Admissions
Regardless of your approach to educating at home, there is an option to fit your family.
Enrolling
As a distributed learning student
The Enrolled option is the most complete support program offered at HCOS. BC Certified teachers support each family’s desired approach to learning at home while meeting the BC Ministry of Education’s curricular requirements. Resource budgets are available to assist with purchasing curriculum, lessons, online courses, face to face learning opportunities and more.
Choose the Enrolled option if:
- You want the support and guidance of a BC certified teacher
- You want feedback on your student’s work
- You want the funding allocated to enrolled students for curricular support
- You want full access to all the support options available to students at HCOS
- You are committed to regular reporting and communication with your teacher
- You are looking to earn a Dogwood Graduation Certificate
Registering
As a traditional homeschooler
The registered option is an alternative method of home learning. This approach provides the freedom to school outside of the BC educational system. We welcome and support registered students by providing support from our Registered Homeschool Liaison, consultation with our Curriculum Consultant, and access to resources in the Learning Commons.
Choose the Registered option if:
- You want to direct your home education program without the guidance of a teacher
- You do not want the requirements of reporting
- You do not want resource funding
- You are not looking for a Dogwood Graduation Certificate
Note regarding Dogwood Diplomas: The BC Graduation requirements begin building in Grade 10. If students are transferring from Registered to Enrolled to obtain a Dogwood, this is the recommended grade to do so.
Enrolled vs Registered
At a glance
Enrolled
Registered
Freedom to select the curriculum of your choice.
Access to HCOS Learning Commons and Subscriptions.
(with limits)
Meet the BC Ministry of Education Learning Standards and participate in provincial testing such as FSAs and Grad Program assessments.
Educational programming is guided and evaluated by a certified teacher.
Eligible to receive a BC Dogwood Graduation Certificate.
Eligible to receive BC Ministry of Education funding.
Ready to get started?
Apply now
Tuition and Resources
As a Group 1 Independent Online School in BC, we are eligible to receive partial funding from the provincial government. This funding provides us with 50% of what a Public DL School receives. In order to make up some of the gap between the funding received and the costs of a school, a variety of alternative revenue streams are pursued, including curriculum sales & licensing, fundraising, and fees for various services and programs. In addition, a small tuition is charged for enrolled students. There is no tuition charge for Registered students.
We recognize that paying tuition to home educate is difficult. We are committed to keeping this as minimal as possible and we are regularly looking for opportunities to reduce the impact. We believe that no family should be unable to home educate due to finances and so we offer multiple tuition assistance options.
In order to provide flexible, personalized learning plans, we allocate resource budgets for students to assist with purchasing curriculum, lessons, online courses, face to face learning opportunities and more. In collaboration with the teacher, a learning plan is developed making use of these resources.
Tuition amount (per student)
$200 per year or $20 per month
- Tuition is charged only for the first three K-9 children in a family. The fourth child and on are free.
- One-time payment releases full resource budget amount immediately.
- Monthly payment option available through pre-authorized debit (paid September to June) releases $350 initially and the remaining amount after first payment.
- Tuition is non-refundable.
Resource Budget (per student)
$600
- Available for third-party or internal spending.
K - 9 Tuition Assistance Options
Home educating already requires financial sacrifice. In order to ensure access for all students, regardless of finances, we provide two assistance options:
$0 Tuition option
- No application necessary. Simply select this option.
- $0 tuition
- $350 Resource Budget (Available for third-party or internal spending)
Bursary Option
- Apply for a bursary. This process will be simple and non-invasive.
- Bursary will offset full $200 tuition cost in most cases*
- $600 Resource Budget (Available for third-party or internal spending)
* Bursary allocation will be determined by the volume of bursary applications and the available bursary finances.
For information on tuition, resources and bursaries, see HCOS Tuition & Resources and Tuition & Bursary Family FAQs.
