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Home > Membership & Practice > OAAAS > OAAAS Advanced Standing Policy
ADVANCED STANDING POLICY
SPECIAL TIME-LIMITED MEMBERSHIP PROCESS FOR SENIOR TECHNOLOGISTS
INTRODUCTION
Beginning in 2008 and continuing until February 28, 2011, applications for advanced standing in OAAAS will be accepted from professionals with the necessary combination of academic training and extensive work experience in the architectural technology field.
(Please note: If you can document work experience hours in the defined categories going back 4-years or more, you have the option of filing retroactive work experience record forms. Some candidates may find this approach less onerous and less expensive than the Advanced Standing Policy. For more information, please refer to the Program Guide to Become a Licensed Technologist OAA, Section 4.2, p.15).
In order to qualify as a Licensed Technologist OAA, the final step in the OAAAS process, a candidate must satisfy a 12-year experience rule. A senior architectural technician or technologist who does not have a college or university diploma must document 12 years of comprehensive architectural experience. A candidate with a three-year diploma must show nine years of experience and a candidate with a four-year degree must show eight years of experience.
In addition, a candidate must have at least 940 hours work experience in Ontario and in specific categories, under the personal supervision and direction of an Ontario architect, within the three years prior to submitting the application.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
A candidate seeking advanced standing in OAAAS must submit a résumé and detailed information about a minimum of 10 projects on which you have worked in your career, covering at least three different building types. The candidate must demonstrate that the experience has been gained while working with or for an architect, and must cover all three categories of practice as outlined in the OAAAS experience requirements:
- Design and Construction Documents
- Construction Administration
- Management
Before applying, all candidates are asked to review the detailed requirements found in the Program Guide for Advanced Standing for Experienced Candidates to Become a Licensed Technologist OAA. This link includes the Advanced Standing Application package. You should also refer to the Fees Payable– Application, Membership, Recertification, Examination listing to calculate the total cost of moving through the process.
ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Recognition as a Licensed Technologist OAA requires membership in the Ontario Association of Engineering Technicians and Technologies at an advanced level. The candidate’s résumé and project information will be examined to ensure these criteria are satisfied.
Qualified candidates will be invited to attend a personal interview with a Committee of architects. This Committee has the final authority to assess the applicant’s qualifications and the written decision will note if there are any deficiencies. The Committee may award standing at any stage of the OAAAS process and may also require upgrading of academic qualifications if necessary.
OTHER STEPS TO BECOME A LICENSED TECHNOLOGIST OAA
Candidates should be aware that the advanced standing process is designed as an alternative to logging work experience hours. All candidates must complete all of the other steps in the process:
- Attend the OAA Admission Course
- Pass the Licensed Technologist OAA examination
Those candidates who are not already members of OACETT must also:
Example 1:
Paul Smith graduated from the three-year architectural technology program at Centennial College in 1986. In his 13-year career, Paul has worked for two different architectural practices and spent three years working for the Toronto Transit Commission. Paul joined OACETT and became an A.Sc.T. in 1990, and joined OAAAS in 2005. He has never submitted work experience hours.
Paul meets the 12-year rule by virtue of having a three-year diploma and ten years experience in architectural firms. He can apply to become a Licensed Technologist OAA by submitting information about ten projects on which he has worked in his career, in at least three different building types, together with three references from architects (one may be a Licensed Technologist OAA). He will bring to his interview by a team of architects all of the relevant documentation about three of these projects (selected in consultation with the Committee).
When he is approved by the team and the Admissions Committee, he is eligible to attend the OAA Admission Course and write the Licensed Technologist OAA exam. This OAAAS examination is a two-part exam given in one day.
Example 2:
Harkeet Patel has a degree in architecture and a masters’ degree in urban planning and design, both from the University of Mumbai. He worked as an architect in India for ten years before he emigrated to Canada in 1993. In Canada, he worked for a residential construction company designing and overseeing the construction of single family homes. While he designed most of these on his own, his company occasionally engaged the services of an architect for larger projects. In 2003, Harkeet began to work for a large architectural firm which specializes in large public facilities, one of his specialties in India.
Harkeet easily meets the 12-year rule and decides to apply for advanced standing as a Licensed Technologist OAA. He does so by completing the ASP application form and applying simultaneously to join OACETT as an Applied Science Technologist. In his application, he submits eight projects from his present employer, two projects from his residential work which were undertaken without an architect, and two projects from India that are necessary to demonstrate that he has considerable experience in design development and the management of an architectural practice.
The Committee and Harkeet agree he will be interviewed about two of his most recent projects and a 34-storey, million dollar+ home he designed and oversaw in 2002.
When he submits his original transcripts from university and writes the Professional Practice Exam, OACETT certifies him as an A.Sc.T. When he is approved by the interview team and the Admissions Committee, he is eligible to attend the OAA Admission Course and write the Licensed Technologist OAA exam.
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