Waiver of prerequisites

Prerequisites shown in Provincially Authorized Senior High School Courses and Course Codes and within the programs of study may be waived by the principal.

If the principal waives a prerequisite(s), the following conditions must be met:

• The student possesses the understandings from the waived prerequisite(s) for placement in the next or higher-level course.
• Judgement is made on an individual basis, not for an entire class of students.
• Consultation with the student and, where applicable, the parent or guardian has taken place.
• It is in the student’s best interest.

The principal must also take into consideration that a prerequisite course may be one in a series of courses required for admission into a post-secondary institution or to qualify for an external industry certificate, therefore requiring a final grade.

The principal will record in the student record the assessment of the individual student’s understanding for the waived prerequisite(s), which may include:

• an external certificate
• records from a junior high class
• a letter from a previous teacher or principal
• a credible portfolio
• an existing project that demonstrates the student’s knowledge, skills and attitudes
• evidence of self-study
• related on-the-job learning
• language and cultural experience

As waiving Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) courses is only available to students who have completed apprenticeship hours recognized by Apprenticeship and Industry Training, documentation of recognized apprenticeship hours is required in order to waive RAP courses (e.g., a student presents apprenticeship hours in a trade that were not previously part of high school RAP courses).

The principal will record the waiver of prerequisite(s) in PASI at the time of enrolling the student in the next or higher-level course in a given sequence.

The following prerequisites cannot be waived:

• Agriculture Safety (AGR3000) when enrolling in any Green Certificate Program courses
• any post-secondary institution (PSI) dual credit course when enrolling in the next or higher-level PSI dual credit course
• Workplace Readiness 10-4 when enrolling in Work Experience 15, 25, 35 or Workplace Practicum 20-4, 30-4 courses
• Workplace Safety Systems (HCS3000) when enrolling in any of the following:
  • Career Internship 10
  • Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) courses
  • Work Experience 15, 25, 35

Credits for Waived Prerequisites

Students who have a waived prerequisite(s) will receive credits for the waived prerequisite(s) upon successful completion of the higher-level course.

Exceptions

Students may not receive waived prerequisite credits for the following courses:

• Career and Technology Studies (CTS) courses
• Off-campus Experiential Learning
  • Career Internship 10
  • Green Certificate Program courses
  • Knowledge and Employability Workplace Readiness and Workplace Practicum courses
  • Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) courses
  • Work Experience courses
• Dual Credit
  • Post-secondary institution (PSI) dual credit courses
  • 3400-level First Period Apprenticeship courses
• English as a Second Language courses (proficiency level determines entry point)
• Locally Developed Courses (with the exception of locally developed language arts or language and culture courses)
• Special Projects courses

The following examples describe how credits may be awarded for prerequisite courses when a principal makes the decision to waive a prerequisite(s).

Examples:

• A student who is waived into English Language Arts 30-1 at the start of the term and successfully completes the course receives 5 earned course credits for English Language Arts 30-1 plus waived prerequisite credits for English Language Arts 10-1 and English Language Arts 20-1, for a total of 15 credits.
• A student successfully completing English Language Arts 10-2, 20-2, 30-2 and English Language Arts 30-1 receives 20 credits; however, waived prerequisite credits are not granted for English Language Arts 10-1 and English Language Arts 20-1 because the student transferred from a lower-level course to a higher-level course sequence. The student was not waived into English Language Arts 30-1.
• A student who successfully completes English Language Arts 10-1 and is subsequently waived into English Language Arts 30-2 will upon successfully completing English Language Arts 30-2 receive waived credits for the lower-level course, English Language Arts 20-2.

Upon the student’s successful completion of the next or higher-level course in a given sequence, the student will receive the waived prerequisite credits in PASI for the previous or lower-level course(s) in the course sequence. The Alberta Transcript of High School Achievement will report the previous or lower-level course(s) and credits awarded with a mark of “P” (Pass). The credits awarded for each waived course are the same as the number of credits achieved for the higher-level course completed.

Students may only earn waived prerequisite credits at the lower grade level if the student has not already completed courses in the same subject or discipline. For example, a student who has passed Social Studies 20-1 and successfully completes Social Studies 30-2 does not receive waived prerequisite credits in Social Studies 20-2, or a student who has completed French Language Arts 30-1 and successfully challenges French 30-9Y would only receive challenge credits for French 30-9Y and would not receive other waived prerequisite credits in French language courses.

Waived prerequisite credits are only possible when the student is missing the prerequisite(s) for a course and the principal waives the student into the course. When a student has the prerequisite(s) identified from an alternative sequence, waived prerequisite credits are not awarded. For example:

• The student successfully completes Instrumental Music 10 as a prerequisite to General Music 20. No waived prerequisite credits are awarded for General Music 10.
• The student successfully completes Biology 20 as a prerequisite to Science 30. No waived prerequisite credits are awarded for Science 20.
• The student successfully completes Mathematics 20-1 as a prerequisite to Mathematics 30-2. No waived prerequisite credits are awarded for Mathematics 20-2.

Retroactive Credits

This section applies to all students except mature students. See the criteria for mature students under Mature Students in the Diploma and Certificate Requirements section.

Students not achieving at least 50% in a course may repeat the course or, subject to the approval of the school principal, take a course in an alternative sequence. Students who successfully complete the next higher-level course in an alternative sequence shall be granted credit for the prerequisite course in that alternative sequence.

The following chart presents the only courses toward which retroactive credits may be applied:

Courses for which retroactive credits have been granted will have the course code and credits reported on the Alberta Transcript of High School Achievement.

A student shall be awarded retroactive credits automatically by Alberta Education when all of the following criteria are met:

• The student is registered by the principal in an approved course and receives instruction in the course in Semester “A”/School Year “A.”
• At the end of Semester “A”/School Year “A,” the principal reports that the student has failed in the registered course. A mark of less than 50% must be reported and recorded on the student’s file for the student to be eligible for retroactive credits in the following years.
• Pursuant to a specific school authority promotion policy, the student is registered by the principal in the next higher-level course in an alternative sequence in the following Semester “B”/School Year “B.”
• The principal subsequently submits into PASI, in the appropriate reporting period for Semester “B”/School Year “B,” a pass mark in the higher-level alternative course completed.