Grad Program

Flex Academy Grad Program Policies

Course Challenge and Equivalency Policy

Course Challenge Policy

To challenge a course is to prove the student has undocumented prior learning. Students are entitled to challenge in order to receive credit for Ministry Authorized or Board Authority Authorized Grade 11-12 courses.

Before engaging in the challenge process, schools must review any documentation of prior learning that a student presents to determine if credit can be awarded through equivalency.

A student can challenge a course if he or she:

Challenge Process

The challenge process begins when it is determined that credit cannot be awarded through equivalency and a student has given compelling evidence that he or she will succeed in a challenge assessment.

To receive credit for a course that does not have a required exam, a student must:

To receive credit for a course that has a required exam, a student must:

Equivalency Policy

Courses taught outside the British Columbia school system that substantially match the curricular competencies of Ministry Authorized or Board Authority Authorized Grade 10-12 courses are eligible for credit through equivalency. For example, a student who completes a course in Alberta may receive credit for a comparable course in British Columbia through equivalency.

Flex Academy will award credit through equivalency following the procedures:

For the purpose of determining equivalency, the comparison of courses may be based on factors such as the following:

  • comparison of learning standards
  • comparison of general subject matter 
  • comparison of depth or breadth of coverage of subject matter 
  • comparison of assessment methods, instruments, and standards. 

To be deemed equivalent, sufficient content should have been covered to enable the student to be successful in further learning in the content area. For a Grade 11 or 12 course, there should be a match of approximately 80 percent or more of learning standards.

To receive credits through equivalency, students must provide the appropriate documentation as proof of successful course completion.

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


Dual Credit Policy

Policy Statement

Students may earn credits toward graduation in a variety of ways. In addition to earning credits by successfully completing courses delivered by a B.C. public or independent school, students will be awarded credits through this policy for dual credit courses. 

Rationale

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. Flex Academy will grant credit towards graduation for learning that has been assessed and matches or exceeds provincial, national or international standards.

Policy in full

This policy describes how Flex Academy awards credit to students who have successfully completed an equivalent Grade 10-12 course from an educational jurisdiction or institution outside the B.C. school system.

Flex Academy will award credit based on equivalency for Grades 10-12 Ministry-developed courses (including courses with a Graduation Program Exam) and Board Authorized courses. There is no limit to the number of credits students may be awarded through equivalency.

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. Equivalency credit will be awarded based on the Course Challenge and Equivalency Policy.

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

Post-secondary courses for which credit may be earned must be documented as follows:

Applicable post-secondary level courses count towards the required number of Grade 12 level credits needed to satisfy graduation requirements.

Procedures for Earning Dual Credit

Flex Academy will assign all credits earned at a post-secondary institution a letter grade and percentage for reporting and transcript purposes. 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. However, if the course at the post-secondary institution is offered in modules, credits awarded should be proportionate to 4 credits for the whole course.

School Completion (Evergreen) Certificate Policy

In accordance with the Ministry of Education's School Completion Certificate Program, HCOS will grant a student with inclusive needs a School Completion (Evergreen) Certificate if the student: