HCOS Tuition & Resources

This page provides information and details regarding tuition & curriculum resources at HCOS.

On this page you will find:

• Tuition at HCOS: Why It Exists
• Tuition, Tuition Assistance & Resource Budgets
• K-9
• Community Connections (CC) & CC+ 
• Grad Program
• Cross-Enrollment
• Home School Registered
• PO Spending
• HCOS Forward Together Bursary Campaign

Please note that the structure below is subject to change as we work to provide flexibility and reduce family impact over time wherever possible.

Tuition at HCOS: Why It Exists

In May of 2020, the Ministry of Education cut Independent Distributed Learning (DL) funding by 21%, or $793 per student. This resulted in significant challenges to an already lean school budget. Our amazing teachers and staff sacrifice financially to work for an Independent DL school, which is one key reason we have been able to provide IDL education without adding a tuition to the out-of-pocket expenses you already incur as families.

However, in order to continue providing the services that HCOS does, this reduction in funding resulted in the need to make adjustments. Here is how HCOS is making up the reduced funding amount:

1. Tuition charges have been instituted.
2. Resource budgets have been reduced. 
3. Significant internal cuts to all areas of the school’s operation. The focus was on efficiencies in processes and staffing rather than items that would impact the programming or resources available for students.

Tuition, Tuition Assistance & Resource Budgets

HCOS strongly believes in providing flexible options to families.

We recognize that paying tuition to home educate is difficult. HCOS is committed to keeping this as minimal as possible and looking for opportunities to reduce or eliminate this impact where we can.

We are also committed to pursuing additional revenue streams in order to decrease family impact over time.

Our community is our priority. In determining internal cuts and family impact, we focused on ensuring students still have access to the support and guidance from our excellent teachers, grad advisors, administration and educational assistants. Resources like online subscriptions and learning commons kits and books are available to help reduce the cost of purchasing additional curriculum. 

K-9 Tuition & Resource Budget

K-9 Tuition Assistance Options

Home educating already requires financial sacrifice. In order to ensure access for all students, regardless of finances, we provide two assistance options:

* Bursary allocation will be determined by the volume of bursary applications and the available bursary finances. See below for more details on the HCOS Forward Together Bursary Campaign

K-9 FAQs

Please see our Tuition & Bursary Family FAQs page for many more additional questions and answers.

I have a student in the Grad Program. Do they count as the first student in the family?
No. The student count is limited to K-9 students. Grad Program students have a different tuition structure (see below).

Am I able to help other families with tuition costs?
Absolutely! Please see the HCOS Forward Together Bursary Campaign below for information on how to give. This gift would be eligible for a tax receipt as per the standard charitable donation rate.

Are there other ways I can help my fellow home educators?
Yes. Help your fellow home school families save money on curriculum by returning the school’s curriculum for reuse in the Learning Commons. When we can provide less expensive used curriculum for our families, they don’t need to use as much of their resource budgets to buy new instructional materials.

How can you help?

• Return materials by post or in person to:
  • 905 Badke Road,
  • Kelowna BC, V1X 5Z5
• Return materials directly to your support teacher

Community Connections (CC) & CC+

For Community Connections (CC) and CC+ tuition, please see the Learning Groups website for further information and registration.

Grad Program Tuition & Resource Budgets

The Grad Program functions per course, not as a whole student. Please keep that in mind in contrast to K-9.

* For the purposes of course counts, a “year” is considered to be the period from the May funding snapshot to the following May funding snapshot (typically the first Friday of May). Courses that remain inactive by the end of the year will be removed without a refund.

Grad Program Tuition Assistance Options

Home educating already requires financial sacrifice.  In order to ensure access for all students, regardless of finances, we provide the following tuition assistance option:

* Bursary allocation will be determined by the volume of bursary applications and the available bursary finances. See below for more details on the HCOS Forward Together Bursary Campaign

Grad Program FAQs

Please see our Tuition & Bursary Family FAQs page for many more additional questions and answers.

Can I access a K-9 sibling’s resource budget for my grad student if needed?
Yes. We will continue to treat resource budgets as a family budget in terms of accessibility for any student in the family.

Am I able to help other families with tuition costs?
Absolutely! Please see the HCOS Forward Together Bursary Campaign below for information on how to give. This gift would be eligible for a tax receipt as per the standard charitable donation rate.

Cross Enrollment Tuition & Fees

Cross Enrollment Tuition Assistance Options

There are no tuition assistance or bursary options available for cross enrollment.

Home School Registered

PO Spending

PO numbers for resource budget spending are typically released at HCOS Connect each year at the end of April. Once tuition is paid, the full resource budget is released. Please see the K-9 tuition table above for details on partial resource funding release with the monthly tuition payment option.

HCOS Forward Together

Forward Together is about ensuring families have the freedom of choice in how to educate their children. We believe finances should not be a hindrance to enrolling at HCOS. Let’s work together to continue to make HCOS a viable option for all students.

We are looking for partners to help us continue to offer Christian Education through distributed learning to students all over the province of British Columbia. All donations are eligible for a tax receipt and will go to provide bursaries for families who cannot afford tuition. 

Donate to Forward Together

Corporate Sponsorship

Contact Chantelle Olsson-Chang, HCOS Advancement & Donor Relations, to discuss corporate sponsorship options at forward.together@onlineschool.ca

Bursary Application