How to improve an Alberta high school mark for post-secondary admission — repeating, rewriting or challenging — and what shows on the transcript.
Repeat the course — take it again and get a new school-awarded mark.
Rewrite the diploma exam — keep the course, improve the exam component.
Challenge the exam — for adults over 19, write it without taking the course and have the exam mark stand as the whole course mark.
Which applies depends on what you already have and what the receiving institution requires.
An Alberta transcript shows the highest school-awarded mark and the highest diploma exam mark earned. Upgrading can raise the number; it doesn't erase what came before, and you'll need to request and pay for a new transcript once new marks are in.
It depends entirely on the route and the provider. A rewrite is a single exam session on the published schedule. A repeated course runs a term. Programs vary in pace, and some are self-paced.
Work backwards from the application deadline of the program you're aiming for, not forwards from today — and confirm with that institution whether they'll accept an upgraded mark arriving at that date.
Adult learning centres, school division continuing education programs, colleges and polytechnics all offer upgrading, as do online providers. Costs, pace and support vary widely. Alberta's guidance on academic upgrading for adults is at alberta.ca.
Speak with an advisor at the institution you want to attend and ask exactly which courses and which marks they need. Upgrading a course the program doesn't require is expensive and slow, and it happens often.
Upgrading usually means learning material you last saw years ago, alone, while working. Finding the weak areas fast matters more in that situation than it does for a full-time student with a teacher. The free evaluation takes five minutes.
Sources: Alberta Education and Childcare, alberta.ca, and the Diploma Examinations Program General Information Bulletin. Requirements vary by institution and change — always confirm with the school, the institution's own admissions page, or a school counsellor before making a decision.
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