Adult and Mature Student Status:
- A mature student is defined as someone who, as of September 1 of the current school year :
- is over 19 years of age OR
- the holder of a previously awarded high school diploma from the province of Alberta, or an equivalent high school diploma from a jurisdiction acceptable to the Minister
- A mature student is eligible to enrol in a course at the senior high school level or to write a diploma examination without having completed the required prerequisite courses.
- The following prerequisites must be completed, including by mature students:
- any post-secondary institution (PSI) dual credit course prior to enrolling in the next or higher-level PSI dual credit course
- Workplace Readiness 10-4 before enrolling in Work Experience 15, 25, 35 or Workplace Practicum 20-4, 30-4 courses
- Workplace Safety Systems (HCS3000) before enrolling in any of the following:
- Career Internship 10
- Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) courses
- Work Experience 15, 25, 35
- A mature student may earn senior high school credits in non-diploma examination courses after successfully completing:
- courses offered by a school or school authority engaging in online learning or print-based distance education programs (ie: SGEC)
- A mature student may earn senior high school credits in diploma examination courses by successfully completing course instruction and the diploma examination, or by successfully challenging the diploma examination.
- A mature student who has achieved a standing of 50% or higher in a senior high school course, by any of the alternatives noted above, will automatically be awarded credits by Alberta Education for the prerequisites in that course sequence. The credits awarded for each prerequisite course will be the same as the number of credits achieved for the course completed. However, a mature student who completes a lower-level sequence and transfers to the highest course in a higher-level sequence will receive credits only for the courses completed. For example, a mature student completing Social Studies 10-2, 20-2, 30-2 and Social Studies 30-1 will receive 20 credits. See Credits for Waived Prerequisites, the second example, in the Awarding Course Credits section.
- The provision to automatically award credits to mature students for prerequisite courses does not apply to:
- Career and Technology Studies (CTS)
- Dual credit, dual-enrolled courses (courses that begin with the PSI prefix)
- English as a Second Language courses
- Locally developed courses, with the exception of locally developed language arts or language and culture courses
- Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) courses
- senior high K&E occupational courses, including Workplace Readiness 10-4, Workplace Practicum 20-4 and Workplace Practicum 30-4
- Special Projects 10–20–30
- Work Experience 15–25–35
- Workplace Safety Systems (HCS3000)
- Mature students do not need to complete PE10 and CALM
- Mature students who enrol in senior high school courses may earn the Alberta High School Diploma under the current diploma requirements. See Alberta High School Diploma Requirements in this section.
- Mature students who entered senior high school prior to 1994–1995 may meet the current requirements or the requirements that were in effect the year they entered high school. Appendix 2 contains a chart that outlines the requirements for years prior to 1994–1995.
- Students who are over 20 must pay a fee for their courses. See the section on our website about adult upgrading.