North Vancouver School District
the natural place to learnŠ
ParentsMailPortalCareers
Graduation Program Requirements

Students in British Columbia have multiple Graduation Program and Competition certificate options:

Dogwood Diploma:​

The B.C. Certificate of Graduation or "Dogwood Diploma" is awarded to students who successfully complete the provincial graduation requirements.
Students require a minimum of 80 credits to graduate.

Of these 80 credits:

  • At least 16 credits must be at the Grade 12 level, including a required Language Arts 12 and Career Life Connections
  • At least 28 credits must be elective course credits 
  • Effective July 1, 2023: At least 4 credits must have an Indigenous-focus (see Indigenous-Focused Graduation Requirements - Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca) for additional information)
  • 52 credits are required from the following: 
  • Career-Life Education (4 credits), and Career-Life Connections (4 credits) 
  • Physical and Health Education 10 (4 credits)
  • Science 10 (4 credits), and a Science 11 or 12 (4 credits)
  • Social Studies 10 (4 credits), and a Social Studies 11 or 12 (4 credits)
  • A Math 10 (4 credits), and a Math 11 or 12 (4 credits)
  • A Language Arts 10, 11 and a required 12 (12 credits total)
  • An Arts Education 10, 11, or 12 and/or an Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies 10, 11, or 12 (4 credits total) 

In addition, students must also complete three graduation assessments:​

  • The Grade 10 Numeracy Assessment was introduced in 2018
  • The Grade 10 Literacy Assessment was introduced in 2019/20
  • The Grade 12 Literacy Assessment will be introduced in 2021/22 


French Immersion/Francophone Dual Dogwood: 

French Immersion students can earn both a British Columbia Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma) and a Diplôme de fin d’études secondaires en Colombie-Britannique.
To graduate with both diplomas, French Immersion students must meet the graduation requirements for the Dogwood Diploma and, of these 80 credits, they must earn:

  • At least 16 credits at the Grade 12 level (including a Français langue seconde-immersion course at the Grade 12 level)
  • Français langue seconde-immersion 10 (4 credits)
  • A Français langue seconde-immersion course at the Grade 11 level (4 credits)
  • Français langue seconde-immersion 12 (4 credits)
  • At least 12 more credits in Grade 10, 11, or 12 courses that are in French with at least 4 of these credits at the Grade 11 or 12 level
  • In addition, French Immersion students must also complete four Provincial Graduation Assessments, three in literacy and one in numeracy.

Francophone students can earn both a British Columbia Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma) and a Diplôme de fin d’études secondaires en Colombie-Britannique.

To graduate with both diplomas, Francophone students must meet the graduation requirements for the Dogwood Diploma and, of these 80 credits, they must earn:

At least 16 credits at the Grade 12 level (including a required Language Arts 12 course)

  • An English Language Arts course at the Grade 10 level (4 credits)
  • An English Language Arts course at the Grade 11 level (4 credits)
  • A required English Language Arts course at the Grade 12 level (4 credits)
  • At least 12 more credits in Grade 10, 11, or 12 courses that are in French with at least 4 of these credits at the Grade 11 or 12 level
  • A Français langue première course at the Grade 10 level (4 credits)
  • A Français langue première course at the Grade 11 level (4 credits)
  • Français langue première – Français langue et culture 12 (4 credits)
  • In addition, Francophone students must also complete five Provincial Graduation Assessments, four in literacy and one in numeracy.


Adult Graduation Diploma

An adult high school diploma is the British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma (BCAGD), also known as the “Adult Dogwood.”  It is for adult learners (18 years of age and older) who want to take courses in order to complete high school and obtain their adult high school diploma.  Courses can be taken at school district continuing education centres and/or at one of the public post-secondary institutions that delivers Adult Education programs across the province.​

To graduate with an Adult Dogwood, students must have:
  • A required Language Arts 12 course
  • A Math 11 or 12 course 
  • At least three additional Grade 12 electives, or a Grade 11 Socials Studies course and two additional Grade 12 electives
  • Courses and credits can be counted from either or both the public secondary and post-secondary systems.

Of the five courses required for the Adult Dogwood, at least three must be completed after the adult student has entered the Adult Graduation Program, either through enrolment (instruction) or Prior Learning Assessment. This means that students can receive credit toward the Adult Dogwood for no more than two qualifying courses completed while in the B.C. (school-aged) Graduation Program. You cannot receive an Adult Dogwood using only courses completed prior to enrolling in the Adult Graduation Program.

Adult learners are not required to complete the Graduation Numeracy or Literacy Assessments to graduate with the Adult Dogwood. At the same time, adult learners should be aware that some post-secondary institutions may require that students write assessments/examinations for admission purposes.
School Completion Certificate Program


The School Completion (“Evergreen”) Certificate​

The School Completion (“Evergreen”) Certificate is intended to celebrate success in learning that is not recognized in a Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma).

It is used to recognize the accomplishments of students with special needs and an Individual Education Plan, who have met the goals of their education program, other than graduation (and not all students with special needs should be in an Evergreen Certificate Program.) 

The Evergreen Certificate is not a graduation credential; students who receive an Evergreen have not graduated. It is important that students and their parents clearly understand that the Evergreen represents the completion of personal learning goals but does not represent graduation.

Some students may be unable to meet graduation requirements due to their special needs. However, the decision to put a student in an Evergreen Program should not be made prior to Grade 10, and should include the informed consent of the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s).

All students of school age are entitled to an education program, whether or not that program leads to graduation. For students pursuing an Evergreen Certificate, their education program should enable them to meet their individual learning goals. Accordingly, they should have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that indicates their personal education goals, how the goals will be achieved, and on-going monitoring and assessment to know when the goals have been met and an Evergreen Certificate should be issued. Parents and, wherever appropriate, the student are to be provided an opportunity to be consulted about the preparation of the IEP.



Resources:

Ministry Graduation Requirements​

Ministry Graduation Program Certificates​

School Completion Program Certificate

BC Graduation Program Policy Guide​