Grad Requirements
In order to meet graduation requirements and be awarded a British Columbia Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma), students must earn a minimum of 80 credits and write provincial Graduation Numeracy and Literacy Assessments. The 80 credits include 52 credits for required courses (including 8 credits of Career Education courses) and a minimum of 28 elective credits.
Required Courses
Credits must be earned in the following subject areas or courses:
- A Language Arts 10 – (4 credits)
- A Language Arts 11 – (4 credits)
- A Language Arts 12 – (4 credits)
- A Social Studies 10 – (4 credits)
- A Social Studies 11 or 12 – (4 credits)
- A Mathematics 10 – (4 credits)
- A Mathematics 11 or 12 – (4 credits)
- A Science 10 – (4 credits)
- A Science 11 or 12 – (4 credits)
- Physical and Health Education 10 – (4 credits)
- An Arts Education and/or an Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies 10, 11, or 12 – (4 credits)
- Career Life Education – (4 credits)
- Career Life Connections – (4 credits)
- Indigenous-focused course(s) – (4 credits)*starting 2022/2023 school year – this requirement will be met by grade 11 students taking English First Peoples – Literary Studies + New Media 11 or English First Peoples – Literary Studies + Writing 11 (link to detailed overview)
A list of all courses that may be used to satisfy these requirements is found in the online Course Registry. Information about options for satisfying the requirements for Fine Arts and/or Applied Skills (4 credits) is found in the Fine Arts and Applied Skills Requirements in the Graduation Program Policy and in the Handbook of Procedures for the Graduation Program.
Electives
Students must complete a minimum of 28 elective credits. These 28 credits may be from Ministry-authorized or Board/Authority Authorized (BAA) courses, post-secondary courses or external credentials, but not Locally Developed courses. Once the credits for required courses have been met, additional courses in that subject area count as elective credits.
Provincial Graduation Assessments
Students must write a provincial Graduation Numeracy Assessment (GNA) and a provincial Graduation Literacy Assessment (GLA) in order to graduate. The first administration of the Graduation Literacy Assessment will be in 2019/20.
Capstone Project
A Capstone Project is a culminating presentation that will allow students the opportunity to showcase and demonstrate their journey of discovery during their time at Highland. Students will be expected to reflect on their school and community experiences that have helped shape who they are. They will also be expected to demonstrate growth in the core competencies (Communication, Creative and Critical Thinking, Personal and Cultural Identity, Personal Awareness and Social Responsibility).
Lastly, they will need to speak to the research they have completed to demonstrate their preparation for life after graduation.
For students, your course information can be accessed through Canvas at comoxvalleyschools.instructure.com
For more information, see the Power Point or Word Document here:
Graduation Planner
If you live in British Columbia or are planning to study in British Columbia, Education Planner BC can help you compare post-secondary options.
