Will Alberta students be able to apply for university without a diploma exam mark?
November 04, 2020
Original Article: https://globalnews.ca/news/7401915/alberta-optional-diploma-exams-university-applications/
With diploma exams now optional for Alberta students this term, questions are being raised about what that means for those hoping to apply to university.
Earlier this week, Alberta Education said diploma exams will be optional for students this October and November. No decision has been made yet on whether diploma exams will be mandatory or optional for the upcoming terms.
On Friday, the University of Alberta said without a diploma exam mark, students will still be able to apply at the university. The university will accept final, first-quarter grades from the 2020-21 school year as presented on the Alberta Education transcript, regardless of whether students have written their diploma exams.
The U of A said it will continue to follow this practice for any future instances where diploma exams are made optional or cancelled by Alberta Education in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The university noted that international applicants who are required to demonstrate English Language Proficiency and had intended to fulfill that requirement using English Language Arts 30-1 will only be able to do so if they write the diploma exam. If students don’t write the diploma exam, they will be required to demonstrate ELP with acceptable scores in an English language proficiency test, according to the U of A.
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