AQ, ABQ, & HSQ Course Information

The Ontario College of Teachers expects all its members to engage in ongoing professional learning. Additional qualification (AQ) courses are one important aspect of this. These courses are designed to help certified teachers to advance their career, increase their subject knowledge, and improve their teaching skills. Our AQ courses include flexible delivery methods and cover a wide range of topics.

Our Additional Qualification Options

There are several categories of AQ courses, each fulfilling a different purpose:

How much work is an AQ?

The Ontario College of Teachers accredits all AQ courses (regardless of provider) as being 125 hours in length. Sometimes a teacher will ask, "Where can I take an AQ with a more manageable workload?" The truth is, any AQ worth its accreditation should require approximately 125 hours. At Lakehead University, we take our accreditation seriously, and so our courses all require approximately 125 hours. (From person to person, there may be a variance in actual hours.) Any course that requires significantly less time would be in danger of not meeting its accreditation requirements.

If you are working full time, please consider the length of the term, and review the course workload expectations. Some people can manage to take a Spring AQ course (7 weeks, 18 hours per week) while working full time. Some people can manage 2 AQ courses over the summer. For others, a Fall or Winter term (11 weeks) is the better choice.

The following table provides an approximate workload per course based on the length of each term:

Term

Duration

Hours/Week

Fall

11 weeks

11.5

Winter

11 weeks

11.5

Spring

7 weeks

18

Summer

6 weeks

21

 

Need more information about our AQ, ABQ, or HSQ courses?

For information and regulations that apply to all additional qualification courses such as withdrawing from a course, adding your qualifications to your Certificate of Qualifications, or delivery methods see our AQ Information and Regulations page:

To find out more about our AQ, ABQ, or HSQ courses, please contact the Department of Professional Development.

Find and Register for a Course

Registration for Fall Term (October 7 to December 20) is now closed.

To browse our full list of AQ courses, see our Course Database.

Winter Registration will open in early November. Winter term runs from January 13 to March 28.