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But when the DMS program’s credentials were set to expire in January 2025, Accreditation Canada revoked the program’s accreditation, finding that the college had not done enough to address the three remaining “high priority” criteria it had not fulfilled in 2022. The move from Accreditation Canada led Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, which is responsible for approving educational programs delivered in the province, to revoke the DMS program’s status two months later at the end of March.

Now 40 students at various stages in their educational journeys find themselves enrolled in a program without accreditation or the ability to operate in Ontario — and there appears to be no resolution in sight as BizTech and the province clash on what is best for these sonographers in training.

Manpreet Sodhi, a 27-year-old enrolled in BizTech’s DMS program, said she and her peers have been failed.

“The students are being punished for doing everything right,” she said. “We’re being denied access to an opportunity people have flipped their lives upside down for.”

The main sticking point between the province and BizTech is the students’ tuition. (The two-year program costs $47,900.)

As part of the ministry’s decision to revoke the status of the college’s DMS program in March, it said BizTech must refund all of the program’s enrolled students for the fees they have already paid to the school, amounting to $1.5 million.

Bianca Giacoboni, press secretary to Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security Nolan Quinn, told the Star in an emailed statement that the government’s demand for a tuition refund is required when a college loses its program status.

“Our government firmly stands with hard-working students who deserve refunds from a program that is no longer accredited so that they can pursue the education needed to get a good paying job in their field,” Giacoboni added.

But BizTech has so far refused this order, with its president and founder Harpal Dharna alleging the refunds will “kill” the college’s finances and that students don’t want their money back.

“Our students want to study,” Dharna said.

Sodhi is one of these students, telling the Star she just wants to finish the program she started in 2023 and only had a five-month practicum left to complete before the program was shut down.

She blames the ministry for the standstill, describing it as the “biggest roadblock.”

“For a government institution to continually tell us they are here for the students and understand our situation and want to help us succeed, they have done everything but those things,” she said, alleging that the province has not produced any “real responses or answers” to student concerns.

Giacoboni, on behalf of the ministry, said the government is “actively engaged in this matter and is supporting students who have been concerned about refunds.”

Along with the refund issue, Sodhi said the province has not helped students who have enrolled in other sonography programs elsewhere in hopes of continuing their studies, only to learn that their credits can’t be transferred. This has been particularly frustrating for the 16 students, including Sodhi, who were set to graduate in January 2026.

“We were told to look into other programs and use PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment Recognition) and that our credits rightfully earned at BizTech could be applied,” she said. “When we reached out to other schools we were met with a clear denial of this.”

Giacoboni from the ministry said it is up to individual institutions to conduct PLAR assessments and that they may “have their own process for evaluating prior learning.”

There are eight accredited general sonography programs offered at colleges across Ontario. Many of these programs are a similar length to BizTech’s — although the Mississauga college notably has one of the higher price tags, when comparing tuition listings on the different schools’ websites. 

A spokesperson for Mohawk College in Hamilton told the Star that former BizTech students would likely not be able to transfer their credits due to the Mississauga school losing its accreditation. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Collège Boréal d’arts appliqués et de technologie in Sudbury also said BizTech students would likely not get credits because it does not have a transfer agreement with the French-language school.

None of the other Ontario colleges that offer a sonography program responded to the Star’s request for comment by publication.

While Dharna recognizes the province can legally revoke the DMS program’s status, he said the ministry’s decision “may be seen as premature” as the college seeks to resolve its issues with Accreditation Canada.

BizTech sought a judicial review of the agency’s decision in April, but a judge while still allowing for a resolution through arbitration. According to Dharna, after the May decision, Accreditation Canada agreed to settle the issue outside of court and “fast track the application process.” Typically, when an organization fails to get its program accredited, it must wait a year to apply again.

Accreditation Canada said it is “not commenting at this time” when asked to confirm if it agreed to speed up BizTech’s application.

The province, however, stands by its decision to revoke the status of BizTech’s DMS program and its demands for a full tuition refund, with Giacoboni noting that .

“Neither (the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005) nor the court requires (the ministry) to reinstate BizTech’s program approval during the arbitration period,” said Giacoboni.