Ministry Policy Site

Earning Credit through Equivalency, Challenge, External Credentials, Post-Secondary Credit and Independent Directed Studies

Issued February 2004, and in effect July 1, 2004.

Current policy.

The Challenge section of this policy was revised in June 2005.

This policy revises former policies related to earning credits in the 1995 Graduation Program, and extends provisions for earning credit towards graduation to Grade 10 in the 2004 Graduation Program. 

As a result of this policy, the following policies are deleted: AP and IB Courses (see Note, below), Challenge, Equivalency, Independent-Directed Study, Ministry Approved Credentials for External Courses.

The revised policies apply to students on both the 1995 and 2004 Graduation Programs, with the exception of Partial Course Credit Policy, which only applies to students on the 1995 Graduation Program. For the 2004 Graduation Program, schools should use Independent Directed Studies to award credits to students who do not complete a full two or four credit course

Note: There is no separate policy in the 2004 Graduation Program for Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses. Courses offered through these programs are authorized by the Ministry and listed in the Course Information Book.

Students may earn credits toward graduation in a variety of ways. Such ways to earn credits will be extended to Grade 10 students in the 2004 Graduation Program. In addition to earning credits by successfully completing courses delivered by a BC public or independent school, students will be awarded credits by using the policies that follow.

Although students are entitled to receive credit, as set out below, the Ministry of Education assumes no liability, financial or otherwise, for students who enroll in courses or programs offered by other jurisdictions or institutions.

Since September 1997, all Boards of Education have been required to have Equivalency and Challenge procedures in place. Boards of Education should revise their procedures to reflect the changes included in this policy.

Learning is a life-long activity. Students learn in a variety of ways, some of which take place outside of British Columbia or outside of the regular secondary school program. Schools will grant credit towards graduation for learning that has been assessed and matches or exceeds provincial, national or international standards.

Definition - "External Credentials:" Documents or credentials earned by a student on successful completion of an external course.

Definition - "Post Secondary Institution:" For the purposes of this policy, a post secondary institution is a college, institute or university that is a member of the British Columbia Transfer System and articulates courses through the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer or offers post secondary courses in French under the auspices of Educacentre.

Equivalency (Documented Prior Learning)

Policy
This policy describes how secondary schools award credit to students who have successfully completed an equivalent Grade 10, 11 or 12 course from an educational jurisdiction or institution outside the BC school system.

The Ministry of Education may make determinations about Equivalency that apply to all students. Such determinations will be listed in the Course Information book or the Handbook of Procedures.

With some exceptions for international students (see the International Student Graduation Credit Policy for further information), all students enrolled with a Board of Education are entitled to apply for an Equivalency review of their documented prior learning.

Schools will award credit based on equivalency for Grades 10, 11 and 12 Ministry-developed courses (including courses with a Graduation Program Exam) and board authorized courses.

There is no limit to the number of credits granted through Equivalency.

School boards may not charge students for Equivalency reviews; however, students may be asked to provide translations if documents are not in English or French.

Procedures
Schools will award credit through Equivalency following the procedures of the Board of Education.

To be deemed equivalent, there should be a match of approximately 80% or more of the learning outcomes to either a Ministry-developed or board authorized Grade 10, 11 or 12 course.

In order to receive credits through Equivalency, students must provide the appropriate documentation as proof of successful completion of the course.

For reporting and transcript purposes, schools should assign a letter grade and percentage to all credits awarded through Equivalency. If the student's documents show only a letter grade or level, schools may choose to assign a percentage, based on the mid-point of the matching British Columbia letter grade range. Schools may use "Transfer Standing" (TS) if it is not possible to determine a letter grade and a percentage from the documentation.

Challenge (Undocumented Demonstrated Prior Learning)

Policy
This policy describes how secondary schools award credit to students who can demonstrate prior learning.

With some exceptions for international students (see the International Student Graduation Credit Policy for further information), all students enrolled with a Board of Education are entitled to undertake a free Challenge process to assess their prior learning for any Ministry-authorized graduation program course offered by any Board of Education in the Province that school year, as well as any Board Authorized (BAA) course taught in the enrolling district that school year, provided the student has not already completed the course through previous enrolment.

This entitlement does not include board authorized courses taught in a non-enrolling district.

Schools and Boards of Education are encouraged to co-operate in order to allow students to Challenge courses that are not offered at a student's own school.

Prior to engaging in a Challenge process, schools must review any documentation of prior learning that a student presents in order to determine if credit can be awarded through Equivalency.

The Ministry will fund enrolling Boards of Education the equivalent per pupil funding of a 1-credit course for each successfully completed course Challenge.

Ministry or board authorized Grade 10, 11 or 12 courses (including courses with a Grade 10, 11 or 12 Graduation Program Examination) must be available for Challenge in the district one year after full implementation of the relevant Integrated Resource Package (IRP) or board authorized course description.

There is no limit to the number of credits that may be awarded through Challenge.

Procedures
Schools must document the Challenge assessment delivered to each student, including a pre-Challenge Equivalency review, and the documentation must be made available to Ministry auditors if requested.

Students should be able to demonstrate their readiness to Challenge a course based on factors such as a recommendation from a previous teacher, or from evidence that relevant learning has been acquired outside the regular classroom setting. The demonstration should not be an onerous process. School staff, in consultation with students and parents, should make the decision about readiness.

Examples of assessment strategies that could be used in a Challenge process include such things as hands-on demonstrations, oral performances, interviews, written examinations, or presentations of a collection of work.

If the enrolling Board of Education arranges with another Board of Education to conduct a Challenge assessment for a Ministry authorized course not offered in the enrolling school district, then the enrolling Board of Education must pay any fee charged by the non-enrolling Board of Education to cover the costs of obtaining services in the non-enrolling school district.

Schools will award credit through Challenge following the procedures of the Board of Education.

Awarding credit through Challenge should be based on the same standards used for students who have taken the course through enrollment. A Challenge is considered successful when a student has achieved at least a C- and 50%.

For reporting and transcript purposes, schools must assign a letter grade and percentage to all credits awarded through Challenge processes.

To receive funding, enrolling Boards of Education must report successful course Challenges to the Ministry through the Transcript and Examination (TRAX) system by June 30 of the school year in which the Challenge occurred. For courses completed via a Challenge process, schools must report the appropriate TRAX code in the "Course Type Field." More information about reporting course Challenges can be found in the Handbook of Procedures.

External Credentials (Ministry-Approved Documented Prior Learning)

Policy
This policy describes how students earn credit towards graduation through certain external credentials approved by the Ministry.

All students enrolled with a Board of Education are entitled to receive credit if they have earned a Ministry-approved credential.

The Ministry of Education has sole authority to review and approve external credentials and assessments, and to provide an official list of these approved credentials and assessments to schools. The list is published in the Ministry's Course Information Book. Some external credentials are classified as required courses, and others as elective courses. Grade 12-level External Credentials count towards the required number of Grade 12 credits.

School boards may not charge students for external credential reviews.

There is no limit to the number of credits a student may earn by using external credentials. However, there are credit restrictions between credentials where the external courses or programs are deemed to be equivalent. It is the responsibility of schools to ensure that students do not receive double credit for credentials deemed equivalent.

Although external credentials may contribute towards graduation requirements, they may or may not meet general or specific admissions requirements for post-secondary institutions. It is the responsibility of students to verify admissions requirements for the post-secondary institutions they plan to attend.

The Ministry reserves authority to treat results from specific external assessments on the same basis as results from Grade 12 examinable subjects.

Procedures
In order to earn credit for an approved credential, students must provide the appropriate documentation proving successful completion of the external assessment, course or program.

Students may have earned an approved external credential prior to entering Grade 10; if so, they are awarded credit if they present their credential any time after they enter Grade 10.

For reporting and transcript purposes, schools must assign all credits received as a result of an external credential either a letter grade and percentage (if possible to determine), or "Transfer Standing" (TS).

Credit from Post-Secondary Courses

Policy
This policy describes how students earn credit towards graduation by earning credit for courses at specific post-secondary institutions, as defined in this policy. It is aligned with the earlier sections on Equivalency and External Credentials.

Students are entitled to earn "dual credit" if they earn credit that leads to a post-secondary credential from a post-secondary institution which is a member of the British Columbia Transfer System or offered in French through the auspices of Educacentre.

Post-secondary courses for which credit may be earned will be: (1) listed in the most recent edition of the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer Guide, or (2) specified in individual Career Technical Centre (CTC) program agreements, or (3) included in a BC public post-secondary institution's calendar as a course leading to a credential of one year or less, a two-year diploma or a four year degree.

School boards may not charge students for reviews of transcripts.

Procedures
Applicable post-secondary level courses count towards the required number of Grade 12 credits.

All post-secondary level courses will be reported using course codes listed in the Course Information Book.

For reporting and transcript purposes, schools must assign all credits earned at a post-secondary institution a letter grade and percentage. Provided a course consists of the standard number of hours for most courses offered at that post-secondary institution, such courses will be awarded four credits, regardless of the number of credits indicated on the post-secondary institution's transcript, unless the course is offered in modules. Credits for modular courses should be proportionate to 4 credits for the whole course.

Adult Basic Education (ABE) courses do not count for dual credit. For information on how to report these for credit toward graduation, see the Course Information Book.

Independent Directed Study (IDS)

Policy
This policy enables students to initiate their own area of learning and to receive credit towards graduation. The policy also allows schools to recognize prior learning in a Ministry-developed or board authorized course that a student may not have completed. This policy is not a student entitlement but an enabling policy intended to encourage schools to allow students to pursue further studies of interest.

The learning outcomes of all Grade 10, 11 and 12 Ministry and board authorized courses are eligible to be used in an IDS. A student may study one or more learning outcomes in depth, or study more broadly a wide variety of learning outcomes from a single course.

IDS credits may only be used to satisfy elective requirements.

IDS credits may be awarded by schools to students who have successfully completed independent work based on a subset of outcomes of Grade 10, 11 or 12 Ministry courses or board authorized courses.

The maximum value for a single IDS course is four credits, but there is no limit to the total number of IDS credits a student may earn. The number of credits a student earns for an IDS will be set out in the plan developed by that student and a teacher, and approved by a principal. Grade 12 IDS credits may count toward the minimum of 16 Grade 12 credits required for graduation.

Procedures
Awarding of credit through an IDS should be governed by the procedures of the board.

For reporting and transcript purposes, schools must assign all credits received from an independent-directed study a letter grade and percentage.

IDS courses can be for 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits. When students complete a portion of the outcomes for a course, schools may report their achievement to the Ministry using IDS credits.

Course Information Book

Handbook of Procedures

British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer Guide

If you have any questions relating to the policies on Equivalency, Challenge, Independent Directed Study or Credit From Post-Secondary Courses, please contact Robert Lazar. If you have any questions relating to the policy on External Credentials, please contact Sandra Smith.