The BC Adult Graduation Diploma:
Questions and Answers

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What is the name of the adult credential?

The official name of the adult credential is the British Columbia Adult Graduation Diploma, but it is also known informally as the “Adult Dogwood.”

What about the regular Dogwood Diploma?

Adults may choose to do the regular Dogwood Diploma through the Ministry of Education (MEd). All articulated post-secondary ABE courses can be used for credit towards either the regular or Adult Dogwood.

What about the GED®?

The GED® (General Educational Development) certificate is not the same as the Adult Dogwood diploma. The Ministry of Education discontinued the GED® program at the end of 2014.

When was the BC Adult Graduation Diploma (BCAGD) implemented?

The BCAGD was implemented on September 1, 1999.

Who will issue the BC Adult Graduation Diploma?

Post-secondary institutions will request the diplomas from AEST (at AEST.PostSecondaryProgsBr @gov.bc.ca) and issue them from the registrar’s office. The BCAGD is a joint AEST/MEd document signed by both ministers. Students may take their post-secondary course(s) back to the school district and apply for their diploma through the school district and MEd.

Who will issue the transcripts for the diploma?

The institution issuing the diploma takes responsibility for the student and identifies which courses have been used to qualify for the diploma, both internal and transfer courses.

Students combining courses from the two systems for the diploma will need to include all relevant transcripts in situations where they need to verify their courses and grades.

Does a student have to take at least 3 of the courses used towards the Adult Dogwood as an adult?

Yes, 3 courses should have been completed after turning 18 years old. A student may use Prior Learning Assessment (where available) as an adult to get credit for up to 3 courses used towards the diploma.

What if a student is missing one or two courses from his/her high school graduation?

If the student is school aged, they are still able to complete the graduation program.

If the student has turned 18, they can choose to finish the graduation program for a regular Dogwood or switch over to the adult graduation program for an Adult Dogwood.

Does a student have to take a minimum number of courses used towards the Adult Dogwood from the institution granting the Adult Dogwood?

Yes, at least one course from the institution granting the diploma. The other eligible courses may be brought from another institution(s) or school district.

Can a student use courses taken a long time ago for credit towards the Adult Dogwood?

Yes, as long as they were Ministry-authorized courses at the time, and they have completed three courses as an adult.

What courses are eligible? Can Communications 12 be used as the Language Arts 12? Can Accounting 11 be used for the Mathematics 11?

All courses must be ministry-authorized Ministry of Education or Advanced Ed, but only certain courses are eligible to satisfy the Language Arts requirements and the Math requirements.

Yes, Communications 12 can count towards the Language Arts 12 requirement, but so can English 12, English First Peoples and any of the French versions of these courses. With Math, the same idea as there are several courses that can satisfy the Math requirement,

(i.e. Apprenticeship and Workplace, Foundations, Pre-Calc, Accounting) but it is incumbent upon the student to ensure they take the appropriate Math or English course if they are planning to take post-secondary studies as most programs have specific course requirements for entrance.

Please note that Communications 12 was discontinued in the 2018/19 school year.

What is meant by “Three additional courses at the Provincial Level or higher”?

The Provincial level means that the course has to be articulated as an ABE Provincial Level course and be listed on a transfer grid in the ABE Articulation Handbook (either this Handbook or a previous one). A higher level course means that the course is a university transfer course and listed on the BCCAT website.

For non-academic courses, refer to List 2 on the Framework. For the trades and other programs, courses can be used if there is a written agreement with the school, or if the course is listed in the college’s calendar and is used towards a credential for a certificate, diploma or degree.

Do the three additional Post Secondary courses at the Provincial Level or higher have to be from different subject areas?

No they could all be from the same subject area.

Where can I find out more information about course requirements and graduation requirements?

Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training:

This Articulation Handbook is the AEST authorized guide to ABE course information and graduation requirements. Eligible courses include any advanced Mathematics or higher, any provincial English or higher, and any provincial level courses or higher. Higher than provincial level courses may or may not be accepted for university transfer if they have also been used towards the BCAGD. Students using the Articulation Handbook need to check with the receiving department/institution.

Ministry of Education:

The main MEd website for the Adult Graduation Program is https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/adult-education/graduate-high- school/bc-adult-graduation-diploma-program

The graduation requirements are also included in the Handbook of Procedures (Chapter 3)

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/handbook/

The MEd has determined that all ABE courses from British Columbia’s public post-secondary institutions will be recognized for credit toward completion of the BCAGD.

All Ministry-authorized courses from Ministry of Education, at the Grade 12 level, plus Social Studies 11, can meet the requirements for the Adult Graduation Diploma. For a listing of all courses, please see the Course Registry at: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/datacollections/course_registry_web_search/search-home.en.php

New curriculum website: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/

For the BC Post-Secondary System Qualifying Courses, what courses (other than the academic ones) are eligible from List 2?

For the trades and other programs, courses can be used if there is a written agreement with the school, if the course is listed in the college’s calendar and is used towards a credential for a certificate, diploma or degree.

What English course can be used as the BC Post-Secondary Provincial Level English?

As long as the English course has been articulated as a Provincial level English course by the ABE English Working Group and is on the ABE English transfer grid, then it can be used.

What math course can be used as the BC Post-Secondary math towards the Adult Dogwood?

As long as the math course has been articulated as an Advanced level math course, or higher, by the ABE Mathematics Working Group and is on the ABE Mathematics transfer grid, then it can be used.

The tables below indicate which ABE post-secondary courses have been deemed equivalent (80% match of prescribed learning outcomes) to the MEd courses and which ones are external (MEd authorized for credit towards a graduation diploma). MEd course equivalency policies are outlined at the beginning of chapter 2 of the Handbook of Procedures: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/handbook/

 

ABE Post-Secondary Courses Authorized as Equivalent to Ministry of Education Courses

MED COURSE CODE	ABE POST-SECONDARY COURSE TITLE	MED EQUIVALENT COURSE	CREDITS	MEETS FOUNDATION STUDIES
MATHEMATICS
UABEF11	ABE Advanced Foundations of Mathematics (11)	Foundations 11	4	Mathematics
UABEM11	ABE Advanced Algebraic Mathematics (11)	Pre-Calculus 11	4	Mathematics
UABEM12	ABE Provincial Algebra and Trigonometry Mathematics (12)	Pre-Calculus 12	4	Mathematics
UABEL12	ABE Provincial Calculus (12)	Calculus 12	4	Mathematics
SCIENCE
UABEB11	ABE Advanced Biology (11)	Biology 11	4	Science
UABEB12	ABE Provincial Biology (12)	Biology 12	4	Science
UABEH11	ABE Advanced Chemistry (11)	Chemistry 11	4	Science
UABEH12	ABE Provincial Chemistry (12)	Chemistry 12	4	Science
EDUCATION AND CAREER PLANNING
UABER12	ABE Provincial Education and Career Planning (12)	Planning 12 Career Ed 12 (2017)	4	Planning 10

ABE courses at the “advanced level or higher” taken in the post-secondary system count for external credit and can be used for the math credit in the BCAGD.

External ABE Post-Secondary Courses Authorized for Ministry of Education Credit

MED COURSE CODE	ABE POST-SECONDARY COURSE TITLE	MEETS FOUNDATION STUDIES	CREDITS	CREDIT RESTRICTIONS BY CODE
UABEA 11	ABE Advanced Accounting (11)	Applied Skills	4
UABEC 11	ABE Advanced Computer Studies (11)	Applied Skills	4
UABEC 12	ABE Provincial Computer Studies (12)	Applied Skills	4
UABEE 11	ABE Advanced English (11)	English Language Arts 11	4	EN 11
UABEE 12	ABE Provincial English (12)	English Language Arts 12	4	EN 12
UABET11	ABE Advanced Business/Technical Mathematics (11)	Mathematics	4
UABED11	ABE Advanced Developmental Mathematics (11)	Mathematics	4
UABEP 11	ABE Advanced Physics (11)	Science	4	PH 11
UABEP 12	ABE Provincial Physics (12)	Science	4	PH 12
UABEG 11	ABE Advanced General and Applied Science (11)	Science	4
UABES 11	ABE Advanced Social Studies (11)	Social Studies	4	SS 11
UABES 12	ABE Provincial Social Studies (12)		4

N.B.: A Ministry of Education (MEd) approved External course is a MEd-authorized course. These courses are of equivalent or higher standard to other MEd-authorized senior secondary courses, but the learning outcomes differ.