Provincial Scholarships/Exams

GRADUATION PROGRAM EXAMINATIONS SCHOLARSHIP

The Graduation Program Examinations Scholarships reward graduating students in BC for academic excellence in their provincial examinations from grades 10 to 12. Scholarships are intended to assist in tuition for furthering a student’s post-secondary education.

The Ministry will grant $1000 and $2500 scholarships based on BC provincial exam results to those students who meet established criteria.

As a result of the cancellation of optional provincial examinations as of September 1, 2011, the Provincial Scholarship Program has been revised.

For students graduating on or after September 1, 2011, the following rules apply:

• Students must achieve at least a "B" (73% or above) final mark (provincial exam and school mark combined) in one of the Language Arts 12 (Communications 12, English 12, Francais langue premiere 12, or English 12 First Peoples).

• Students must achieve at least one "A" (86% or higher) and three "B"s (73% or higher) on four of his or her best provincial exams (can include the Language Arts 12 provincial exam).

• The examination rewrite rule will be relaxed for one year (September 1, 2011 to August 31, 2012) to allow students to rewrite a required exam to improve their scores. This allows students in Grade 11 or 12 to re-write the grade 10 or 11 provincially required exams to improve their scores.

• AP and most IB scores will no longer count towards scholarship.

Students can access all of their provincial exam scores through the Student Secure Web at https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/tsw/tsw/student/welcome.jsp They will need to create an account. The PEN number is available on their report card.

PASSPORT TO EDUCATION PROGRAM

Each year, every high school in BC is given a specific number of stamps to award to students in Grades 10 – 12. In order to earn a Passport Award a student must meet the following criteria:

• For Grade 10 and 11 stamps (each worth $250):

Two-thirds of the weighting is on the academic component using a student’s course grades for the best five provincially authorized courses and/or Board Authority authorized (BAA) courses that result in a percent or letter grade. These grades must be final or projected final grades. External credentials, including AP (Advanced Placement) or IB (International Baccalaureate) courses may be used. (Locally developed courses should not be included.)

One-third of the weighting should recognize the non-academic components such as effort, work habits, citizenship and school/community involvement. Schools should set more specific criteria for this component, following these general guidelines.

A student does not have to be a graduate to earn a Grade 10 and/or Grade 11 stamp.

• For Grade 12 stamp (worth $500):

Two-thirds of the weighting is on the academic component using a student’s course grades for the best five provincially authorized courses and/or Board Authority authorized (BAA) courses that result in a percent or letter grade. These grades must be final or projected final grades. External credentials, including AP (Advanced Placement) or IB (International Baccalaureate) courses may be used. (Locally developed courses should not be included.)

2. One-third of the weighting is based on a student’s Graduation Transition Standards, also recognizing effort, work habits, citizenship and school/community involvement.

3. A student should be a graduate to earn a Grade 12 stamp.