Almost everyone in Toronto with a twitter account seems to be enraged by this blatant attempt to enforce consumer protection laws. But consider this:
BitmakerLabs claims their 9 week program will turn a non-programmer into a web developer. As someone who writes checks to companies who might hire BitmakerLabs' graduates, I am skeptical, to say the least. Apart from my skepticism, however, I wish BitmakerLabs well; if they are doing good work, they should have no problem registering with MTCU. But it's kind of silly to blame MTCU for doing their job.
Furthermore, compare this program with the Humber College Web Development Program, which is full time for three semesters for $8662 and no HST. Or the Udacity / Georgia Tech / AT&T online Computer Science Masters Degree for $6k which promises to offer a fully accredited masters degree. Your money may be better spent on longer programs that provide more time to internalize the skill set.
The background here is that the traditional model of higher education (low volumes at extremely high costs) is ripe for disruption. So we are going to be seeing a lot of interesting experiments in the next few years; experiments like BitmakerLabs, MOOCs, and a general disaggregation of the teaching, evaluation, and certification functions that have traditionally been provided by colleges and universities. What this means for consumers is that they will have to be a lot more careful until this disruption sorts itself out.
Notes:
- Interesting background info on rationale and prior enforcement of the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005: Ontario Ombudsman Report.
- The United States has similar laws; e.g. NH Regs for Career Schools
