About OntarioLearn

Our story

In 1995, seven Ontario colleges saw the need to make high-quality online education available to as many learners as possible. They realized that if they pooled their resources, they would be able to extend their reach, offering online courses and programs to students who would not otherwise have access to them. 

OntarioLearn is a popular choice for people who live in rural and remote areas, who have different learning styles or disabilities, who lead busy lives, working full- or part-time with:

  • Convenient start dates scheduled up to 14 times per year. 
  • Flexible study times— in your own space, on your own time.
  • Accessible help desk support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

OntarioLearn has adopted a continuous improvement model, working with member colleges to review course design and delivery. At OntarioLearn we boast a 90% retention rate and a student success rate of 87%, both higher than student achievement rates across the sector. 

From our early beginnings to today, OntarioLearn has grown to include all 24 of Ontario’s publicly-funded colleges with almost 1,500 shared online courses, over 650 online programs and on average, 100,000 student registrations each year.

Contact us

OntarioLearn is a virtual organization, managing infrastructure and operations to provide learners with a seamless experience across their online courses offered by our member colleges. 

Executive Director  Anne Renaud is responsible for implementing our strategic direction, managing contracts as well as recruiting and supervising our administrative staff.  

Administrator Heather Ryan is responsible for day-to-day operations and acts as our liaison with members and assisting with course setups and registrations.

IT and Business Efficiency manager Rick Fortier is responsible for day-to-day technology operations, implementing new technology supports, and initiating business efficiencies.

Part-time Administrator Cindy Foley provides coordination support for the administrative team.

Our award-winning, seat-sharing model relies on the collaboration of our members to share best practices and uphold the highest standards. Select your registering college institution to reach the contact best able to help you with inquiries about programs, course examinations or final grades.

OntarioLearn at a glance

1994-1995 Four Ontario publicly-funded colleges share online courses and attract 365 student registrations 

1995–1996 Seven college partners launch Contact South sharing the delivery of online courses with 500 registrations

1997–1998 Contact South grows to 12 college partners and 1,500 course registrations

1998–1999 With continued growth, Embanet Corporation is selected as the OntarioLearn technical service provider

2000 Contact South changes its name to OntarioLearn

2000–2001 Membership increases to 22 partner colleges offering 285 shared online courses and registration reaches 11,314

2005–2006 OntarioLearn launches the Portal to streamline student access to courses and resources

2011–2012 OntarioLearn incorporates.  Membership expands to include Ontario’s two French-language colleges; registrations hit 65,964

2012–2013 All 24 publicly-funded colleges in Ontario belong to OntarioLearn, which reaches 69,838 registrations across 1,115 shared online courses

2013–2014 OntarioLearn inventory expands to 1,157 shared online courses; total course registrations climb to 72,926

2014–2015 OntarioLearn continues to grow, with a total of 73,059 registrations across 1,191 available online courses

2015–2016 OntarioLearn grew the number of courses in its inventory to 1,263, introduces a new quality assurance model, and initiated major upgrades to the portal and website

2016-2017 OntarioLearn introduces a new visual identity supported by brand guidelines, rolls out the upgraded portal and website, and expands partnership with Ontario Colleges Libraries and Learning Centres

2017-2018 OntarioLearn restructures and continues to grow with 76,050 course registrations

2018-2019 OntarioLearn expands into more partnerships with a focus on market demand programs and new business streams. Growth continues with 80,278 course registrations

2019-2020 OntarioLearn celeb rates 25 years of collaboration and expands quality assurance policies. Growth continues with 87,954 course registrations in nearly 1,500 courses

How OntarioLearn operates

Student Orientation to OntarioLearn (video)

Students search for the online course or program they wish to take and identify an institution  that has chosen to pick it up. Registering institutions enroll and welcome students with credentials to log in to the Portal.  Once courses open, students log in to connect through to each course hosted on one of three Learning Management Systems: Blackboard, D2L/Brightspace or Moodle.

Host institutions design, deliver, assign facilitators and maintain the quality of the online courses and programs they claim. Registering institutions qualify students to enroll in our online courses and programs, taking the lead on communications. To ensure high-quality experiences, OntarioLearn has a wide range of partners:

Examity Inc. (when indicated) provides online proctoring services at OntarioLearn rates for students to take exams remotely.

Heads of Libraries and Learning Resources (HLLR) advocates for excellence in Ontario’s college library services and resources.

Ontario Colleges Library Services (OCLS) supports Ontario colleges’ libraries and positive learning outcomes for students.

Kivuto Solutions Inc. (when colleges indicate) provides eTextbooks at OntarioLearn reduced prices to use with the Texidium eReader. 

Pearson Embanet provides help desk support 24-hour, 365-day in English; 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday to Friday in French.

Quality Matters™ provides internationally recognized quality assurance tools and processes to evaluate design of online courses.

Tomahawk Technologies Inc. develops world-class software and solutions, including system applications for our Portal.

News and Reports

Board Members

Michelle DeCoste

Michelle DeCoste

Board Chair

CENTENNIAL COLLEGE
Dean, Continuing Education & Distance Learning
PO Box 631, Station A
Toronto, Ontario M1G 3T8
416-289-5000

Don Duclos

Don Duclos

Board Vice Chair/Secretary and Director, Northern Region

CONFEDERATION COLLEGE
Registrar
1450 Nakina Drive
Thunder Bay, Ontario P7C 4W1
807-475-6694

Maher Ghalayini

Maher Ghalayini

Director, Central Region

GEORGIAN COLLEGE
Dean, Business and Management, Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation
One Georgian Drive
Barrie ON L4M 3X9
705-728-1968

Patrick Devey

Patrick Devey

Director, Eastern Region

ALGONQUIN COLLEGE
Associate Vice President - Global, Online, and Corporate Learning
1385 Woodroffe Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario K2G 1V8
(613) 727-4723

Lori Crosson

Lori Crosson

Director, Northern Region

SAULT COLLEGE
Director, Continuing Education and E-Learning
443 Northern Ave.
Sault Ste. Marie, On, P6B 4J3
705-759-2554

Cebert Adamson

Cebert Adamson

Director, Western Region

MOHAWK COLLEGE
Vice President Students, International and Alumni
135 Fennell Ave W., Hamilton, ON, L9C 0E5
905-575-1212

Dr. Marilyn Herie

Dr. Marilyn Herie

Ex-Officio, CCVPA

CENTENNIAL COLLEGE
Vice President Academic and Chief Learning Officer
PO Box 631, Station A
Toronto, Ontario M1G 3T8
416-289-5000

Anne Renaud

Anne Renaud

OntarioLearn
Executive Director

c/o OCAS
60 Corporate Court
Guelph, ON N1G 5J3

Email: anne@ontariolearn.com