The Independent Learning Centre (ILC) is an Ontario government-operated virtual/correspondence high school that offers a wide range of credit courses.
It can be a faster, cheaper, better option for homeschoolers or international students who wish to earn Ontario high school credits and/or an Ontario high school diploma without needing to set foot in an Ontario classroom.
Fun facts:
- Wide range of high school credit courses.
- An Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) can be earned entirely via ILC courses.
- All necessary 4U level university preparation courses for admission to STEM programs are offered (ENG4U, MHF4U, MCV4U, SCH4U, SPH4U or SBI4U, other 4U/4M electives). All prerequisite courses from grade 9 to 11 can also be taken.
- Homeschoolers from Ontario pay only $40 per course. A full year course load of 8 credits will cost you only $320/year. Homeschoolers can enrol directly.
- International and non-Ontario residents pay $500 per course. A full year course load of 8 credits will cost you only CAD $4000/year. Other online high schools, such as Virtual High School, have similar pricing ($449 to $549). No travel or home stay costs as you can stay in your home country. The downside is that you will not necessarily be surrounded by English speaking students and teachers. International and non-Ontario students can enrol directly.
- Students currently registered in an Ontario public or private school fall under different rules. See below for more details.
- Credits are as legitimate as they come as the ILC is operated by the provincial government. It is not a private school.
- Assignments are accepted on the honour system, while final exams (which you must earn a passing grade on) are written under the supervision of a trusted local invigilator.
- Students can obtain an OSSD without taking grade nine or ten courses.
- Complete courses at your own pace, faster or slower than in mainstream schools.
- Free tutoring and support offered by ILC staff teachers.
- All course materials are provided free of charge.
Students currently attending an Ontario private or public school:
- Students currently registered in an Ontario public or private high schools and wish to remain in that school must arrange registration through their day school. Note that your school must pay ILC a tuition fee, which must come out of your school’s own funds. My guess is that the fee is something close to the $500/course charged to international students. Your school/board may also offer its own E-Learning courses.
- Students who are currently registered in an Ontario public or private school who wish to transfer to ILC (i.e. stop attending day school and begin homeschooling) will need to file a PPM131 form (notification of home schooling) with their local school/board, have it signed by a school/board official, and get the signed copy back in order to prove to ILC that they are not in day school.