About the OUAC

1963

The Committee of Presidents of the Universities of Ontario (later to become the Council of Ontario Universities, or COU) investigates the possibility of universities co-operating in the application process.

1964

The COU writes and approves a report on the establishment of an application processing centre.

1971

The COU and the Ontario Universities’ Council on Admissions (OUCA) establish the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC). Partial operation begins in August.

1972

We process 135,361 first-year undergraduate applications during our first application cycle. The applications are called “101” and “105”, based on the form numbers assigned by the printing company.

1975

We receive 11,006 applications for the first Ontario Medical School Application Service (OMSAS) cycle.

1979

We receive 11,855 applications for the first Teacher Education Application Service (TEAS) cycle.

1991

We agree to help produce and distribute INFO Magazine, a comprehensive guide to the university application process for guidance counsellors and students.

1992

We integrate with Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire (BCI), formerly Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec (CREPUQ), to receive electronic College of General and Vocational Education (CEGEP) transcripts.

1993

We begin processing undergraduate part-time study applications.

1996

We establish the system for electronically collecting and distributing transcripts, Ontario Universities’ Electronic Transcript System (OUETS). We centrally gather and manage 13,881 requests for Ontario university transcripts from 105 and TEAS applicants.

We begin processing graduate study applications.

1997

The first Ontario Universities’ Fair (OUF) is held with 30,000 attendees.

We receive 11,961 applications for the first Ontario Law School Application Service (OLSAS) cycle.

1998

We introduce our first online application, the “105F”, for international undergraduate applicants.

101, 105 and TEAS applicants are able to select more than 3 active choices simultaneously for the first time.

We integrate with the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Education to receive electronic BC high school transcripts.

1999

OUETS wins the inaugural Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council (PESC) Best Practices award.

2000

We receive 2,367 applications for the first Ontario Rehabilitation Sciences Programs Application Service (ORPAS) cycle.

2003

All applications are offered online.

The province of Ontario drops Grade 13 (OAC). As a result, during the “double cohort” year in which both Grade 12 and Grade 13 graduates are entering postsecondary schools, we receive 86,000 applications online in just 60 days.

2004

OUETS integrates with OCAS, allowing Ontario’s universities and colleges to exchange electronic transcripts.

OUETS integrates with BCcampus to receive electronic transcripts from several BC postsecondary institutions.

2005

INFO Magazine goes online and is renamed “eINFO” (for “electronic INFO”).

OUETS integrates with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT), allowing their applicants to have their Ontario university transcripts sent electronically to OCT.

2013

OUETS integrates with OCAS’ Electronic Transcript Management System (eTMS) to receive electronic Ontario high school transcripts for 105.

2014

OUETS hub expands to allow both Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and eXtensible Markup Language (XML) standards for electronic transcripts.

2016

We introduce our modernized Application Management System (AMS).

2017

Referees for professional applications can submit their references for the first time using the new online Confidential Assessment/Reference forms. We receive just over 36,000 documents online.

Applicants can now link their OUAC and Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) applications.

2018

We migrate the OMSAS application to the AMS platform. All applications become available on the new system.

We start hosting and maintaining the Future Further website, a dedicated resource for Indigenous students interested in, or already attending, an Ontario university.

2019

eINFO is rebranded and renamed Ontario Universities’ Info (OUInfo).

We combine the 105F and 105D applications.

We introduce new names and logos for our recruitment activities to provide cohesive branding and clear association with Ontario’s universities.

We introduce a variable transcript fee.

2020

We introduce document upload to the 101 and 105 applications.

We include new functionality in our contract applications, such as full amendments, online offers and responses and document upload.

All Ontario universities migrate from flat file to XML distribution files.

We introduce a new program updates tool for the universities to submit their application information.

2021

Future Further is rebranded and renamed “Ontario Universities’ Indigenous Student Resources”.

OUETS integrates with the Qualifications Evaluation Council of Ontario (QECO), allowing their applicants to have their Ontario university transcripts sent electronically to QECO.

OUETS integrates with MyCreds^TM | MesCertifs^TM as an official receiving organization for PDF transcripts for OLSAS, OMSAS and ORPAS applicants.

We collaborate with the BC Ministry of Education and EducationPlannerBC to convert receipt of electronic BC high school transcripts to use PESC XML instead of their previous flat file format.

OUETS celebrates its 25th anniversary.

2022

The OUF and Ontario Universities’ Regional Fairs are held as in-person events again after a 2-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We offer the Ontario Universities’ Information Sessions virtual events for applicants to learn about Ontario universities from the comfort of their home.

2023

We combine the 101 and 105 applications into 1 Undergraduate application.

The applicant groups formerly referred to as 101 and 105 are renamed “current Ontario high school students” and “not current Ontario high school students”.

We launch a re-written OUETS hub, with expanded functionality, to replace the original hub established in 1996.