Correspondence – Online Self Study – Requirements

Who is Eligible?

Age Requirements:

  • Adult Correspondence courses students must be 18 years of age or older on the first day that classes begin and NOT in full-time attendance in a Secondary School.
  • If a correspondence student is 16 -18 years of age and NOT in full-time attendance in a Secondary School, permission is required from your Secondary School Principal and a parent/guardian signature is required.
  • If a correspondence student is under 18 and still registered at a high school full-time, additional course fees per course will be requested.

ID Requirements:

  1. Proof of Status in Canada (any of the following):
    • Permanent Resident Card
    • Refugee Papers and Photo ID
    • Status Card and Photo ID
    • Canadian Birth Certificate and Photo ID
    • Canadian Citizenship Card or Certificate and Photo ID
    • Canadian Passport
  2. Photo ID (to accompany any documents listed above without a photo, we cannot accept a Health Card)
  3. High School Transcript, Graduation Credit Summary, or Canadian Language Benchmarks
  4. Proof of Current Mailing AddressWe cannot accept a Driver’s License or Cellphone Bill, but can accept any of the following:
    • Utility Bill (Water, Gas, or Electricity)
    • Property Tax Bill
    • Home Phone/Internet/ Cable Bill
    • Purchase/ Rental/ Lease Agreement
    • Bank Document
    • Report Card

Language Requirements

  • Students who wish to earn secondary school credits and previously attended or are currently attending ESL/LINC classes must provide verification of Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) 6 in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Current High School Students

  • Students who attended regular high school in the last year must have a Principal to Principal Transfer Request Form sent to St. Louis prior to registration.  Ask your current high school Guidance Counsellor to initiate this transfer request form.

Graduation Expectations

To earn your Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), there are compulsory and elective credits, as well as community involvement activities to successfully complete.  You may be eligible to have your life and work experienced reviewed by a Guidance Counsellor through a Prior Learning and Assessment Recognition (PLAR) to count toward the credits needed.

30 Secondary School Credits

The current Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) requires you to achieve 30 Secondary School credits.

At St. Louis, we offer courses for credit, using

To find out how many credits you have and still need to complete your OSSD,  request your transcript from your last high school or adult education and bring to your Guidance Intake appointment.

During this appointment, Guidance can help you:

  • determine if you are eligible for PLAR,
  • review how many credits you actually need and
  • find the pathway that is for you to reach your next goal.

If you are upgrading a credit to pursue a pre-requisite for post-secondary, a transcript is required for Guidance Intake.

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) is a compulsory standardized test for ALL secondary school students in Ontario who wish to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).

The OSSLT is not offered at St. Louis. We offer the OLC4O course (Ontario Literacy Course) which replaces the need for the test, and fulfills the literacy requirement of the OSSD.  This OLC course is available through St. Louis online or remote learning day classes.

Community Service Hours

Even as an adult, you are required to complete and submit records of community involvement. Once you have registered for a credit course at St. Louis and are working toward your high school diploma, guidance counsellors will review with you how many hours you  still need to complete this graduation expectation. Don’t let this important record stand between you and your Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)!

For your convenience, here is a link to the Volunteer Waterloo Region where you can search for volunteer opportunities.

For more information on any graduation requirement, please see your Guidance Counsellor.