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S.00-37

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC

MEMORANDUM

Senate

From: ?

J. Munro, Chair

Senate Committee on Academic Planning

Subject: ?

B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma

(SCUS Reference: SCUS 00-5)

(SCAP Reference: SCAP 00-8)

Date: ?

March 17, 2000

Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies and the Senate

Committee on Academic Planning, gives rise to the following motion:

. "Graduates of the B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma who are at least 19

years of age and who have completed those courses specified for

admission in the regular B.C. (secondary school) Graduation Diploma or

equivalent courses offered through post-secondary institutions, except

that a Grade 11 language course is not required, be eligible for admission

in the high school admission category. The four Grade 12 or equivalent

courses must be from different disciplines. A minimum average of 67%

(Ci-) based on English 12 and three other academic Grade 12 courses or

their equivalents is required. This policy is to be effective for three years,

from May 2000 to September 2003, with a review to occur in Fall 2001."

e. &kAln)

scus 00-5

Memo from

N. Heath, Director of Admissions

Simon Fraser University

To: SCUS

Date: 1999 12 10

Isubieth

B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma

Suggested Motion

To admit graduates of the British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma who are at

least 19 years of age and who have completed those courses specified for admission in

the regular B.C. (secondary school) Graduation Diploma or equivalent courses offered

through post-secondary institutions, except that a Grade 11 language course is not

required. The four Grade 12 or equivalent courses must be from different disciplines.

A minimum average of 67% (C+) based on English 12 and three other academic

Grade 12 course or their equivalents is required.

This policy is effective for three years, from May 2000 to September 2003, with a

review to occur in Fall 2001.

Proposed Calendar Entry

. ?

Adult Graduation Diploma

Applicants who have completed the BCAGD must be at least 19 years of age and must

meet the following requirements:

Advanced level or Grade 11 completion (must include English, mathematics,

social studies or First Nations 12, experimental or laboratory science)

Four subjects at the provincial level or at Grade 12 (must include English and 3

additional subjects selected from

biology, mathematics, chemistry, English literature, languages, statistics,

geography, history, physics.)

All four provincial level or Grade 12 subjects must be graded: a minimum average of

C+ or 67% is required, based on the grading scale set by the Ministry of Education.

Entry requirements to business administration, computing science, engineering

science, kinesiology and the Faculty of Science parallel those for BC secondary school

graduates.

Current Calendar Entry

Adult Basic Education Provincial Diploma

Applicants who have completed the ABEPD must be at least 19 years of age and must

meet the following requirements:

either ABE Advanced level

B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma

1999 12 10

or Grade 11 completion (including English 11, math 11, language 11, social

the provincial level incl. English and 3 additional subjects

selected from

biology, mathematics, chemistry, computer science, English literature,

languages, statistics, geography, history, physics.

All four provincial level subjects must be graded: a minimum average of C+ is

required. Entry requirements to computing science, engineering science, kinesiology

and the Faculty of Science parallel those for BC secondary school graduates.

Background

For B.C. adults, there were two forms of graduation diploma - the Adult Basic

Education Provincial Diploma (ABEPD) issued by Ministry of Advanced Education,

Training and Technology (MAETT) and the 'Adult Dogwood' issued by Ministry of

Education (MOE). Both credentials will be phased out by August 2000 and replaced by

the British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma (BCAGD), starting 1 September

1999. This common credential will be 'owned' jointly by the two ministries.

Our policy has been to accept graduates of the ABEPD only. SCUS's predecessor

committee, SUAB, had serious misgivings about the former Adult Dogwood as it was

offered by some districts to international students who were not necessarily adults.

These misgivings related to lack of breadth. Our position was unique among

educational institutions.

Another difficulty with the existing adult graduation programs has been that there

was, at one time, no acceptance by either Ministry of the courses used by the other

Ministry. If a student had

all

of the requirements for the Adult Dogwood except a

Grade 11 Mathematics course, an Adult Basic Education Mathematics course taken at

a college would not satisfy the missing math requirement. This had shown itself to

be a problem when students attempted to 'upgrade' their secondary school records by

attending a college. This position has changed substantially in the past two years.

Now, each accepts many of the other's courses. In addition, college ABE courses are

tuition-free for all (Canadian) students. Secondary school courses offered to adults

are tuition free only if the student has not graduated.

SCUS looked at the consequences of this 'mix and match' form of upgrading earlier

this year. SCUS ruled that repeated courses may not be computed into the average,

but recognized that it is impractical to identify these repeats.

II-

B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma ?

1999 12 10

The BC Adult Graduation Diploma?

"The Adult Dogwood"

To be eligible to graduate on this program, adult students (19 years of age or

over) must earn at least 20 credits in the secondary system or five courses in

the post-secondary system. Courses and credits can be counted from either or

both of the following areas:

Language Arts 12 ?

4 creaits I or I A irovinciai Level tngiisn or nigner

Mathematics 11 or 12 ?

4 credits I or I An Advanced Level Mathematics or

Three Grade 12

Ministry-authorized

Courses (4 credits each)

higher

12 credits or Three additional courses at

Provincial Level or higher

Social Studies 11 (4 credits)

Advanced Social Sciences and

or First Nations 12 ?

two Provincial level courses or

and two Grade 12 ?

higher

Ministry-authorized

Courses (4 credits each)

12 credits

Total: 20 credits ?

I ?

Total: 5 courses ?

ABE Provincial level' generally refers to a course at approx. Gr 12 level.

ABE 'Advanced level' generally refers to a course at approx. Gr 11 level.

B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma

1999 12 10

The BC Secondary School Graduation Diploma

"The Dogwood"

or First Nations Studies 12

Career & Personal Planning 11

Career & Personal Planning 12

Total

BC Credit-Based Graduation Program

- Selected Studies

Credits

Ministry-authorized Grade 12 level

Additional 11 and 12 courses

Total

Grand Total:

As can be seen above, the BCAGD requires far fewer credits than the 'Dogwood'

and its specified subject requirements are only Language Arts and

Mathematics. The Dogwood requires in addition Social Studies, Science, Fine

Arts, Applied Skills and, in the case of admission to SFTJ, a second language.

Example of minimum requirement for entry to SFU with the BCAGD

S&ondary $chol

Cowses

.........

.....

Asstsments

ABE Provincial Level English*

Principles of Mathematics 11

Japanese

12*

(by PLA or challenge) ABE Provincial Level Geography*

Total:

courses

B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma

1999 12 10

• ?

The Advanced level requirements of English, social studies and science are

satisfied by completion of Provincial level (higher ) requirements in those

disciplines.

To calculate an admission average we would need to include courses shown

with an asterisk, converting letter grades to % grades for the ABE courses,

using either the following table, set by the Ministry of Education or the grade

conversion table appropriate for each individual college, if different:

A 91%, B = 79%, C+ = 70%, C = 64%, C- = 56%.

Notes

• To be eligible for the BCAGD, a person must be 19 years or older. An eighteen

year-old who has been out of school for at least a year may be admitted with

approval from the enrolling institution.

• Three courses must be completed through enrollment in a course or Prior

Learning Assessment (PLA). PLA may be used to meet any of the requirements

for the BCAGD. PLA involves a variety of techniques including equivalency

reviews, challenge processes, in-depth interviews, etc.

• Provincial exams are optional for adult students in the BC School system. If the

student chooses not to write a provincial exam, the grade will be reported with a

"Q"

code. College ABE courses will not be easily distinguished if added to a

Ministry of Education transcript because they too will receive a

"Q"

code.

• Any course that is Ministry-authorized by either the MOE (4 credits) or the

MAETT as requirements for graduation may be used towards the BCAGD.

• All articulated college ABE courses may be used for credit towards either the

regular or Adult Dogwood.

• Colleges will issue the BCAGD from the registrar's office. The new diploma is a

joint MAETT/MOE document signed by both ministers.

• Students may take their college course(s) back to the school district and apply for

their diploma through the school district and MOE.

• A common transcript process is supposed to be developed by MOE and MAETT

working with the post-secondary education institution registrars. It appears

unlikely that this will occur. Until a common transcript is established, current

practice will continue. The institution issuing the BCAGD identifies which

courses have been used to qualify for the diploma, both internal and transfer

courses. Students combining courses from the two systems for the BCAGD will

need to include all relevant transcripts in situations where they need to verify

their courses and grades.

• All colleges do not necessarily adhere to the Ministry of Education grading

standards so some grade/mark adjustments might be needed in some cases (e.g.

Ministry of Education pass grade is set at 50 % but a particular college might use a

passing grade of 60%)

• A student must take at least 3 of the courses used towards the BCAGD as an adult,

but may use PLA (where available) as an adult to get credit for these courses.

B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma

1999 12 10

• If a student is only missing one or two courses from their high school graduation

they could take the missing course(s) at the college or school district and take them

back to the high school towards the regular Dogwood.

• At least one course must be from the institution granting the BCAGD. The other

eligible courses may be brought from another institution or institutions.

• A student may use courses taken long ago for credit towards the BCAGD, as long

as s/he has completed 3 as an adult.

• ABE students are generally unable to write MOE provincial exams.

• If a student wishes to write a provincial exam s/he must register for a course

through a school district.

• Any course that is Ministry-authorized by either MOE (4 credits) or MAETT (see

the ABE handbook information) may be used towards the diploma.

• Two credit courses cannot be used towards graduation in the adult program. The

exception is CAPP 11 and 12, which, for adults only in the BCAGD, can now be

combined as CAPPA 12 and be used as a four credit course towards graduation.

• The ABE curriculum does not include languages other than English so it is not

practical to require that candidates present a second language course.

• If an individual who already has a graduation diploma (e.g. a Dogwood) takes a

course as an adult at a college or school to upgrade or getting a missing

prerequisite, etc., the Dogwood can be updated to show the newly acquired course.

• If an out-of-province graduate returns as an adult and takes 3 courses, equivalency

policies would be used for courses already held and, if the requirements were met,

the BCAGD could be issued, resulting in two graduation diplomas.

Standards in BCAGD

There are currently no procedures to ensure that curriculum and marking standards

in ABE courses match those of the respective BC Grade 12 courses. Both the content

and assessment tools will be different. As far as can be determined from the 1999-2000

ABE Articulation Handbook, neither the ABE Steering Committee nor the various

discipline working groups include representatives from the K-12 system, although

these are now being added. It is rumoured that grading standards are more lax in

ABE courses, but there is no way either to verify or to refute this.

Impact on SFU Admissions

It is difficult to assess the impact of this change. We had only a few dozen admissions

under the former ABE Provincial Diploma and we admitted, on an exception basis,

only one or two students who held the old Adult Dogwood (in spite of our policy to

the contrary.) However, the significant change in 1999 is that there is now full

interchangeability between courses taken in the ABE program and in secondary

school. With admission averages for competitive programs in the 85% - 94% range, it

is likely that substantial numbers of applicants will seek to maximize their admission

averages prior to or after graduation by taking further courses to improve their

records. SCUS has already ruled that repeated courses may not be computed into the

average. A suggested modification to this has been suggested

earlier.

B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma ?

1999 12 10

This suggests that a cautious approach is best, in preparation for the possible opening

of the floodgates!

Policies of other BC Universities

These are not yet known. Their previous policies are attached.

It appears likely that:

UBC will accept BCAGD but they have misgivings about the upgrading issue.

UVIC probably will accept BCAGD but seem determined that at least three courses Gr.

12 courses will be provincially examinable (impractical)

Tech BC

will accept BCAGD but insist on all applicants having a language at Gr. 11

level (impractical).

UNBC will accept BCAGD.

Final comment

This issue is more 'political' than practical. There are excellent opportunities for

adult students to enter universities, with or without adult graduation, through well-

developed college-university transfer programs. These policies also apply to the BC

Open University (BC OLA), which offers a broad-based and open-access distance

education program at various levels.

All universities also have special polices for admitting mature students. No adult

student would be excluded from SF0 if the BCAGD were not to be recognized for

admission, although admission might be delayed by up to a year.

nh Dec 1999

RECOGNITION OF THE

ABE PROVINCIAL DIPLOMA

The ABE Provincial Diploma is recognized by colleges, in-

stitutes and universities in the British Columbia post-

secondary system. Entries below are taken from 1994/95

calendars.

B.C. Institute of Technology

The Provincial Adult Basic Education (ABE) Diploma is consid-

ered to be equivalent to BCIT general prerequisites: that is, gradua-

tion from Senior Secondary School. Applicants should check with

the Admissions department to ensure courses taken through the

ABE program are acceptable for admission to BCIT.

Simon Fraser University

Adult Basic Education Provincial Diploma Admission

Requirements

Applicants who have completed the Adult Basic Education Provin-

cial Diploma must be at least 19 years of age and must meet the fol-

lowing requirements:

either ?

Adult Basic Education Advanced Level

Grade 11

If Grade 11 has been taken, the following courses must be

included:

English 11

Mathematics 11

Language 11 (beginner's language 11 may be used)

Social Studies 11

Science 11 (acceptable subjects are Biology. Chemistry,

Earth Science, Physics)

Four subjects at the Provincial level including English and three ad-

ditional subjects selected from:

Biology

Algebra or Mathematics

All of the four Provincial level subjects should be graded: a mini-

mum average of C+ is required. Entry requirements for Engineering

Science. Kinesiology and the Faculty of Science parallel those for

BC secondary school graduates.

University of British Columbia

Adult Basic Education - Provincial Diploma

The university recognizes the ABE Provincial Diploma for admis-

sion to the first year of an undergraduate program. A minimum aver-

age of C+ is required based on mathematics. English. a science and a

language at the Advanced Level and English plus three academic

subjects at the Provincial Level chosen from the following: biology.

chemistry. physics. geography. history. literature, mathematics and

computer science.

Note:

University transfer courses may not be used as part of the

ABE Provincial Diploma for admission to UBC.

University of Northern British Columbia

Applicants may enter UNBC after successful completion of the

ABE Provincial Diploma. A minimum of C+ average is required

based on an applicant's performance in English. Math (Algebra)

and at least one Science course at the Advanced Level. At the Pro-

vincial Level applicants must present evidence of successful com-

pletion of English plus three additional courses selected from: Alge-

bra. Biology. Chemistry. Computer Science. Geography.

Geometry. History. Literature, or Physics.

University of Victoria

Provincial Adult Basic Education Diploma

The Provincial Adult Basic Education Diploma is recognized for

entry to the first year of an undergraduate program. A minimum C+

average is required based on Algebra. English. a laboratory science.

and a second language (all at the advanced level), and English plus

three academic subjects chosen from Biology. Chemistry. Physics,

Earth Science. Geography, Literature. History. Mathematics (aca-

demic). Computer Science. Calculus, and Languages (all at the pro-

vincial level).

In addition, holders of the P.A.B.E.D. must be 19 years of age or

over prior to the beginning of the session applied for. University

level courses used to obtain the Diploma will not be recognized for

transfer credit at the University of Victoria.

Trinity Western University

Students possessing an ABE Provincial Diploma will be admitted to

'FV'U without restriction subject to the following conditions:

At least four academic courses have been successfully completed.

one of which must be English.

The minimum recommended average is C+ standing.

We request that grades appear as letter grades' on the transcript

(which must accompany the diploma).

International students from non-English speaking background

will still be required to submit an acceptable TOE FL score.

A.B.E. in B.C. - 1998-99 Articulation Handbook

- ?