs are not eligible to receive funding from OSAP.

Brock’s Professional and Continuing Studies Office submits the recommendation to OCT on your behalf. Recommendations are sent electronically 4 weeks after the course finishes.

After our office automatically sends your recommendation to the OCT, it may take 4-6 weeks for them to update your OCT record. If you do not see your qualification on your OCT record within this timeframe (8-10 weeks from course completion), please contact the OCT directly.

If you need a letter of enrollment or a letter confirming successful completion, please email your request specifying the course you need the letter for to ce@brocku.ca

It is the candidate’s responsibility to send the proper documentation to a teachers’ federation and to ensure that the Additional Qualification course they select meets their federation’s requirements. Candidates who are completing an Additional Qualification course for a purpose of a salary category change may wish to have the course pre-approved by their federation (you will still need to meet the entry requirements of the course).

Assessment and evaluation strategies in Continuing Teacher Education (CTE) courses are rooted in a commitment to equity and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. Recognizing the multifaceted nature of adult learners, our courses reflect the paradigms of K-12 evaluation methods while concurrently honouring the principles of andragogy, the science of understanding adult learning. Our underlying philosophy is to create an environment where all candidates have an opportunity to succeed. This is achieved by maintaining flexibility in our assessment methods and adapting to our candidates’ diverse learning needs and preferences. Our assessment toolbox includes but is not limited to self-assessments, a complete/not complete grading scale, group work evaluations, quizzes, hands-on skill demonstrations, 1-point criteria, rubrics, and observational feedback. Each method is chosen to ensure fairness, inclusivity, and adaptability, promoting a learner-centered approach that champions the success of every individual.

After our office automatically sends your recommendation to the OCT, it may take 4-6 weeks for them to update your OCT record. If you do not see your qualification on your OCT record within this timeframe (8-10 weeks from course completion), please contact the OCT directly.