Administrative Procedures 218
Course Challenge
External References:
 Education Act: Sections 85, 87, 109, 168, 169, 170,
175, 231
 Ministry of Education Registrar’s Handbook
 Ministry of Education Course Challenge Process
Policy and Procedure October 1998
Adopted:
June 28, 2011
Amended:
July 9, 2014
Internal References:
 Form 218-1 Intent to Challenge Course
Background
The Course Challenge Credit is intended to acknowledge those students who have acquired enough
knowledge in a subject area to make it redundant for them to enroll in a course. To accommodate
this, the Division offers a course challenge process for credit for particular prerequisite courses. All
challenges are to comply with Ministry of Education policy and Division administrative procedures.
Some students, because of their life experience, academic ability or efficient study habits, are able to
demonstrate a high level of achievement of the desired learning outcomes of a particular course
without spending the required hours enrolled in the course. The intention is to allow students to
demonstrate course requirements through a rigorous and comprehensive challenge in order to move
on to further learning.
Procedures
1. A maximum of two (2) Course Challenge Credits may be used as part of the twenty-four (24)
credits required for grade 12.
2. Courses can be challenged at the 10 or 20 levels. Only regular prerequisite courses may be
challenged.
3. Principals are authorized to administer the course challenge process. A course instructor who is
teaching the course and who has previously taught the course at least twice may supervise the
challenge process. If a course instructor is unavailable at the school, the Division will appoint a
qualified teacher.
4. A minimum of three (3) different assessment components will be required in the challenge process
and may be drawn from, but are not limited to, the following:
4.1
Listening assessment.
4.2
Written assessment.
4.3
Oral assessment.
4.4
Performance assessment.
4.5
Product assessment.
5. Assessment strategies within the challenge process are to reflect the method of learning normally
required in the course and are to measure the student’s achievement of the objectives of the
course.
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6. The student must attain eighty percent (80%) or higher through the challenge process in order to
be granted credit. The registration and mark shall be submitted to the Ministry of Education in the
same manner as for other courses of study.
7. Students shall not be allowed to challenge the same course a second time. The student will be
required to register in and successfully complete that course in order to receive credit for the
course.
8. Intent to Challenge
8.1
To challenge a course, the student must initiate the request with the Principal.
8.2
Students must submit Form 218-1 Intent to Challenge Course.
8.3
Assessment strategies for a challenge process will be developed by the course instructor
based upon course requirements. Course objectives, the assessment outline, and
assessment criteria are to be attached to the Intent to Challenge form.
8.4
Students shall take the responsibility for providing evidence of readiness to challenge a
course (i.e. combination of a ninety percent (90%) or higher mark in a prerequisite course,
evidence of exceptional ability, selections from a portfolio or other collection,
recommendation from a previous teacher, documentation of work experience, etc.)
8.5
Application must be made by December 1 for an assessment to conclude in January or
May 1 for an assessment to conclude in June.
8.6
The decision to proceed with a challenge process will be determined at the school level by
a team of at least three (3) individuals which may include, but need not be limited to,
teachers, the Principal and Superintendent of Education.
8.7
The determination shall include discussion of the student’s chance of successfully meeting
the acceptable standard for the course challenge, and the student’s capacity to enroll
successfully in the course at the next level.
8.8
If the Intent to Challenge is refused, the student is required to register in and successfully
complete that course in order to receive credit for the course.
8.9
Students will be notified of the approval or refusal of their Intent to Challenge within two (2)
weeks.
8.10
Students must undergo the challenge process within four (4) weeks of receiving approval of
their request.
8.11
If a student challenges a course and is successful, the student will enroll in a Special
Project Credit, a Career Work Exploration Credit, or a Correspondence Course, or a 20 or
30 level class in the field the course was challenged.
8.12
For recognition on the transcript, a course challenge should be submitted to the Registrar
in the form of a letter from the principal or designate. Credit recognition will appear on the
student’s transcript with the mark attained. The transcript will not indicate that the credit
was attained through the course challenge process.
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