Before the rise of online high school courses in Ontario, students typically had to attend traditional, brick-and-mortar secondary institutions to get their diplomas. Excluding those who attended in-person private schools, students had no choice but to attend public schools within their particular geographical regions—that is, within their “boundary maps.”

These students often had few public schools to choose from, especially those who lived in underpopulated and rural areas. Students living in wealthier boundary maps tended to have access to public secondary schools with more funding, resources, and one-on-one attention, as well as higher retention and graduation rates.

Now, thanks to the rise of fully accredited private online high schools in Ontario, students are no longer limited to attending schools within their boundary maps. They have more options.

Students can now choose to attend an Ontario online high school, like OES, which may offer more flexibility, better resources, and a larger selection of classes than schools within their boundary maps.

If you’re a high school student interested in taking online courses at OES that count toward your Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), it would help to know about OSSD requirements. This will give you peace of mind knowing that every online course you take at OES will count toward your diploma and you can go on to attend the post-secondary institution of your choice.

What is an OSSD?

An Ontario Secondary School Diploma is the diploma students in Ontario obtain when they graduate from high school. The Ministry of Education determines the credits Ontario students must accrue to obtain their OSSD, and once a student obtains their OSSD, they can apply to colleges and universities in and outside of Canada.

Private schools in Ontario, including OES, operate independently from the Ministry of Education and must meet certain requirements to grant their students OSSDs. OES is ministry certified and meets these requirements.

How to Obtain Your OSSD through OES

The same organizations that accredit traditional high schools in Ontario accredit OES. That means the credits you obtain by taking online courses here are approved by Ontario’s Ministry of Education and count toward your OSSD. In fact, you can start and finish high school online in Ontario by taking courses at OES only.

Another way to obtain your OSSD is to combine the online courses you take at OES with the courses you take at your main school of registration within your boundary map. If you choose this route, we will work with your home school by sending them a report card every time you complete a course with us. Your home school will then add your grade in our class to your Ontario Student Record (OSR) and Ontario Student Transcript (OST).

OSSD Requirements

To meet the Ontario Ministry requirements and obtain their OSSD, students in Ontario—including out-of-province and international students who attend Ontario schools—must take 12 optional (elective) courses and 18 compulsory courses. You can do all of this at OES, or you can do this by taking courses with us as well as at your home school.

To meet the Ontario Ministry requirements, students must also:

• Pass the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)
• Complete 10 hours of community involvement per year (40 hours total)

Compulsory Credits

According to the Ontario Ministry of Education, to receive their OSSD, students must obtain the following credits:

• 4 credits in English (1 credit per grade)
• 3 credits in mathematics (at least 1 credit in Grade 11 or 12)

• 3 credits for group 1, 2 and 3 courses (1 credit in each group)
• 2 credits in science
• 1 credit in Canadian history (Grade 10)
• 1 credit in Canadian geography (Grade 9)
• 1 credit in the arts
• 1 credit in health and physical education
• 1 credit in French as a second language
• 0.5 credit in career studies
• 0.5 credit in civics and citizenship

More specifically, students must complete compulsory credits from each of the three following groups:

Group 1:

• English (including the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course) or French as a second language
• Native languages
• First Nations, Métis, and Inuit studies
• Classical and international languages
• Social sciences and the humanities
• Canadian and world studies
• Guidance and career education
• Cooperative education
• American Sign Language as a second language
• Langue des signes québécoise langue seconde

Group 2:

• Health and physical education
• The arts
• Business studies
• French as a second language
• Cooperative education
• American Sign Language as a second language
• Langue des signes québécoise langue seconde

Group 3:

• Science (Grade 11 or 12)
• Technological education
• French as a second language
• Computer studies
• Cooperative education
• American Sign Language as a second language
• Langue des signes québécoise langue seconde

Elective Credits

Ontario students must take 12 elective credits in addition to 18 compulsory credits to obtain their OSSD. Different schools offer different electives, so there’s no official list of the electives that students can choose from. Typically, however, Ontario students can take elective courses in the following areas:

• The arts
• Sciences
• Social Sciences
• English
• Mathematics
• Tech, business, and computer science
• Modern languages
• Physical education

At most secondary schools in Ontario, students can take more electives in grades 11 and 12 than in grades 9 and 10.

Depending on the school, optional courses in the arts may include courses such as dance and media studies; in business, entrepreneurial studies and accounting for small businesses; in English, creative writing and world literature.

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)

The OSSLT determines whether Ontario students, including private students, meet the minimum standard for literacy across all subjects up until the end of 9^th grade. Students typically take the OSSLT when they’re in grade 10. Note, however, that due to the pandemic, students graduating during the 2021-2022 school year do not have to take the OSSLT.

The OSSLT is a real-time, computer-based assessment that comprises two sessions, Session A and Session B. In total, there are 33 questions: 31 multiple-select questions and two constructed open response questions.

According to the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), the OSSLT “uses a testlet-based linear on-the-fly (tLOFT) design. In this method, test forms are generated in real-time through the selection of pre-constructed and pre-equated groups of questions and, where applicable, the associated reading selections. Each group generated under this model is mapped to a blueprint specifying criteria for the questions to be selected.” Students who’d like to prepare for the OSSLT can take a practice test online.

To meet Ontario’s literacy requirements, students at OES may take our grade 12 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test Course (OLC40). This course teaches students the literacy skills the OSSLT evaluates by having them write in a variety of forms—opinion pieces, news reports, summaries, etc.—and having them read a variety of texts – graphic, informational, narrative-based, etc. Our students complete OLC40 with a portfolio of their writing samples and reading records in hand. There are no prerequisites for taking OLC40.

Community Involvement Hours

In the past, students in Ontario needed to complete 40 hours of community involvement to obtain their OSSD. That amount has been reduced to 20 hours, due to the pandemic, for students graduating in the 2021-2022 school year. OES students who graduate in the 2022-23 school year will need to complete 40 hours of community involvement to obtain their OSSD.

Asking a guidance counsellor to point them in the right direction is a great way for our students to figure out how to involve themselves in their community. Our students may also:

• Peruse their district school board’s website for the full list of eligible and ineligible community involvement
• Discover community involvement activities at centres in their communities by visiting the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network
• Consult the Ministry of Education’s guidelines on Ontario secondary school diploma requirements for community involvement activities in English-language schools

Note that Ontario students don’t necessarily have to volunteer in their community to obtain hours of community involvement. They may also, for instance, obtain these hours by doing at-home activities like caring for a sibling or helping their elderly relatives make it to their medical appointments on time.

Types of Courses at OES

There are different types of compulsory and elective courses students can take in Ontario. OES offers:

• University prep courses (grades 11-12)
• College prep courses (grades 11-12)
• University/college prep courses (grades 11 – 12)
• Upgrade courses

In total, we offer over 60 courses. It’s not until our students reach grade 11 that they can choose from among the types of courses we offer, including upgrade courses like SPH3U – Physics (grade 11), as well as MCV4U – Calculus and Vectors (grade 12).

University Prep Courses (Grades 11-12)

University courses at OES are meant to prepare our students for further study at the university level.

OES offers the following university prep courses for Grade 11:

• ENG3U: English for University
• HSP3U: Intro to Anthropology, Psychology, & Sociology
• MCR3U: Functions
• SBI3U: Biology
• SCH3U: Chemistry
• SPH3U: Physics

Grade 12:

• CGW4U: World Issues
• CHI4U: Canadian History & Culture
• CIA4U: Economics
• CLN4U: Canadian & International Law
• ENG4U: English
• HFA4U: Nutrition and Health
• HHS4U: Families in Canada
• HSB4U: Challenges & Change
• MCV4U: Calculus and Vectors
• MDM4U: Data Management
• MHF4U: Advanced Functions
• PSK4U: Kinesiology
• SBI4U: Biology
• SCH4U: Chemistry
• SPH4U: Physics

College Prep Courses

OES college prep courses prepare students for further study at the college level. Our college prep courses include:

Grade 11:

• ENG3C: English for College
• MBF3C: Foundations for College Math
• PPZ3C: Health for Life
• SBI3C: Biology for College

Grade 12:

• ENG4C: English for College
• HHS4C: Families in Canada
• MAP4C: Mathematics for College
• MCT4C: Math for College Tech
• SCH4C: Chemistry for College
• SPH4C: Physics for College

University/College Prep Courses

OES university/prep courses prepare students for further study at both the university and college levels.

Grade 11:

• BAF3M: Financial Accounting Fundamentals
• CLU3M: Introduction to Canadian Law
• MCF3M: Functions & Applications

Grade 12:

• BAT4M: Financial Accounting
• BBB4M: International Business
• BOH4M: Business Leadership
• HSE4M: Equity & Social Justice
• SNC4M: Science

Upgrade Courses

If you’ve already graduated, or if you’re a mature student, you can return to school and improve your grades at an accelerated pace by taking one or more of our upgrade courses. To be eligible, you must have earned a final grade of at least 50% in the same course. You also must have completed the same course within the past 12 months.

OES offers 11 upgrade courses at the university, college, and university-college levels for grades 11 and 12. You can see our full list of upgrade courses here.

Compulsory vs Prerequisite Credits

Some universities in Canada require high school students to have certain prerequisites to get into certain programs. These prerequisite credits are not the same as compulsory credits.

Compulsory credits are credits high school students need to obtain their OSSD, whereas prerequisite credits are credits high school students need to get accepted into certain post-secondary programs.

Different post-secondary programs require different prerequisites, so be sure to research the post-secondary programs you plan to apply for well before applying.

The OUAC and the OCAS

For Ontario students to get accepted into universities in Ontario, they need to apply through the Ontario University Application Centre. For Canadian and international students to get accepted into colleges in Ontario, they need to apply through the Ontario College Application Services (OCAS). Fortunately, applying to OUAC or OCAS is fairly simple.

OUAC

Ontario secondary students must apply through the Ontario University Application Centre (OUAC) to be accepted by universities in Ontario, including students applying to undergraduate, teacher education, law, and medical degrees. The deadlines depend on the programs.

You can complete an OUAC application online, through their website.

OCAS

Secondary students in and outside of Canada must fill out the Ontario College Application Services (OCAS) to get accepted into colleges in Ontario.

The OCAS helps future college students learn more about colleges and college programs, access resources, request transcripts, research housing options, and more.

Ontario colleges offer what’s called an Equal Consideration Date; students who apply by February 1 receive equal consideration for admission to programs that start the following autumn.

You can complete the OCAS through their website.

Why Get Your OSSD Through OES?

Whether you’re a Canadian or mature student, and whether you’re under or over 18, OES offers you a broad selection of online compulsory and elective courses that count toward your OSSD and may offer more flexibility, resources, and one-on-one attention—among other benefits—than your home high school, private or public.

If you’re interested in enrolling, see here.