Population: 5,437,722
Number of K-12 Schools: 1,950
Number of K-12 Students: 680,013
.
Number of K-12 Distance Learning Programs: 69
Number of K-12 Distance Learning Students: 68,402

Note that these profiles are taken from the most recent edition of the report, please review additional annual profiles below.

Governance and Regulation

Historically, the Ministry of Education and Child Care regulated distributed learning through section 3.1 and section 75 (4.1) of the School Act, 2006 and section 8.1 of the Independent School Act, 2006. Beginning in 2018, the province undertook a consultative review that culminated in the passage of the Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2020, which changed the School Act and the Independent School Act in three key ways:

  1. changed the term “distributed learning” to “online learning;”
  2. enabled School Districts and Independent School Authorities to offer online learning courses and programs to some students without an agreement with the Minister
  3. required online learning schools to have an agreement with the Minister in order to enroll students from outside their district boundary (i.e.: out-of-district enrollment) or to enroll students who are simultaneously enrolled with another board or independent school authority (i.e., cross enrollment). (Government of British Columbia, 2020)

These changes began in 2021-22 with an “interim” year where former policies were replaced by interim online learning policies that were in effect until June 30, 2023. The 68 online learning schools that held Minister’s agreements at the time were issued interim agreements for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. These schools may continue to cross enroll and/or register out of district students (while also serving local, in-district students) until April 30, 2023.

At the end of the 2022-23 school year, a new Online Learning Model launched on July 1, 2023. In collaboration with Indigenous rightsholders and sector partners, the Ministry developed a single, comprehensive Online Learning Policy and Interim Procedures Guide, a governance framework for provincial online learning schools, and an Accountability and Quality Assurance Framework and Process (although the latter won’t be fully implemented until 2024-25). Following an expression of interest process, 21 public online learning schools operated by 18 boards and 16 independent online learning schools operated by 16 independent school authorities were selected by a review panel to become provincial online learning schools in 2021-22. The regulatory conditions for these provincial online learning schools – both public and independent – require each to sign a Ministerial Agreements to onboard to the new provincial learning management system and adhere to the new Accountability and Quality Assurance Framework and Process. A new website, Online Learning BC (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2023), launched that allows students and families to search for programs and courses. Finally, online learning schools without Ministerial agreements are now district online learning schools, which serve students residing within their district boundaries.

Funding for online learning schools differs from traditional brick-and-mortar schools. In brick-and-mortar schools, full-time K-12 students are funded one time in September at 100% for a program of studies. For online learning programs, there are multiple opportunities for funding due to continuous enrolment and cross-enrolment. For Kindergarten to Grade 7 students and Grades 8 to 9 students enrolled in a single school, there are three funding opportunities, depending on when the student meets eligibility requirements:

  • September (30th): online learning schools receive 100% of per pupil funding
  • February: online learning schools receive 50% of per pupil funding
  • May: online learning schools receive 33% of per pupil funding.

For Grades 8 to 9 students who are cross enrolled in an online learning school, the student is funded per enrolled online course(s) in July of the following year at the per course summer school rate. Grades 10 to 12 students are funded per enrolled course and can receive 100% funding in September, February, or May.

During the 2022-23 school year, the basic allocation per student (i.e., full-time equivalent or FTE) attending a public brick-and-mortar school was $7,885 vs. $6,360 per public online learning student. Group 1 independent schools received 50% of the public online learning per student amount (i.e., all independent online learning schools in the province have Group 1 Certification).

K-12 Distance and Online Learning Activity

The Ministry tracks student enrollment through the demographic data collections that occur in September, February, and May. These collections show the schools attended along with the demographic characteristics of students and programs provided to students. In 2022-23 there were a total of 69 online learning schools comprised of 21 public provincial online learning schools, 16 independent provincial online learning schools, and 32 district online learning schools that enrolled approximately 68,402 unique students in one or more courses.

K-12 Blended Learning Activity

As online learning is defined as primarily online and/or at a distance, there is implicit acknowledgement of the existence of blended learning in the province. Both online learning and in-person schools are able to offer blended programs. However, the Ministry of Education does not gather data on separate blended learning program enrolment.

References

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2023). Online learning BC. https://search.onlinelearningbc.com/

Government of British Columbia. (2020). Education Statutes Amendment Act, 2020. https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/bills/billsprevious/5th41st:gov08-1

Previous Provincial Profiles

History of K-12 E-Learning

K-12 distance education in Canada began in British Columbia in 1919, when the province began offering correspondence education to students living in isolated parts of the province (Toutant, 2003). This centralized system of correspondence education continued until 1984, when the province began to establish the first of nine regional correspondence schools (Dunae, 1997-2008). K-12 online learning began in British Columbia in 1993, with the introduction of New Directions in Distance Learning and the EBUS Academy. By 1994, the responsibility for distance education had largely shifted to individual school districts. Over the past two decades, both public district-based and independent online learning programs have proliferated considerable. Winkelmans, Anderson, and Barbour (2010) provide a comprehensive history of the development of K-12 distance education and e-learning in the province.

References

Dunae, P. A. (1997-2008). Correspondence education. The Homeroom. Nanaimo, BC: Vancouver Island University. Retrieved from https://www2.viu.ca/homeroom/content/topics/programs/corresp.htm

Toutant, T. S. (2003). Equality by mail: Correspondence education in British Columbia, 1919 to 1969. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC

Winkelmans, T., Anderson, B., & Barbour, M. K. (2010). Distributed learning in British Columbia: A journey from correspondence to online delivery. Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning, 14(1), 6-28. Retrieved from http://journals.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/index.php/JOFDL/article/viewFile/29/26

Vignettes

Brief Issue Papers

Individual Program Survey Responses

 

 Program  Most recent response   Medium   # of Students   # of Teachers   # of Courses 
Abbotsford Virtual School
avs34.com
2018-19 Online
Blended
2,900 online
40 blended
16 full time
6 part time
14 blended
95 online
55 blended
Anchor Academy
www.ark.net/
2018-19 Online
Correspondence
872 30 full time
5 part time
114 (gr. 10-12)
full K-9 program
ASCEND Online
www.ascendonline.ca
2021-22 Online
Correspondence
542 17 full time
12 part time
~50 (gr. 10-12)
full K-9 program
Bulkley Valley Education Connection
www.schoolius.com/school/1507332162859575/
Bulkley+Valley+Education+Connection
2022-23 Online
Correspondence
520 2 full time
1 part time
60
Burnaby Online Program
online.burnabyschools.ca
2019-20 Online 2,200 (2018-19) 7 full time
8 part time
70 secondary
full K-7 program
Choices DL
sd70.bc.ca/school/cdl
2016-17 Online
Correspondence
Blended
200 FTE distance*
60% students blended
4 full time
all blended
40 grades 8-12
full K-7 program
Christian Homelearners eStreams
www.estreams.ca
2017-18 Online
Correspondence
200 7 full time
3 part time
some grades 10-12
full K-9 program
Coquitlam Open Learning
www.sd43.bc.ca/col/Pages/landing.aspx
2016-17 Online
Correspondence
Blended
~2,500 distance 7 full time
18 part time
3 blended
35+ distance
3 blended
Creston Homelinks
homelinks.sd8.bc.ca
2016-17 Online
Correspondence
Blended
130.5 FTE distance*
130.5 FTE blended*
3 full time
3 part time
6 blended
42 secondary
full K–9 program
Delta Access
www.deltasd.bc.ca/content/programs/deltaaccess
2022-23 Online ~125 FTE 17 part time 47
Distance Education School of the Kootenays
desk.sd8.bc.ca
2015-16 Online
Correspondence
Blended
1,000 distance
14 blended
5 full time
3 part time
1 blended
33 distance
1 blended
Diversity by Design DL Academy
diversitybydesign.ca
2012-13 Online
Correspondence
100 2 full time
7 part time
~80
Ebus Academy
ebus.ca
2021-21 Online ~1100 FTE 46 full time
5 part time
~137
École Virtuelle CSF
ecolevirtuelle.csf.bc.ca/
2014-15 Online
Blended
204 online
12 blended
6 part time online
1 full time blended
19 online
1 blended
Education Outreach Program
eopmoodle.sd83.bc.ca/
2017-18 Online ~500 2 full time
2 part time
108
eSchoolBC
www.eSchoolBC.com
2017-18 Online
Blended
3,000 online
3,000 blended
6 full time
6 part time
6 blended
60 online
10 blended
Fraser Valley Distance Education School
www.fvdes.com
2012-13 Online
Correspondence
~3,500 30 full time
1 part time
~150
The Grove (Cowichan Valley Distributed Learning)
www.cowichanopenlearning.ca/dl.html
2019-20 Correspondence
Online
Blended
125 full time (K-9)
50 FTE (gr. 10-12) distance
125 blended
6 full time
2 part time
3 blended
~60 secondary
125 K–9 program
Hands-On Home-Learning
oakandorca.ca/handson/index.html
2014-15  Correspondence (PDFs) 82  12 part time
Heritage Christian Online School
www.onlineschool.ca
2021-22 Online
Correspondence
Blended
6,775 distance
1,108 blended
69 full time
128 part time
97 blended
~430 distance
75+ blended
Home Learners Program at Hume Park
humepark.ca
2020-21 Online
Correspondence
139 2 full time
3 part time
full K-9 program
Home Quest
homequest.deltasd.bc.ca/home
2021-22 Online 150 5 full time full K-9 program
Island ConnectEd K-12
island-connected.sd68.bc.ca/
2020-21 Online
Correspondence
Blended
3,515 42 full time
5 part time
full K-9 program
65 secondary
Juan de Fuca Distributed Learning
jdfdl.web.sd62.bc.ca/
2015-16 Online
Correspondence
2,800 distance
1200 blended
8 full time
22 part time
23 blended
55 distance
26 blended
Kamloops Open Online Learning
kool.sd73.bc.ca
2018-19 Online
Blended
2,500 distance
500 blended
3 full time
25 part time
20 blended
140 distance
60 blended
Key Learning Centre – NBCDES
www.keylearning.ca
2019-20 Online
Correspondence
Blended
425 FTE (2,800 head count)
12 blended
5 full time
2 part time
1 blended
130+ secondary
full K–7 program
K-1 blended
Kleos Open Learning
www.kleos.ca
2020-21 Online
Correspondence
375 distance 20 full time
7 part time
K–12
Kootenay Discovery School
www.sd5.bc.ca/school/kds/Pages/default.aspx
2020-21 Online
Blended
100 online
75 blended
3 full time
3 part time
3 blended
72
Live It Earth
www.liveit.earth
2022 Online
Blended
40,000 1 full time
3 part time
20
Navigate (NIDES)
navigatenides.com/
2021-22 Online
Blended
11,700 distance
1,035 blended
67 full time
43 part time
73 blended
122 secondary
full K–9 program
Next Step Outreach Program
www.nextstepoutreach.com/
2017-18 Online
Correspondence
Blended
400 online
400 blended
1 full time
1 blended
20 online
20 blended
North Coast Distance Education School
ncdes.ca
2012-13 Online
Correspondence
~3,400 8 full time 65
North Vancouver Distributed Learning School
www.sd44.ca/school/distributed/Pages/default.aspx
2016-17 Online
Correspondence
Blended
 ~3,000 distance
~550 blended
8 full time
15 part time
6 blended
57 distance
3 blended
Partners in Education
www.sd47.bc.ca/school/pie/Pages/default.aspx
2019-20 Online
Correspondence
 673 6 full time
14 part time
100+
Pathways Academy
www.pathwaysacademy.ca
2019-20 Online
Correspondence
 266 6 full time
12 part time
Quesnel Distributed Learning School
qdlonline.com
2015-16 Online
Correspondence
Blended
150 online
35 blended
2 full time
1 part time
1 blended
25 online
16 blended
Regent Christian Online Academy (RCOA)
www.rcoa.ca
2021-22 Online
Blended
1,106 online
~900 blended
10 full time
85 part time
51 blended
69 secondary online
full K-9 program online/blended
half secondary program blended
Richmond Virtual School
RichmondVirtualSchool.ca
2020-21 Online
Blended
400 online
1,600 blended
18 full time
1 part time
30 blended
6 online
20 blended
Rocky Mountain Distributed Learning School
getsmartbc.ca
2015-16 Online ~350 3 full time 75
Sea to Sky Online School
www.seatoskyonline.com
2020-21 Online
Blended
650 distance
~1,000 blended
3 full time
2 part time
1 blended
~50 distance
1 blended
SelfDesign Learning Community
www.selfdesign.org
2021-22 Online 2056 65
South Central Interior Distance Education School
www.scides.ca/
2021-22 Online
Correspondence
1,152 FTE 7 full time
5 part time
full K-8 program
108 secondary
South Island Distance Education School
www.sides.ca/en.html
2022-23 Online 3,700 students 26 full time
12 part time
>60
South Peace Distributed Learning
dcss.sd59.bc.ca/spc/spdl
2015-16 Online
Correspondence
55 FTE* 1 full time
4 part time
16
Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning
www.sailacademy.ca
2016-17 Online
Correspondence
Blended
~2,000 distance 21 full time
300+ blended
80+
Traditional Learning Academy
www.schoolathome.ca
2019-20 Online
Correspondence
Blended
1,200 distance
200 blended
40 full time
35 part time
18 blended
80 distance
22 blended
Valley Christian School DL
www.valleychristianschool.ca/
2020-21 Online  23 8 full time
1 part time
 full K-8
Vancouver Learning Network
vlns.ca/
2016-17 Online
Correspondence
 ~5,000 8 full time
31 part time
 ~90
Vernon Virtual Learning
vlearn.ca
2017-18 Online
Correspondence
Blended
1,200 distance (248 FTE)
70 blended
7 full time
5 part time
72 secondary & 80 elementary (distance)
5 blended
vLearn Personalized Education
sd22.bc.ca/vlearn/
2020-21 Online 400 full time
2,000 part time
12 full time
18 part time
200
West Coast Adventist School DL
www.wcasdl.ca
2022-23 Online 75 full time
200+ part time
2 full time
4 part time
152
YouLearn.ca
youlearn.ca
2016-17 Online
Correspondence
630 6 full time
3 part time
48

* Full-time equivalents, not the total number of students.

To update this information, visit http://tinyurl.com/sotn-program-survey

Inter-provincial and International

If a student in British Columbia took a course from an online program in another province or territory, or even in another country, the student would present him/herself at a local school or distributed learning school and request either equivalency for a credential earned in another jurisdiction or permission to challenge a course for credit based on prior learning or experience. The Ministry’s policy is to allow each school to have their own procedures to guide this process.

At present there is only one school district business company (i.e., SD73 Business Company) that has an agreement with the Ministry to offer distributed learning content to non-resident students.  The Business Company is owned by the Kamloops-Thompson School District No.73  but operates at an arms-length and is not able to grant British Columbia credits.  A non-resident student who completes a course through the SD73 Business Company would have to go through the process of receiving credit for the student’s course based on the guidelines established in the student’s own jurisdiction, or the BC jurisdiction they register to study in as an international student.

Additionally, there are a few distributed learning programs that have specific agreements in place to serve students in a given jurisdiction. For example, the Northern British Columbia Distance Education School can serve students in the Yukon by special arrangement. The Yukon Department of Education is responsible for recognizing those credits (although the Yukon does follow the British Columbia K-12 curriculum).