Fine Arts and Applied Skills Requirements in the Graduation Program

Date came into force or revised

Issued January 2004; deleted July 1, 2018

Status

Current

Policy statement

In order to graduate, a student must earn a minimum of 4 credits in the Fine Arts or the Applied Skills subject areas or both.

Rationale or purpose of policy

This policy provides guidelines for earning and reporting the credits in the Fine Arts and Applied Skills subject areas that are required for graduation.

Authority

See Ministerial Order 302/04, the Graduation Program Order (PDF)

Policy in full

Students must earn credits for Fine Arts or Applied Skills or both to meet the requirements for graduation.

Students have several options to earn the required 4 credits in the subject areas of Fine Arts or Applied Skills or both:

• Students may earn the required credits in Grade 10, 11 or 12 courses.
• They may earn the credits through Ministry-authorized external credentials.
• This may include 4 Ministry-authorized credits in Fine Arts or in Applied Skills.
• It may include  2 Ministry-authorized credits from  Fine Arts and 2 Ministry-authorized credits from Applied Skills.

Boards of Education have the flexibility to deliver programs in these subject areas that meet the needs of their students and communities. However, boards are required to offer a choice of a Fine Arts and an Applied Skills educational program to all students in the 2004 Graduation Program.

Program guides for Grade 10 subjects in the Fine Arts and Applied Skills areas are designed to provide flexibility in organizing and implementing curriculum, and to acknowledge the existing programs already in place. The learning outcomes in Grade 10 Fine Arts and Applied Skills Integrated Resources Packages (IRPs) can be delivered within a number of program models. For example, the learning outcomes for Technology Education 10 may be delivered as Technology Education 10 - Woodwork, Technology Education 10 - Drafting, or Technology Education 10 - Metalwork.

In some cases, students may earn credits for more than one course based on these Grade 10 Fine Arts and Applied Skills IRPs. Each course should address both the prescribed learning outcomes and the required content specific to the particular program model offered. Required Program Model Content charts outline content for each program model, which provides the framework within which the prescribed learning outcomes are delivered. If students take more than one course particular to a subject area, they must satisfy the learning outcomes in relation to the content for each program for which they receive credit. These course names are listed in the online Course Registry.

For Grade 10, four-credit courses should consist of 100 - 120 hours of instruction, and two-credit courses should consist of 50 - 60 hours of instruction, or the equivalent.

Detailed information about reporting credits in these subject areas is found  in the Handbook of Procedures, and list of courses that meet the requirements in the online Course Registry.

Procedures related to this policy

Students may earn credits toward the required 4 credits for Fine Arts or  Applied Skills or both, as set out in the online Course Registry, by successfully completing:

Ministry-authorized courses

• a Ministry-authorized Fine Arts Grade 10 course worth 2 or 4 credits, based on the learning outcomes in the appropriate Ministry program guides (IRPs) for: Music 10, Visual Arts 10, Drama 10, or Dance 10
• a Ministry-authorized Applied Skills Grade 10 course worth 2 or 4 credits, based on the learning outcomes in the appropriate Ministry program guides (IRPs) for: Business Education 10, Technology Education 10, Home Economics 10, Information Technology 10 
• a 4-credit Ministry-authorized Grade 11 course in the Fine Arts subject areas 
• a 4-credit Ministry-authorized Grade 11 course in the Applied Skills subject areas 
• a 2-credit course based on the prescribed outcomes of the Fine Arts 11 IRP 
• a 2-credit course based on the prescribed outcomes of the Applied Skills 11 IRP 
• a 4-credit Ministry-authorized Grade 12 course in the Fine Arts subject areas 
• a 4-credit Ministry-authorized Grade 12 course in the Applied Skills subject areas
  Board/authority authorized courses
• a 2- or 4-credit Grade 11 board/authority authorized (BAA) course that meets all the outcomes of the 2-credit Fine Arts 11 IRP and/or the 2-credit Applied Skills 11 IRP
  Grade 10 and 12 BAA courses satisfy the requirement for elective credits only in the graduation program.

Ministry-authorized external credentials

• the relevant number of credits for any Grade 10, 11 or 12 Ministry-authorized external credential that has been approved by the Ministry in the Fine Arts or Applied Skills areas.