Language School Accreditation and Accountability Regulations

made under Section 24 of the

Language Schools Act

S.N.S. 2013, c. 5

N.S. Reg. 105/2014 (effective July 8, 2014)

as amended to N.S. Reg. 180/2015 (effective April 1, 2015)

Table of Contents

Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
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Citation

Definitions

Approved accreditation agencies

Offer of admission

Student contracts

Cancellation of student contract

Information provided before student contract signed

Student contract to be given to student

Attendance register

Student records

Filing complaint with Director

Review by Senior Executive Director

Reports to Director

Notice respecting premises, equipment and facilities

Records to Director if language school no longer registered

Application for registration or renewal

Application fee for registration and renewal

Certificate of registration—form and expiry

Criteria for renewal of registration

Form A—Language School Certificate of Registration

Citation

1 These regulations may be cited as the Language School Accreditation and Accountability Regulations.

Definitions

2 In these regulations,

“Act” means the Language Schools Act;

“accredited program” means a language program accredited by an organization listed in Section 3;

“complaint” means a written complaint to the Director under Section 14 of the Act;

“registered school” means a language school that is registered under the Act;

“summary report” means a report on an accredited program after it is provided by a registered school.

Approved accreditation agencies

3 The bodies listed in the following table are approved as accreditation agencies for language schools and language programs for the purposes of subclause 6(e)(v) of the Act:

Accredited Agencies	Date approved
Languages Canada	date regulations in force

Offer of admission

4 A registered school must not make an offer of admission to a foreign national without providing the student with a copy of the school’s policies, rules and regulations, including the refund policy, payment schedule and attendance policy.

Student contracts

5 (1) A registered school must not start instruction for an international student until a student contract for the student is entered into.

(2) A student contract, as required for each international student under clause 12(b) of the Act, may be in the form of a group contract for several students if the Director is satisfied that the accredited program is the same for each international student in the group.

(3) An operator must ensure that a student contract includes at least all of the following information in the body of the student contract, or on a separate sheet that is annexed to and forms part of the student contract:

(a) school’s name, address, telephone and fax number;

(b) international student’s name, address and telephone number;

(i) the name of the program,

(ii) the start and end date for the program,

(iii) the equipment to be provided to the international student in respect of the program,

(iv) the requirements for completing the program, including passing grade and the attendance;

(d) a statement that the international student has received the information required by Section 7;

(e) a payment schedule for fees;

(f) a statement that the international student has been advised of the prerequisites for admission to the program and that the student meets those prerequisites;

(g) a statement that the student contract is subject to the Act and regulations made under the Act, together with information on how to access the laws;

(h) a statement of consent, signed by the international student, for sharing their personal information with all of the following:

(i) the Private Career College Division at the Department of Labour and Advanced Education;

(ii) the federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration, and

(iii) the Canada Border Services Agency;

(i) the date the student contract begins;

(j) a statement that a program completion certificate will be issued by the school no later than 30 days after the student has successfully completed all program requirements if the student’s account is in good standing;

(k) the school’s refund policy.

(4) A student contract must be signed by both of the following:

(a) an authorized agent of the school;

(b) the international student or, if the student is a minor, the student’s recognized custodian as specified in the Custodianship Declaration required by the federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration.

Cancellation of student contract

6 A student contract is deemed to be cancelled in any of the following circumstances:

(a) notice is given by the international student as required by the refund policy;

(b) the registered school dismisses the international student in accordance with its policies.

Information provided before student contract signed

7 In addition to a copy of the policies and procedures required by subclause 6(e)(iii) of the Act, as required by clause 12(c) of the Act, before an international student enters into a student contract with a registered school, the operator of the school must provide the student with at least all of the following information:

(a) an outline of the content of the accredited program;

(b) the total estimated cost of the accredited program to a student, with the cost of each of the following listed separately:

(i) the tuition fee,

(ii) total cost of instructional materials, textbooks and equipment,

(iii) other fees associated with the program;

Student contract to be given to student

8 An operator must provide each international student with a signed original of their student contract before the accredited program’s start date.

Attendance register

9 (1) An operator must maintain an attendance register for each accredited program showing the attendance record of each international student in the program.

(2) When requested, an operator must provide the Director with a copy of an attendance register.

Student records

10 (1) An operator must keep a file at the school’s place of business for each international student enrolled in an accredited program that includes at least all of the following information for the student:

(a) a copy of a government-issued photo identification;

(b) a copy of all permits issued to the student by the federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration;

(d) evidence of health insurance coverage;

(e) performance evaluations;

(f) attendance records;

(g) records of complaints;

(h) financial transaction records;

(i) correspondence;

(j) a copy of the signed student contract;

(k) a copy of any request for a refund, and associated records;

(l) any final transcripts.

(2) Except as provided in Section 15 for a language school that is no longer registered, an operator must retain copies of all final transcripts for 5 years after the international student has completed or left the accredited program, and all other information required by subsection (1) for at least 1 year after the student has completed or left the program.

(3) On completion of an accredited program, an operator must submit to the Director a copy of all of the following for each international student enrolled in the program:

(a) their government-issued identification;

(b) any transcripts, in a form acceptable to the Director.

(4) An operator must not keep an international student’s original passport, visa, study permit or travel documents.

Filing complaint with Director

11 (1) A complaint must include all of the following:

(a) the details of the dispute;

(b) the resolution sought.

(2) A complaint must be filed

(a) if the complainant is a student, no later than 90 days after the date of the last class attended; or

(b) if the complainant is not a student, as soon as practicable.

(3) The disclosure of the complaint required by clause 14(4)(b) of the Act must be provided no later than 7 days after the complaint is received.

(4) Any written response to a complaint by an operator must be submitted to the Director no later than 7 days after the disclosure of the complaint is received.

Review by Senior Executive Director

12 A review by the Senior Executive Director requested in writing by an affected party under Section 15 of the Act, may be requested by filing a a notice with the Senior Executive Director that includes all of the following:

(a) an identification of the decision or administrative sanction that the party is requesting a review of;

(b) the resolution sought.

Reports to Director

13 (1) A registered school’s financial statements required to be provided annually under clause 12(e) of the Act must be provided to the Director, in a form acceptable to the Director, no later than 90 days after the date of the school’s fiscal year end.

(2) A summary report of the completion of each international student’s accredited program is also required as reporting documentation required to be provided by an operator under clause 12(e) of the Act and must be provided quarterly and include at least all of the following for each student:

(a) full name;

(b) date of birth;

(d) any final transcripts.

Notice respecting premises, equipment and facilities

14 At the request of the Director, an operator must provide the Director with written notice that the premises, equipment, and other facilities used in the delivery of an accredited program comply with industry standards and with all applicable building, fire, health, sanitary and safety laws.

Records to Director if language school no longer registered

15 An operator must immediately send the Director all of their remaining original international student files and any other information requested by the Director if any of the following occur:

(a) the operator’s certificate of registration has expired and the operator has not applied for re-registration 30 days after the expiry date;

(b) the operator’s certificate of registration is revoked, suspended or not renewed by the Director, and 1 of the following also applies:

(i) the time for filing a review under subsection 15(2) of the Act has expired,

(ii) a review was conducted under Section 15 of the Act and the Senior Executive Director confirmed the Director’s decision to cancel, suspend or not renew the certificate of registration.

Application for registration or renewal

16 (1) An application for registration or renewal of registration must be in a form provided by the Director and submitted to the Director together with the fee in Section 17.

(2) The Director may decline an application for registration or renewal of registration if the application is incomplete, and may request additional information or that changes be made to the application submitted if the Director considers it necessary before considering the application.

Application fee for registration and renewal

17 The application fee required by clause 6(f) of the Act for registering a language school or renewing the registration of a language school is $618.00.

Section 17 amended: N.S. Reg. 180/2015.

Certificate of registration—form and expiry

18 (1) A certificate of registration must be in Form A.

(2) A certificate of registration issued to a school under the Act is valid for 2 years, unless it is suspended or revoked earlier by the Director.

Criteria for renewal of registration

19 An operator applying for renewal of a registration must meet all of the requirements for registration in Section 3 of the Language Schools General Regulations made under the Act, and all of the following criteria:

(a) the operator must not have done any of the following within the previous 5 years:

(i) failed to comply with a condition on a certificate of registration,

(ii) failed to comply with an order or directive of the Director,

(iii) been convicted of an offence under the Act or a regulation made pursuant to the Act;

(b) the operator must not have had a certificate of registration for a language school or its equivalent denied, suspended or cancelled in another province or territory.

________________________________________________________________

Form A—Language School Certificate of Registration

under the Language Schools Act, S.N.S. 2013, c. 5

This certificate of registration is issued under the Language Schools Act and its regulations to

(name of school)

to operate a language school for international students in the Province of Nova Scotia at the following campuses:

The holder of this certificate must comply with the Language Schools Act and its regulations, and all of the following conditions and restrictions:

1. the school’s premises, equipment and any other facilities used in the delivery of an accredited program must comply with industry standards and with all applicable building, fire, health, sanitary and safety laws

2. (list any other conditions/restrictions)

This certificate was issued on __________________, 20___, and expires on __________________, 20____, unless revoked by the Director.

This certificate may not be transferred or assigned.

______________________________________

Director, Private Career Colleges Division

Department of Labour and Advanced Education

The current consolidation of the Language School Accreditation and Accountability Regulations made under the Language Schools Act includes all of the following regulations:

The following regulations are not yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation:

*See subsection 3(6) of the Regulations Act for rules about in force dates of regulations.

Note: Only regulations that are specifically repealed and replaced appear in this table. It may not reflect the entire history of regulations on this subject matter.

N.S. Regulation	In force date*	How in force	Royal Gazette Part II Issue
105/2014	Jul 8, 2014	date filed	Jul 25, 2014
180/2015	Apr 1, 2015	date specified	Apr 8, 2015

N.S. Regulation	In force date*	How in force	Royal Gazette Part II Issue

ad. = added am. = amended	fc. = fee change ra. = reassigned		rep. = repealed rs. = repealed and substituted
Provision affected		How affected
17......................................................		am. 180/2015

	Note	Effective date
1	Original text does not include clauses 5(3)(i), (j) and (k). Original clauses 5(3)(l), (m) and (n) relettered as (i), (j) and (k) respectively for the purposes of this consolidation.
2	Incorrect reference to subclause 6(e)(c) of the Act changed to subclause 6(e)(v) in Section 3.
3	The reference to the Department of Labour and Advanced Education in subclause 5(3)(h)(i) and Form A should be read as a reference to the Department of Advanced Educationin accordance with O.I.C. 2021-208 under the Public Service Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 376.	Aug 31, 2021

N.S. Regulation	Title	In force date	Repealed date

Language School Accreditation and Accountability Regulations	N.S. Reg. 105/2014
Language Schools Act
Note: The information in these tables does not form part of the regulations and is compiled by the Office of the Registrar of Regulations for reference only.