SBI3U, Biology, Grade 11, University

Upgrade: SBI3U is OES’s dedicated retake version of Biology for students who have already taken SBI3U and want a higher mark for university or college applications. You complete the full Grade 11 course again with an Ontario Certified Teacher, and your new mark replaces the old one wherever institutions use your highest grade.

Upgrade: SBI3U is designed for current students whose mark fell short of a program cutoff, recent graduates strengthening an application, gap-year students reapplying, and mature students returning to studies. If your existing SBI3U mark is holding back your admission average, this course exists for exactly that.

Ontario universities and colleges use your highest SBI3U mark when calculating admission averages. Both attempts appear on your Ontario Student Transcript (a repeated course is noted, and the credit counts once), but the higher grade is what OUAC transmits into your average. A few competitive programs review repeated courses individually — check your target program’s policy.

Because SBI4U — the mark health-science programs actually require — builds directly on SBI3U’s genetics, anatomy, and cell biology. Students upgrade SBI3U to enter SBI4U with a stronger foundation, which typically translates into the higher Grade 12 biology mark competitive programs demand.

Upgrade: SBI3U at OES is self-paced with year-round registration, so you can finish in as little as 4 weeks or take up to 12 months. Students working against OUAC deadlines can accelerate; OES also offers a Fast Track option. Start early enough to submit your new mark before your programs’ deadlines.

Yes. You can take Upgrade: SBI3U after graduating high school — recent grads, gap-year students, and mature students upgrade marks at OES every year. You don’t need to be enrolled at a day school; OES handles your transcript and sends your new mark directly to OUAC or OCAS for your application.

No. You enrol directly with OES — no permission or referral from your current or former school is needed. If you are still enrolled at a day school, OES notifies it and your upgraded mark is added to your Ontario Student Transcript. If you have graduated, OES manages your transcript and reports your new SBI3U mark to OUAC or OCAS itself.

SBI3U meets the Ministry of Education’s attendance and participation expectations through activities blended directly into the course. OES requires students to log in at least once per week for attendance, and participation activities appear throughout the course and are reflected in the grade book — preserving self-paced flexibility while satisfying the requirements for online courses.

Yes. Ontario students who started Grade 9 in the 2020–21 school year or later must earn at least two online learning credits to graduate, and SBI3U at OES — a Ministry-inspected online school (BSID #667186) — counts toward that requirement. An opt-out process exists through school boards, and specific provisions apply to students affected by the 2021 school closures.

Ontario’s Growing Success policy pre-determines the evaluation structure for every credit. Beginning in the 2026–27 school year, SBI3U is graded on classroom work completed throughout the course (65%) plus a Ministry-mandated final evaluation worth 25% for Grades 11–12, with attendance and participation also reflected in the final grade. A credit is granted at 50% or higher — and as an inspected private school, OES may administer final evaluations online, while school-board online courses generally require in-person exam sittings.