The Government of Alberta is set to introduce new rules for private career colleges in the province to increase standards for the post secondaries while also protecting students against predatory behaviour.
Bill 3, if passed, would introduce new amendments to the province’s Private Vocational Training Act by setting clear standards of how recruiters for schools operate and would ban financial incentives tied to student enrolment for recruiters.
The bill would also allow for extended cooling-off periods for student enrolment contracts, tuition refund rules clarified, and any agreements that violate the rules prescribed by the act would be voided.
A new student tuition protection fund is also set to be introduced by the government in order to allow students to recover tuition in the case of a college closing or if it violates consumer protection rules.
“Students and employers count on Alberta’s private training providers to deliver high-quality education that prepares people for in-demand careers,” said Minister of Advanced Education Myles McDougall.
“These proposed amendments would strengthen oversight, enhance transparency, and ensure students are protected as they pursue their education and career goals, while allowing us to address problematic behaviour when it arises.”
Minister McDougall said that the tuition protection fund would be financed as a percentage of revenues that a private career college receives.
“The exact amount, and how we see that fund, besides that, will be something that we worked out with the industry going over the next several months as we set up the final regulations,” he said.
Changes have teeth to protect students
The changes are set to be the largest made to the act in the past 20 years, following regulation changes made in 2024 to provide enhanced oversight and protection for students.
The Government of Alberta introduced a registry for private career colleges with those changes, which also provided the public with information about whether a college was operating under supervision by the province or suspended from operations.
That registry also provides students with the tuition costs for a college, which can be compared across programs at other colleges.
The work to offer greater protection to students in Alberta has been an ongoing effort by local Calgary non-profit Momentum, which released a policy paper in 2022 to address claims by students who had been targeted and financially harmed by predatory private colleges.
Courtney Mo, Director of Community Impact with Momentum, said that while education is believed to be a secure path to a better life, many students have told Momentum that getting a private career college education can be a gamble.
“They shared that their hope was lost after spending tens of thousands of dollars on a poor-quality program that left them with crushing debt and limited job prospects. They were sold student loans as free money, along with many other falsehoods, and there was little known recourse available. Of course, there are good colleges, but it was difficult to tell the difference,” she said.
“Of course, there are good colleges, but it was difficult to tell the difference. We are so grateful that over the years, students who have faced issues with private colleges have trusted us with their stories and hoped that others wouldn’t face the same hardship as them.”
She said that without the courage of those students coming forward, there couldn’t have been the work undertaken to make fundamental changes to the way that private career college education will be delivered in Alberta.
“This new legislation has teeth. It raises the bar. It makes it possible for students to compare their options and to attend a private career college with more confidence. Importantly, it gives students recourse. In the case of if they get tangled up with a bad actor, it enables the government to take action against those bad actors,” said Mo.
