Ministry Policy Site

Student Credentials

SECTION 1: 1995 GRADUATION PROGRAM

This section applies to students who begin Grade 10 before July 1, 2004.

Please see Section 2 for details of this policy as it applies to the 2004 Graduation Program, which applies to students who begin Grade 10 on or after July 1, 2004.

Issued June, 1995, and in effect September, 1995.

Current Policy. The British Columbia School Completion Certificate section of this policy was revised and is effective August 10, 2006.

The purpose of this policy is to describe the student credentials that will be awarded in the British Columbia school system.

This policy provides guidelines for awarding the British Columbia Certificate of Graduation; the British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma; guidelines for awarding the British Columbia School Completion Certificate; and guidelines regarding the Transcript of Grades and the calculation of honours standing.

Under the authority of the School Act, Section 168 (2) (b), (2) (t), and (5):

168 (2) The minister may make orders for the purpose of carrying out any of the minister's powers, duties or functions under this Act and, without restriction, may make orders…

(b) subject to subsection (5) determining the general requirements for graduation from an educational program…

(t) that the minister otherwise considers advisable to effectively administer this Act or the regulations…

(5) The minister may, with the minister responsible for public post-secondary institutions, establish the requirements for obtaining the British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma.

See Legislation Updates for further information.

See Ministerial Order 205/95, the Graduation Requirements Order, and Ministerial Order 164/96, the Student Credentials Order, should be referred to in conjunction with this policy.

N/A

This policy provides guidelines for awarding the British Columbia Certificate of Graduation; policy and guidelines for awarding the British Columbia School Completion Certificate; and guidelines regarding the Transcript of Grades and the calculation of honours standing.

British Columbia Certificate of Graduation

The British Columbia Certificate of Graduation or "Dogwood Diploma" is awarded upon successful completion of the provincial graduation requirements.

Guidelines for Awarding the Dogwood Diploma
The Dogwood Diploma signifies that a student has met the requirements for graduation as set out in Ministerial Order 205/95, the Graduation Requirements Order. It will not include specific program information (e.g., honours standing, French Immersion); program-related information will be included on the Transcript of Grades.

The school will submit the appropriate course information to the Ministry, which indicates that a student has satisfied provincial graduation requirements. The Ministry will then prepare and distribute a Dogwood Diploma to the school or district office for authorized signature and distribution to the student.

A student will be issued only one copy of the Dogwood Diploma. Additional copies will be available from the Ministry for a fee, or directly from the school.

A student who graduates from Programme francophone (see the Language Education Policy for information concerning Programme francophone and French Immersion) will receive the Diplome de fin d'etudes secondaires en Colombie-Britannique (French Dogwood Diploma). If the student successfully completes English Language Arts 11 and 12, he or she will also receive the Dogwood Diploma.

A student who graduates from the French Immersion program will receive both the Dogwood Diploma and the French Dogwood Diploma.

The British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma

The British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma, the "Adult Dogwood," is awarded upon successful completion of provincial adult graduation requirements.

Guidelines for Awarding the Adult Dogwood
The Adult Dogwood signifies that an adult student (19 years of age, or 18 years and out of school for at least one year) has met the requirements for graduation as set out in Ministerial Order 389/00, the British Columbia Adult Graduation Requirements Order. A student must take at least three courses as an adult, either through enrolment or prior learning assessment, to be eligible to earn credits towards the Adult Dogwood. (See the Adult Graduation Program Policy for further information.)

A student will be issued only one copy of the Dogwood Diploma. Additional copies will be available from the Ministry for a fee, or directly from the school.

British Columbia School Completion Certificate

Effective 2006/07, the policy and procedures for issuing British Columbia School Completion Certificates for students in the 1995 Graduation Program cohort is the same as for students in the 2004 Graduation Program cohort. See “British Columbia School Completion Certificate” in Section 2 of this document for details.

Transcript of Grades (Grades 11-12)

At the end of a student's final school year, or when all graduation requirements have been met, she or he receives a Transcript of Grades indicating all Grade 11 and 12 courses successfully completed, credits earned, achievement levels attained, and whether or not graduation requirements have been met. The Transcript of Grades provides prospective employers and post-secondary institutions with relevant information about student accomplishments.

Translation of the Transcript of Grades into French will be provided by the French Programs Branch of the Ministry upon request by a student.

Calculating Honours Standing
Letter grades will be converted to a grade point scale (A=4, B=3, C+=2.5, C=2, C-=1), and if the overall grade point average (GPA) is greater than "B" (>3.0) the student will be granted Honours Standing. GPA and Honours Standing will be based on the highest grades of all credits contributing to completion of the provincial graduation requirements.

A student must have at least 28 credits with percentages and letter grades to receive a GPA and Honours Standing.

Up to 24 credits that have "Transfer Standing" and "Standing Granted" grades may be excluded from the calculation.

If a student has elected to take one or more equivalent courses, the course with the highest final grade will be used to determine Honours Standing.

When calculating GPA and Honours Standing, course credit value will be taken into account and letter grades will be weighted accordingly.

For more information, consult the Handbook of Procedures and the Graduation Website.

If you have any questions relating to the Student Credentials Policy other than School Completion Certificates, please contact Brenda.Neufeld@gov.bc.ca, Manager, Student Certification Unit, Achievement & Assessment Department.

If you have any questions relating to the policy concerning British Columbia School Completion Certificates, please contact Robert.Lazar@gov.bc.ca, Student Transitions Unit, Initiatives Department.

SECTION 2: 2004 GRADUATION PROGRAM

This section applies to students who begin Grade 10 on or after July 1, 2004.

Please see Section 1 for details of this policy as it applies to the 1995 Graduation Program, which applies to students who begin Grade 10 before July 1, 2004.

Issued January 2004 and in effect July 1, 2004.

Current policy. The British Columbia School Completion Certificate section of this policy was revised and is effective August 10, 2006.

See Policy section, below.

This policy provides guidelines for awarding the British Columbia Certificate of Graduation; the British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma; guidelines for awarding the British Columbia School Completion Certificate; and guidelines regarding the Transcript of Grades and the calculation of honours standing.

See Ministerial Order 302/04, the Graduation Program Order

N/A

The purpose of this policy is to describe the student credentials that will be awarded as outlined in the Graduation Program Order.

British Columbia Certificate of Graduation

The British Columbia Certificate of Graduation or "Dogwood Diploma" is awarded upon successful completion of the provincial graduation requirements.

Guidelines for Awarding the Dogwood Diploma
The Dogwood Diploma signifies that a student has met the requirements for graduation as set out in the Graduation Program Order. It will not include specific program information (e.g., honours standing, French Immersion); program-related information will be included on the Transcript of Grades.

The school will submit the appropriate course information to the Ministry after Grades 10, 11 and 12, which indicates that a student has satisfied provincial graduation requirements. The Ministry will then prepare and distribute a Dogwood Diploma to the school or district office for authorized signature and distribution to the student.

A student will be issued only one copy of the Dogwood Diploma. Additional copies will be available from the Ministry for a fee, or directly from the school.

A student who graduates from Programme francophone (see the Language Education Policy for information concerning Programme Francophone and French Immersion) will receive the Diplome de fin d'etudes secondaires en Colombie-Britannique (French Dogwood Diploma). If the student successfully completes English Language Arts 10, 11 and 12, he or she will also receive the Dogwood Diploma.

A student who graduates from the French Immersion program will receive both the Dogwood Diploma and the French Dogwood Diploma.

The British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma

The British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma, the "Adult Dogwood," is awarded upon successful completion of provincial adult graduation requirements.

Guidelines for Awarding the Adult Dogwood
The Adult Dogwood signifies that an adult student (19 years of age, or 18 years and out of school for at least one year) has met the requirements for graduation as set out in Ministerial Order 389/00, the British Columbia Adult Graduation Requirements Order. A student must take at least three courses as an adult, either through enrolment or prior learning assessment, to be eligible to earn credits towards the Adult Dogwood. (See the Adult Graduation Program Policy for further information.)

A student will be issued only one copy of the Adult Dogwood. Additional copies will be available from the Ministry for a fee, or directly from the school.

British Columbia School Completion Certificate

The British Columbia School Completion Certificate is awarded to students who meet the goals of their educational program other than graduation. This can include students with Individual Education Plans, or students who meet other criteria established by their Board of Education.

Transcript of Grades (Grades 10, 11 and 12)

The Transcript of Grades provides prospective employers and post-secondary institutions with relevant information about student accomplishments.

Schools will report all Grades 10, 11, and 12 courses successfully completed, credits earned, and achievement levels attained to the Ministry of Education at the end of each of Grades 10, 11 and 12 for each school year. Once processes are in place, students will be able to access copies of their unofficial transcripts through the Ministry of Education web site at a reasonable time following the end of the school year. School boards and schools may produce transcripts with authorized signature for students who have not yet met graduation requirements.

Effective 2006/07, schools are required to submit transcript data for students on modified educational programs who receive School Completion Certificates. Transcripts for students on modified programs show all credit and non-credit courses completed, and contains a statement indicating that the student has been issued a School Completion Certificate.

Translation of the Transcript of Grades into French will be provided by the Ministry upon request by a student enrolled in a school governed by the Francophone Education Authority.

Calculating Honours Standing
Letter grades will be converted to a grade point scale (A=4, B=3, C+=2.5, C=2, C-=1), and if the overall grade point average (GPA) is greater than "B" (>3.0) the student will be granted Honours Standing. GPA and Honours Standing will be based on the highest grades of all credits contributing to completion of the provincial graduation requirements.

A student must have at least 44 of their 80 credits with percentages and letter grades to receive a GPA and Honours Standing (to accommodate students who enter the BC school system after Grade 10).

If a student has elected to take one or more equivalent courses, the course with the highest final grade will be used to determine Honours Standing.

For more information, consult the Handbook of Procedures and the Graduation Website.

If you have any questions relating to the Student Credentials Policy other than School Completion Certificates, please contact Brenda.Neufeld@gov.bc.ca, Manager, Student Certification Unit, Achievement & Assessment Department.

If you have any questions relating to the policy concerning British Columbia School Completion Certificates, please contact Bill.Standeven@gov.bc.ca, Diversity and Equity Unit, Governance and Accountability Department.