The following is a list of acronyms and abbreviations that may be useful to OUAC staff members and university partners. The list has been compiled from 2 sources: A list that OUAC reception developed, and a list that the COU maintains.
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| 101 | Secondary school applicant stream (Note: This is the name of the former application for current Ontario high school students. Now combined with the 105 application and called the Undergraduate application.) |
| 105 | Non-secondary applicant stream (refer to Note in 101) |
| A11Y | Accessibility (“A11Y” is a numeronym, in which numbers are used in place of letters to shorten the term. There are 11 letters between the “a” and the “y” in “accessibility”; hence, A-11-Y.) |
| AACRAO | American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers |
| AAMC | Association of American Medical Colleges |
| AARAO | Atlantic Association of Registrars and Admissions Officers |
| ACAATO | Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario (Now Colleges Ontario) |
| ACOSO | Association des conseillers scolaires de l’Ontario (refer to OSCA for English) |
| ACSLC | Application Centres’ Senior Liaison Committee |
| ACSD | [Ontario] Association of Computing Services Directors |
| ACU | Association of Commonwealth Universities |
| AD | Active Directory |
| ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act |
| ADM | Assistant Deputy Minister |
| AEROU | Association of Education Registrars of Ontario Universities |
| AEST | British Columbia’s Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training (former name of PSFS) |
| AFMC | Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada |
| AHSC | Academic Health Sciences Centres |
| AI | Artificial Intelligence |
| AIS | Admission Information Service (refer to SIA for French) |
| AGM | Annual General Meeting |
| AMS | Application Management System |
| ANSI | American National Standards Institute |
| ANSI ASC X12 EDI | American National Standards Institute Accredited Standards Committee X12 (North American EDI standards setting body) |
| AODA | Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (refer to LAPHO for French) |
| AP | Advanced Placement (an exam administered by the College Board in the United States of America) |
| APAS | Alberta Post-Secondary Application System (ApplyAlberta) |
| API | Application Program Interface |
| APIMG | Assessment Program for International Medical Graduates |
| APSIP | Aboriginal Post-Secondary Information Program (refer to PIEPA for French) |
| ARUCC | Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada |
| AT | Assistive Technology |
| ATOP | Access to Opportunities Program |
| AUCC | Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (renamed Universities Canada/Universités Canada) |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| BA | Business Analyst |
| BCcampus | British Columbia student application services organization |
| BCI | Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire (formerly Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec [CREPUQ]) |
| BCP | Business Continuity Plan |
| BCU | Bulletin Cumulatif Uniforme |
| BEC | Bulletin d’Études Collégiales (college transcript) |
| BMW | Business Modernization Working Group |
| BRD | Business Requirements Document |
| BSID | Board School ID (interchangeable with MIDENT) |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| CAAT | College of Applied Arts & Technology |
| CAB | Change Advisory Board |
| CAEL | Canadian Academic English Language |
| CAF | Confidential Assessment Form (refer to FEC for French) |
| CanPESC | Canadian PESC User Group |
| CASA | Canadian Alliance of Student Associations |
| CATN-É | Conseil sur l’admission et le transfert pour la Nouvelle-Écosse (refer to CATNS for English) |
| CATNS | Council on Admission and Transfer for Nova Scotia Inc. (refer to CATN-É for French) |
| CAUBO | Canadian Association of University Business Officers |
| CAURA | Canadian Association of University Research Administrators |
| CAUT | Canadian Association of University Teachers |
| CCOU | Council of Chairs of Ontario Universities |
| CDI | Career Development Institute |
| CEAM | Continuous Enterprise Application Modernization |
| CEHSO | Council of Environmental Health and Safety Officers |
| CEGEP | Collège d’enseignement général et professionel/College of General and Vocational Education (Quebec college) (“cégep” in French) |
| CEPN | Conseil en Éducation des Premières Nations (refer to FNEC for English) |
| CESPA | Committee on Enrolment Statistics, Projections and Analysis |
| CFI | Canada Foundation for Innovation |
| CFS | Canadian Federation of Students |
| CFS-O | Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario |
| CHERD | Centre for Higher Education Research and Development |
| CHEUG | Canadian Higher Education User Group |
| CHST | Canadian Health and Social Transfer |
| CICA | Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants |
| CIFAR | Canadian Institute for Advanced Research |
| CIHR | Canadian Institutes of Health Research |
| CIRNAC | Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada |
| CIRPA | Canadian Institutional Research and Planning Association |
| CIS | Corporate and Information Services |
| CMS | Content Management System |
| CO | Colleges Ontario |
| CODE | Council of Ontario Deans of Engineering |
| COÉQ | Conseil Ontarien d’Évaluation des Qualifications (refer to QECO for English) |
| COFM | Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine |
| COFO | Council of Ontario Finance Officers |
| COFO-UO | Council of Finance Officers – Universities of Ontario |
| COGO | Council of Ontario Graduate Officers |
| COiN | Central Ontario information Network |
| COLS | Counsellors’ Online Services (formerly GCOS: Guidance Counsellor’s Online Services) |
| COP | Committee of Presidents (for the Ontario College System) |
| COU | Council of Ontario Universities (refer to CUO for French) |
| COUPN | Council of Ontario University Programs in Nursing |
| COUS | Council of University Secretaries |
| CR | Change Request |
| CRALO | Committee of Registrars, Admissions & Liaison Officers (for the Ontario College System) |
| CRM | Customer Relationship Management |
| CRTC | Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission |
| CS | Campus Solutions |
| CSAO | Council of Senior Administrative Officers |
| CSAO-UO | Council of Senior Administrative Officers – Universities of Ontario |
| CSHRO | Council of Senior Human Resource Officers |
| CSIS | College Student Information System |
| CSMC | Centre’s Senior Management Committee |
| CSPS | Canada School of Public Service |
| CSSD | Center for Student Services and Development, Ministry of Education, P. R. China |
| CSV | Comma Separated Values |
| CUCC | College-University Consortium Council |
| CUDO | Common University Data Ontario |
| CUPA | Council on University Planning and Analysis |
| CUO | Conseil des universités de l’Ontario (refer to COU for English) |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| DC-SC | Data Collection Steering Committee |
| DB | Database |
| DDL | Data Definition Language |
| DDS | Data Design System |
| DEC | Diplôme d’études collégiales (college diploma) |
| DECUO | Dialogues entre les conseillers et les universités de l’Ontario (refer to OUGD for English) |
| DLI | Designated Learning Institute (Refer to EED for French) |
| DM | Deputy Minister |
| DMS | Document Management System |
| DMZ | Demilitarized Zone (perimeter network separating the internal network from the internet) |
| DR | Disaster Recovery |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| ECC | British Columbia’s Ministry of Education and Child Care (formerly Ministry of Education and Child Care [MOE]) |
| EDI/EDX | Electronic Data Interchange/Electronic Data Exchange |
| EDI | Equity, Diversity and Inclusion |
| EDU | [Ontario] Ministry of Education (For Reference: Ontario Ministries) |
| EED | Établissement d’enseignement désigné (refer to DLI for EN) |
| EIP | Événements d’information postsecondaire (refer to PIE for English) |
| EPF | Established Programs Financing |
| EOM | End of Message – used in subject line of email |
| EORC | Provincial Equity and Outreach Recruitment Committee |
| EPBC | EducationPlannerBC |
| EQAO | Education Quality and Accountability Office |
| ESL | English as a Second Language |
| eTMS | Electronic Transcript Management System (as a service of OCAS) |
| EUW | Enhanced University Website |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| FCP | Federal Contractors Program |
| FEC | Formulaire d’évaluation confidentielle (refer to CAF for English) |
| FIPPA | Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act |
| FLS | Français langue Seconde |
| FNEC | First Nations Education Council (refer to CEPN for French) |
| FRP | Facilities Renewal Program |
| FRUO | Foires régionales des universités de l’Ontario (or Foires régionales) (refer to OURF for English) |
| FSL | French as a Second Language |
| FT | Full-time |
| FTE | Full-time Equivalent |
| FUO | Foire des universités de l’Ontario (refer to OUF for English) |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| GAAP | Generally Accepted Accounting Principles |
| GCSR | General Committee on Student Recruitment |
| GDN | Groningen Declaration Network |
| GEO Code | Global Education Organization Code (a service of PESC) |
| GIC | Gender Issues Committee |
| GPA | Grade Point Average |
| GRAD | Graduate Studies System |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| HA | High Availability |
| HECoS | Higher Education Classification of Subjects |
| HESA | Higher Education Strategy Associates |
| HEQCO | Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario |
| HEUG | Higher Education User Group |
| HRSDC | Human Resources and Skills Development Canada |
| HTML | Hyper Text Markup Language |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| I/O | Input/Output |
| IAAO | International Association of Admissions Organisations |
| IASR | Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation |
| IB | International Baccalaureate |
| IC | Industry Canada |
| ICRP | Income Contingent Repayment Plan |
| IELTS | International English Language Testing System |
| IIO | Innovation Institute of Ontario |
| IM | Instant Message |
| INAC | Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (Dissolved and now Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)) |
| Info-UO | Info des universités de l’Ontario (refer to OUInfo for English) |
| IP | Internet Protocol |
| IPEDS | Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System |
| ISC | Indigenous Services Canada |
| ISO | International Organization for Standardization |
| IST | Internal Security Team |
| IT | Information Technology |
| ITESM | Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Institute of Higher Technological Studies of Monterrey |
| ITIL | IT Infrastructure Library |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| JACS | Joint Academic Coding System |
| JSON | JavaScript Object Notation |
| JSON-LD | JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| LAPHO | Loi sur l’accessibilité pour les personnes handicapées de l’Ontario (refer to AODA for English) |
| LGIC | Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council |
| LMS | Learning Management System |
| LSAC | Law School Admission Council |
| LSAT | Law School Admission Test |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| M | University/College Preparation Course |
| MAC:COFM | Medical Admissions Committee: Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine |
| MCAT | Medical College Admission Test |
| MCM | Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism (For Reference: Ontario Ministries) |
| MCUERS | Ministère des Collèges et Universités, de l’Excellence en recherche et de la Sécurité (formerly ministère des Collèges et Universités [MCU]) (Refer to MCURES for English) |
| MCURES | Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security (formerly Ministry of Colleges and Universities [MCU]) (Refer to MCUERS for French) (For Reference: Ontario Ministries) |
| MCCSS | Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (For Reference: Ontario Ministries) |
| MEM | Ministry of Energy and Mines (For Reference: Ontario Ministries) |
| MIDENT | Ministry of Education IDENTification (Ontario Secondary School Number) (interchangeable with BSID) |
| MIN | Ministry Identification Number |
| MLITSD | Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (Formerly MAESD: Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development) (For Reference: Ontario Ministries) |
| MMO | Materials and Manufacturing Ontario |
| MOE | Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (For Reference: Ontario Ministries) |
| MOF | Ministry of Finance (For Reference: Ontario Ministries) |
| MOHLTC | Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (For Reference: Ontario Ministries) |
| MOPSIE | Model of Post-Secondary Institutional Enrolment |
| MOS | My Oracle Support |
| MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
| MRC | Medical Research Council of Canada |
| MRI | Ministry of Research and Innovation (For Reference: Ontario Ministries) |
| MTCC | Metro Toronto Convention Centre |
| MYAA | Multi-year Accountability Agreements |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| NA | Network Administrator |
| NASM | Net Assignable Square Metres |
| NAUBCS | National Association of University Board Chairs and Secretaries |
| NGO | Non-governmental Organization |
| NMR | No Mark Reported |
| NOC | Northern Ontario Committee |
| NRC | National Research Council of Canada |
| NSCAT | Nova Scotia Council on Admission and Transfer |
| NSERC | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada |
| NSSE | National Survey of Student Engagement |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| O-divisions | OUAC Professional Department applications that begin with “O” – OLSAS, OMSAS and ORPAS |
| OAC | Ontario Academic Credit |
| OACUSA | Ontario Association of College and University Security Administrators |
| OADE | Ontario Association of Deans of Education |
| OAPPA | Ontario Association of Physical Plant Administrators |
| OAUPA | Ontario Association of University Personnel Administrators |
| OCAS | Ontario College Application Service (Do not spell out this acronym; it is their preference to go by “OCAS” only in English and French) |
| OCAV | Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents |
| OCE | Ontario Centres of Excellence |
| OCGS | Ontario Council on Graduate Studies |
| OCLS | Ontario Council of Library Schools |
| OCOTH | Ontario Council of Teaching Hospitals |
| OCSA | Ontario Committee on Student Affairs |
| OCT | Ontario College of Teachers |
| OCUA | Ontario Council on University Affairs |
| OCUFA | Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations |
| OCUL | Ontario Council of University Libraries |
| OCULL | Ontario Council for University Lifelong Learning |
| OCUPRS | Ontario Council of University Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences |
| OCUR | Ontario Council on University Research |
| OCUTG | Ontario College University Transfer Guide |
| OEN | Ontario Education Number |
| OFA | Office of Francophone Affairs |
| OFINA | Ontario Finance Authority |
| OGS | Ontario Graduate Scholarships |
| OGSST | Ontario Graduate Scholarships in Science and Technology |
| OGLA | Ontario Guidance Leadership Association |
| OHS | Office of Health Sciences |
| OICAH | Ontario Interdisciplinary Council for Aging and Health |
| OIAT | Ontario Institute for Advanced Training |
| OIMGP | Ontario International Medical Graduate Program |
| OISE-UT | Ontario Institute for Studies in Education – University of Toronto |
| OIT | Ontario Innovation Trust |
| OLRS | Online Response Service |
| OLSAS | Ontario Law School Application Service |
| OMAFRA | Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs |
| OMSAS | Ontario Medical School Application Service |
| ONCAT | Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer |
| ONECA | Ontario Native Education Counselling Association |
| OnSIS | Ontario Student Information System |
| OOLC | Ontario Online Learning Consortium |
| OPAIP | Ontario Postsecondary Access and Inclusion Program |
| OPAS | Office for Partnerships for Advanced Skills |
| OPC | Ontario Principals’ Council |
| OPHRDC | Ontario Physician Human Resource Data Centre |
| OPI | Of Possible Interest |
| ORDCF | Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund |
| ORPAS | Ontario Rehabilitation Sciences Programs Application Service |
| OSAP | Ontario Student Assistance Program (refer to RAFEO for French) |
| OSCA | Ontario School Counsellors’ Association |
| OSSD | Ontario Secondary School Diploma |
| OUAC | Ontario Universities’ Application Centre |
| OUCA | Ontario Universities’ Council on Admissions |
| OUCAC | Ontario Universities Capital Aid Corporation |
| OUCCIO | Ontario University Council of Chief Information Officers |
| OUETS | Ontario Universities’ Electronic Transcript System |
| OUF | Ontario Universities’ Fair (refer to FUO for French) |
| OUF-SC | Ontario Universities’ Fair Steering Committee |
| OUGD | Ontario Universities’ Guidance Dialogues (refer to DECUO for French) |
| OUInfo-EB | Ontario Universities’ Info Editorial Board |
| OUInfo | Ontario Universities’ Info (formerly eINFO) (refer to Info-UO for French) |
| OUIS | Ontario Universities’ Information Sessions (refer to SIUO for French) |
| OUPPMA | Ontario University Professional Purchasing Management Association |
| OURA | Ontario University Registrars’ Association |
| OURF | Ontario Universities’ Regional Fairs (or Regional Fairs) (refer to FRUO for French) |
| OUSA | Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance |
| OUSCC | Ontario University Strategic Communications Council |
| OWASP | Open Web Application Security Project |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| PAIRO | Professional Association of Interns and Residents of Ontario |
| PCAF | Program Choice Amendment Form |
| PCC | Production Control Coordinator |
| PCI | Payment Card Industry |
| Portable Document Format | |
| PDF/UA | PDF/University Accessibility (informal name for ISO 14289 for accessible PDF technology) |
| PEDAL | Public Economics Data Analysis Laboratory |
| PEN | Personal Education Number |
| PERT | Project Event Resource Tool |
| PESC | Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council |
| PGE | Post-graduate Education |
| PGM | Post-graduate Management |
| PHP | Hypertext Preprocessor |
| PIE | Postsecondary Information Events (refer to EIP for French) |
| PIEPA | Programme d’information sur les études postsecondaires pour Autochtones (refer to APSIP for English) |
| PIN | Personal Identification Number |
| PIPEDA | Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act |
| PM | Project Management |
| PMP | Project Management Plan |
| PMO | Project Management Office |
| PREA | Premier’s Research Excellence Awards |
| PS/PSFT | PeopleSoft |
| PSAA | Public Sector Accountability Act |
| PSCS | PeopleSoft Campus Solutions |
| PSFS | British Columbia’s Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills (formerly AEST) |
| PSI | Post-Secondary Institution |
| PSIS | Postsecondary Student Information System (formerly Enhanced Student Information System [ESIS]) |
| PT | Part-time |
| PTE | Pearson Test of English |
| PTIM | Special Part-time System |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| QA | Quality Assurance |
| QAF | Quality Assurance Framework |
| QECO | Qualifications Evaluation Council of Ontario (refer to COÉQ for French) |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| R&C | Review and Change |
| RAFEO | Régime d’aide financière aux étudiantes et étudiants de l’Ontario (refer to OSAP for English) |
| RAP | Research, Analysis and Policy |
| RDP | Remote Desktop Protocol |
| RGAE | Reference Group on Aboriginal Education |
| RSS | Really Simple Syndication |
| RTCC | Real Time Credit Card |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| SA | Systems Analyst |
| SAG | Staff Advisory Group |
| SAG | Student Access Guarantee (for OSAP) |
| SAM | Secure Applicant Messaging (Professional departments) |
| SAP | Systems Applications and Products |
| SAS | Student Admin System |
| SCSR | Standing Committee on Student Recruitment |
| SFTP | Secure File Transfer Protocol |
| SHSM | Specialist High Skills Major |
| SIA | Service d’information sur l’admission (refer to AIS for English) |
| SIN | Social Insurance Number |
| SIS | Student Information System |
| SIT | System Integration Testing |
| SIUO | Séances d’information des universités de l’Ontario (refer to OUIS for English) |
| SM | Systems Modernization |
| SMC | Senior Management Committee |
| SME | Subject Matter Expert |
| SP | Strategic Planning |
| SPEEDE | Standardization of Postsecondary Education Electronic Data Exchange |
| SSH | Secure Shell (network protocol that uses encryption) |
| SSHGD | Secondary School Honours Graduation Diploma |
| SSHRC | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada |
| SSL | Secure Socket Layer (encryption protocol) |
| SSOLA | Secondary School Online Application |
| SSSN | Secondary School Student Number |
| SST | Software Support Team |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| TEAS | Teacher Education Application Service |
| TELNET | Telecommunications Network (tool that allowed universities to access the OUAC’s AS400 system; retired in August 2018) |
| TFUA | Task Force on University Accountability |
| TLS | Transport Layer Security (encryption protocol that replaced SSL) |
| TOEFL | Test of English as a Foreign Language |
| ToR | Terms of Reference |
| TPS | Toronto Police Service |
| TUG | Toronto Users Group |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| U | University Preparation Course |
| U/C | University/College Preparation Course |
| U/M | University or University/College Preparation Course |
| UAR | University Audit Reporting |
| UAS | Undergraduate Application Service |
| UAT | User Acceptance Testing |
| UCAS | Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UK) |
| UCASS | University and College Academic Staff System |
| UDE | User-defined Extension |
| UE | Undergraduate Education |
| UI | User Interface |
| UPK | Universal Productivity Kit |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator |
| URM | University Relationship Management |
| USB | Universal Serial Bus |
| USER | University Student Enrolment Reporting |
| USIS | University Student Information System |
| UX | User Experience |
| UXD | User Experience Design |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| VoIP | Voice over Internet Protocol |
| VPN | Virtual Private Network |
| VSC | Vulnerable Sector Check |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| W3C | World Wide Web Consortium |
| WAI | Web Accessibility Initiative |
| WARUCC | Western Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada |
| WCAG | Web Content Accessibility Guidelines |
| WDSc | Websphere Development Studio Client |
| WES | World Education Services |
| WGUC | Working Group on University Capacity |
| WGUR | Working Group on University Research |
| WGUPP | Working Group on University Pension Plans |
| Acronym/Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|
| XML | eXtensible Markup Language |
| XSD | XML Schema Definition |
| XSLT | eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations |