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OUAC Electronic Document Exchange Guidelines

The OUAC standard for sending electronic documents to external partners:

  1. The OUAC will use Windows standards for file naming conventions and line terminators. An end-of-line conversion script is available for systems other than Windows.
  2. Portable Document Format (PDF) will be the preferred electronic document format.
  3. All electronic documents will be generated at the individual applicant level and grouped by document type in a zipped (.zip) file.
  4. The OUAC will endeavour to provide header/index files in .txt format within each zip file. A checklist could be considered the header.
  5. For applicant distribution reports (e.g., lock lists, datasheets) .txt files will also be supported if requested; however, the same document will not be provided to the same institution as both PDF and .txt.
  6. Where possible, PDF files generated by the OUAC will be searchable.
  7. Support will be provided to institutions using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) by providing white space around cycle and Reference Number (REFNO) fields.
  8. The OUAC will provide at least two months notice of changes to document content or file naming conventions.
  9. File name standards, as published in Appendix E of the OUAC Systems Manual, will be the primary method of document recognition. These standards will be supported and enhanced, where necessary, to facilitate electronic document exchange.
  10. Current security standards (Pretty Good Privacy [PGP] and Secure Shell [SSH] server) will continue to be used. There will not be additional security added at the document level.

Notes about available formats:

  • Aggregate data (statistics) are currently available in comma-separated values (CSV) format and PDF.
  • Statistics for OMSAS, OLSAS and ORPAS divisions are available in PDF.
  • Statistics for OMSAS and OLSAS are also available in Excel format.
  • Grad contract levy details may be available as CSV.

Not Using Windows?

To support the electronic document guidelines, download this end of the line conversion script.

This sample script copies files having Windows-style line terminators to files having Unix-style line terminators. It has been tested on Linux, but it should work on Mac OS X or Unix without many modifications. The OUAC has released this script into the public domain, which means you can use it however you see fit. (Need help with this script file?)

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