Adult Learning or Upgrading

We welcome adults (students 19 or older) who need to graduate or are needing to take course(s) to upgrade for post-secondary education or work.  We have an Adult Advisor on staff who is knowledgeable about post-secondary programs and what you would need to graduate high school if life got in the way. There are some options below, and if you have any questions, please see our FAQ section.

Programs for adults who have not graduated

SCIDES is proud to support both school-aged youth as well as adults on their path to graduation.

If you are an adult, do you know about WorkBC? Check out this link.

Work BC has many programs and services that might help you train for work, become employment ready, and even outfit you with needed technology or work wear (steel-toed boots, etc.). It’s all FREE!

If you are hoping to gain employment and aren’t sure where to look, Work BC should be your next step after making plans to graduate or upgrade. Like us, they are there to help, AND it could be that programs and services you engage in with WorkBC can be used as credits towards your graduation.

Nearly every community in BC has a WorkBC office; it’s worth taking a look and talking to both us and them.

*Adults must be a resident of British Columbia

Adults who have not yet graduated from grade 12/high school:

We have an amazing adult graduation program at SCIDES.

  • To complete the Adult Graduation Program, students must meet certain eligibility requirements.
  • To complete the Adult Graduation Program, students (18 or older) must earn at least 20 credits in the secondary system or complete five courses in the post‑secondary system.
  • Courses and credits can be counted from the BC School System and/or the College ABE Program.

     

The table below provides an overview of the qualifying courses.

British Columbia School System Qualifying Courses

    

College or ABE Program Qualifying Courses

 A Language Arts 12* course

AND

 4 Credit Course OR    a provincial or post‐secondary level English course

 A Mathematics 11 or 12** course

AND EITHER

 4 Credit Course OR   an advanced or provincial or post‐secondary level Mathematics course

 Option 1
Three 4‐credit Grade 12‐level Ministry Authorized courses, including External Credential Courses

OR

  12 credits OR   three additional courses at the provincial or post‐secondary level
Option 2
Social Studies 11, BC First Nations Studies 12, or Civic Studies 11 (4 credits each)
and
Two 4‐credit Grade 12‐level Ministry Authorized courses, including External Credential Courses		  12 credits OR   Advanced Social Sciences and two provincial or post‐secondary level courses

Total: 20 credits

    

Total: 5 courses

* Please refer to the Ministry of Education's online Course Registry for a list of courses that satisfy the mathematics and language arts requirements for the Adult Graduation Program.

Those courses that meet the Language Arts 12 and Mathematics 11 or 12 requirements of the 2004 Graduation Program also satisfy these Adult Graduation Program requirements.

**Accounting 11 and 12, and Financial Accounting 12 continue to satisfy the mathematics requirement in the Adult Graduation Program.

Our home-based adult education programs won’t conflict with your work schedule, letting you proceed at your own pace. Although SCIDES is located in Merritt, our online high school courses are available to all adult BC residents wishing to take advantage of distributed learning for graduation or for upgrading.

We pride ourselves to be the best solution for adult learners, so don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your individual education goals!

Adults who have Already Graduated

You are a Graduated Adult if...

  1. were 19 or older on July 1 of this current year (if you WERE NOT 19 on July 1st then you can normally take any course for FREE!) and
  2. if you have graduated from grade 12 in BC or any other place.

Graduated Adults may continue to take any Literacy Foundations courses (please see this link for more information) for FREE/without paying tuition fees. The aim of the Literacy Foundations courses is to help students develop the knowledge and skills that they need to be successful in grade 11 and 12 courses or to upgrade skills needed for post-secondary school or career opportunities. Most students who take Literacy Foundations courses are adults who have been out of school for many years.

More information on Tuition Free Foundation Courses (click here)

Okay, IF I have to pay tuition, how much will I have to pay?

  1. The standard tuition is $550
  2. The tuition and book deposits must be paid prior to beginning the course

  3. Refunds:

    A. Cancellations within 2 weeks of registration: $50 cancellation fee.

    B. Cancellation after 2 weeks of registration: NO REFUND.

    C. If you have completed more than 10% of the course marks, NO REFUND, no matter when you cancel.

Our home-based adult education programs won’t conflict with your work schedule, letting you proceed at your own pace. Although SCIDES is located in Merritt, our online high school courses are available to all adult BC residents wishing to take advantage of distributed learning for graduation or for upgrading.

We pride ourselves to be the best solution for adult learners, so don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss your individual education goals!