Revised High School graduation requirements
The provincial government revised high school graduation requirements to include mandatory online courses. Students still need to earn 30-course credits to receive their Ontario Secondary School Diploma, but at least two of those credits need to be from e-learning courses.
Who’s affected?
The new requirement applies to any student currently in grade 10 or below. It does not affect students currently in grades 11 and 12.
Why the change?
The new requirement is intended to help students become familiar with working and learning in a fully online environment. e-Learning courses help develop digital literacy and other necessary transferable skills that will serve students well in all aspects of their lives.
What counts as an e-learning course?
An e-learning course is any asynchronous grade 9-12 online learning credit course delivered entirely using the internet. It does not require students to be present with one another or with their educator in the school or online. Because courses taken through St. Josephine Virtual High School are synchronous, they do not meet the criteria for this requirement.
Advantages of e-learning
In addition to developing students’ digital fluency and skills, e-learning courses have several other benefits. Students have access to a broader selection of courses and are not limited to those offered by their home school. Because the courses are asynchronous, students have greater flexibility and can choose to learn when best suits their schedule.
e-Learning at the OCSB continues to grow
The OCSB has offered e-learning courses since 2014. Both course offerings and participation have grown significantly since then. This year, 13% of students in grades 11 and 12 are enrolled in e-learning courses. When surveyed, 89% of current OCSB e-Learning students said they would take another e-learning course. Next year, we will offer 42 e-learning courses. These are designated with a J or a V in myBlueprint. Students can also talk to their guidance counselor to access additional courses offered by school boards across Ontario.
Can my child be exempted?
If your child is in grade 12 and has not yet been able to schedule e-learning courses in their schedule, this graduation requirement will be removed. This will be completed through a form submission process that will be outlined by your child’s school.
Have more questions?
Please see our Mandatory e-Learning FAQ for more details and answers to your questions about the e-learning requirement and the opt-out process.