There is no set schedule for the student to complete the course or to complete assignments. The student can start the course within 24 hours of registration and move through the course at his or her own pace. The only restriction placed on the student is that the student must complete the course within 18 months. The student will be unenrolled from the course if he or she takes longer than 18 months to complete the course.
Student Withdrawal Policy
The Ministry of Education has legislated that students taking grade 11 and 12 courses are subject to a Full Disclosure Policy. This policy states that all grade 11 and 12 courses attempted by students must be recorded on Ontario Student Transcripts. This means that any course completed, dropped, failed, taken at day school, night school or summer school will appear on a student’s transcript along with the marks earned in the programme. There are time lines to be followed. Withdrawals occurring within 5 days of the issuing of the first report card from the Kanata Academy Online will result in the mark not being recorded on the OST. A withdrawal from a Grade 11 or 12 course after 5 days of the issuing of the first report card results in a “W” being entered in the “Credit” column of the OST along with the mark at the time of the withdrawal. Withdrawals at anytime from Grade 9 or 10 courses are not recorded on the OST. If there are extraordinary circumstances relating to a student’s withdrawal from a course, an “S” may be entered in the “Note” column on the OST.
Repetition of a Course
Only one credit is earned if course is repeated. In Grade 11 and 12, an “R” appears on the student’s OST for the course with the lower mark.
Equivalent Credits
Out of province students or transfers from non-inspected private schools may be granted equivalent credits upon the Principal’s evaluation of the student’s previous learning.
- “Equivalent Credits” are entered in the “Course Title” column.
- “PLE” entered in the “Course Code” column.
- “EQV” in the “Percentage Grade” column.
- the total number of credits entered into the “Credit” column.
- and the number of compulsory credits entered into the “Compulsory” column.
Also important to note for Final Report Card: With the new Growing Success Document, the “I” code is used to indicate that there is insufficient evidence to determine a percentage mark for students in grades 9-10 only. Examples of appropriate circumstances are listed below. (Refer to page 42 in Growing Success and p.p. 15-16 in Reporting Student Learning: Guidelines for Effective Teacher-Parent-Student Communication, 2010).
The “I” mark entry may not be used for grade 11 and 12 courses.
For all students in grades 11 and 12, we will use blank entry for the reasons listed below. Full Disclosure pertains for these students.
The following categories capture the specific scenarios where an “I” for grades 9 and 10 courses or blank entry for grade 11 and 12 may be the best assessment and evaluation practice for reporting practices:
- Late registrations (ESL, out of prov.)
- At-risk students with serious attendance issues (may be social/emotional health issues)
- Medical reasons (student or family)
- Achievement Centres (timelines are not consistent with semester, late start)
- Special circumstances (credit recovery, academic integrity)
The comment section on the report card must reflect one of the scenarios above if the student has an “I” for grades 9 and 10 courses or blank entry for grades 11 and 12 courses.
The practice of assigning 30% for students who do not have sufficient evidence does not align with assessment and evaluation practices. IT SHOULD NOT BE USED AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO “I” or BLANK ENTRY.
For the FINAL Report Card, all students will have a mark.
Grade 9 and 10: Students in grades 9 and 10 courses who have an “I” designation may be considered credit recovery. (Refer to page 42 in Growing Success)
Grade 11 and 12: Students in grades 11 and 12 courses who have a blank entry designation on their final report card will not receive a credit for the course. The blank entry must be replaced by a mark by the designated dates. The lowest limit percentage of 30 may be used as a placeholder, where in the professional judgement of the teacher a final mark cannot be determined. Credit recovery may be an option. “S” for special circumstances may be placed on the transcript when a mark is assigned.
The other alternative is having the student withdrawn from the course (as per ministry guidelines) The withdrawal would result in a “w” notation on the transcript and a credit value of 0 regardless of mark assigned for completed work.