Mature students may obtain credits for prior learning through Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), a formal evaluation and credit granting process. This includes knowledge
and skills that mature students have acquired in both formal and
informal ways, outside of secondary school.
Eligibility for Mature PLAR:
Students must be 19 years of age on or before December 31st of the current school year; students who turn 18 after December 31 of the current school year must wait for the next school year to apply for PLAR.
Students must be out of school for 10 months prior to returning to school as a mature student; the admit and withdrawal dates must clearly show that the student has
been out of the regular high school system for a period of at least 10
months prior to returning to school as a mature student.
Students must have fewer than 26 credits
Students must earn their final four credits
Students
must be enrolled in credit classes through day school, night school,
summer school, correspondence or cooperative education. Note that students in a Literacy and Essential Skills program are not considered eligible. Students must be enrolled in a credit program before mature PLAR credits can be granted.
Students may be from outside of Ontario. In this case the student may have an equivalency done based on the
credits granted in another province/country. If a student cannot obtain a
transcript, then the student may start with a zero credit count and
write all five PLAR assessments and then apply for 11/12 equivalency
credits based on life and work experience. In the situation where a
student has come directly from another province or country and has not been out of school for at least 10 months, only the credit to credit equivalency would be done. The student would not be granted additional equivalent credits for life and work experience.