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Population: 1,194,803 Number of K-12 Schools: 770 Number of K-12 Students: 189,924 . Number of K-12 Distance Learning Programs: 38 Number of K-12 Distance Learning Students: 15,521 |
Note that these profiles are taken from the most recent edition of the report, please review additional annual profiles below.
Governance and Regulation
In December 2022, the Education Amendment Act, 2023 amended the Education Act, 1995 to define “online learning” as:
- where the learning activities, including collaboration, sharing, communication and learning resources, between each of the pupils and the teacher are primarily done by means of the internet or any other digital platform; and,
- that does not require pupils to be face-to-face with each other or with the teacher;
- but does not include any learning that is excluded from this definition by regulation; (“apprentissage en ligne”). (Government of Saskatchewan, 2023a, p. 13)
The Education Amendment Act, 2023 also established, as well as outlined the powers and duties of, the Saskatchewan Distance Learning Corporation (Government of Saskatchewan, 2023b). This new Treasury Board Crown Corporation is responsible to oversee centralized online education in the province by operating like the head office and main hub for online education in the province.
Further, Saskatchewan separate school divisions, the Conseil des écoles fransaskoises and registered independent schools must submit an application form to the Ministry of Education to become an approved online learning provider. The application process ensures that school divisions follow a Provincial Quality Assurance Framework (Government of Saskatchewan, 2023c). The Saskatchewan Distance Learning Corporation and all approved online learning providers are subject to monitoring by the Ministry of Education. The monitoring process creates an accountability mechanism to ensure quality assurance related to online learning delivery. This new online learning model will be implemented in the 2023-24 school year.
In terms of funding, school divisions continue to be funded for operating expenses through the Prekindergarten to Grade 12 Education Funding Distribution Model. As with in-class learning in Saskatchewan, the new provincial online school will provide free education for its students up to the age of 22 once it begins operation. Adult learners aged 22 and older will have access to courses as well and will pay tuition for each course. Additionally, as part of the funding model, boards of education receive funding to support full-time online students attending the Saskatchewan Distance Learning Corporation online school or an approved school division-operated online school. Part-time online students are recognized for funding through the various components of the funding model, and enrolments are counted at their local school. School divisions are responsible for providing local support to full-time and part-time online students that reside within their boundaries (e.g., speech-language pathologists and educational psychology assessments, driver’s license training, graduation ceremonies and extra-curricular activities).
Beyond this new legislative environment, the Ministry of Education continues to track distance education/online learning enrolment and provincial online school information for Prekindergarten to Grade 12 through the Student Data System.
K-12 Distance and Online Learning Activity
As of 2022-23, there were currently 33 provincial schools in 21 school divisions, one provincial school operated by a Crown Corporation, two independent schools, and three First Nation schools categorized as having online learning schools offering Prekindergarten to Grade 12 learning courses to Saskatchewan students. There were 15,521 unique students involved in K-12 distance education or online learning programs. This number is comprised of 5,751 students fully enrolled in a dedicated online school, 450 additional students experiencing schooling through distance learning facilitated by teachers in schools not dedicated to online learning, and 9,320 additional students who registered for at least one course delivered through distance learning.
K-12 Blended Learning Activity
Blended learning is a responsibility of school divisions, as such the Ministry does not monitor this activity.
References
Government of Saskatchewan.(2023a). Education Act, 1995, E-0.2. https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/#/products/487
Government of Saskatchewan.(2023b). Chapter 23 – The Education Amendment Act, 2023/Loi modificative de 2023 sur l’éducation. https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/#/products/121363
Government of Saskatchewan.(2023c). Quality assurance framework for K-12 online learning. https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/#/products/120344
Previous Provincial Profiles
History of K-12 E-Learning
A history of the Saskatchewan Government Correspondence School, which was established in 1925, can be found in the Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan entry. It is important to note that the copyright date of this publication is 2006, and the correspondence school no longer exists.
Since 2009, all distance online learning opportunities in both French and English in Saskatchewan have been delivered by school divisions and other accredited service providers such as independent schools and colleges. In that same year the Ministry closed the Technology Supported Learning Unit, which was responsible for the delivery of English distance education courses and the Ministry-run French Immersion Distance Education School, eCOLE.
Online distance education schools have been in operation in Saskatchewan since 1999 when the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School first started offering classes online. In Northern Saskatchewan, an online school was established by the Keewatin Career Development Corporation in 2001 as part of the “Headwaters Smart Communities Project.” The Northern Lights School division also established an online school to provide learning service to remote students at approximately the same time.
In recent history, the delivery of distance education, online learning, and blended learning was guided by the Saskatchewan Technology in Education Framework (TEF), which outlined the roles and responsibilities of the education sector with regards to the use of technology in education. It contained a number of outcomes and indicators, in particular that:
- school divisions ensure distance and online learning opportunities were available to students;
- intra- and inter-school division learning opportunities were available to students with local support provided;
- distance learners have success rates that are equivalent to students in traditional classroom environments; and,
- assistive technology and technical support is available to students with intensive needs and/or school personnel supporting them.
Vignettes
- The Pandemic and the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School (2022)
- Sun West Distance Learning Centre (2016)
- Horizon School Division (2013)
- Credenda Virtual High School and College (2013)
- Credenda Virtual High School (2012)
- Saskatchewan Distance Learning Course Repository (2011)
- Credenda Virtual High School (2010)
- Saskatoon Cyber Catholic School (2009)
Individual Program Survey Responses
| Program | Most recent response | Medium | # of Students | # of Teachers | # of Courses |
| Chinook Cyber School www.chinooksd.ca/school/cyberschool/Pages/default.aspx |
2016-17 | Online Correspondence |
1010 | 5 full time 14 part time |
58 |
| Cyber Stone Virtual School www.secpsd.ca/school/virtualschool/Pages/default.aspx |
2019-20 | Online | 1073 | 5 full time 4 part time |
48 |
| Good Spirit School Division Distance Learning Centre gssd.ca/pages/distancelearning.htm |
2011-12 | Online | 316 | 11 part time | 17 |
| Horizon School Division Distance Education distanceed.horizonsd.ca/Courses |
2018-19 | Online Blended |
384 online | 1 full time 12 part time |
44 online |
| LSSD Virtual Distance & Blended Learning sask.blackboardclassroom.com |
2019-20 | Online Blended |
200 online 1000 blended |
8 part time 10 blended |
2 online 30 blended |
| NorthEast School Division www.nesd.ca/Programs/onlineschool/Pages/default.aspx |
2015-16 | Online | 628 | 13 part time | 28 |
| Northern Lights School Division edcentre.ca/ |
2021-22 | Online | 591 | 13 full time | 32 secondary K-9 |
| Prairie South Virtual School virtualschool.prairiesouth.ca/ |
2021-22 | Online Blended |
665 online 86 blended |
2 full time 17 part time 2 blended |
109 online 6 blended |
| Regina Catholic School Division Learning Online www.rcsd.ca/learningonline |
2018-19 | Online | 891 | 18 part time | 54 |
| Regina Public Schools ITI/Online campbellcollegiate.rbe.sk.ca/ |
2011-12 | Blended | 200* | 4 part time* | 4* |
| Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School www.scs.sk.ca/cyber |
2021-22 | Online Blended |
~3,000 online ~160 blended |
15 full time 10 part time 9 blended |
~130 online ~70 blended |
| Saskatoon Public Schools – Online Learning Centre olc.spsd.sk.ca |
2011-12 | Online | 823 | 2 full time 9 part time |
28 |
| Saskatchewan Rivers Public Schools Online Campus moodle.srsd119.ca/ |
2014-15 | Online Blended |
1020 online 105 blended |
2 full time 3 part time 6 blended |
34 online 6 blended |
| Sun West Distance Learning Centre www.sunwestdlc.ca/ |
2021-22 | Online Correspondence Blended |
1,600 full time 3,000 part-time 300 blended |
65 full time 8 part time 4 blended |
186 distance 8 blended |
* This data is for a blended program only. It does not include the online program.
To update this information, visit http://tinyurl.com/sotn-program-survey
Inter-provincial and International
Should a student in Saskatchewan enroll in an online course from another province or country the credits would be assessed for equivalency. If there was an equivalency with a Saskatchewan course, the student would be given a Standing Granted credit on their Saskatchewan Transcript for the purpose of enabling completion of Grade 12, but no mark would be given. The specific content of the course is not examined as part of this process. The Standing Granted designation is only given for courses that have been completed and successfully passed. The Credit-Transfer-Guide outlines the process to have courses from other Canadian jurisdictions recognized.
It is ministry policy that Saskatchewan schools are not permitted to offer distance courses to students outside the province except in specific situations. Those situations would include where the student has lived in Saskatchewan but is now temporarily out of the province; those students would be able to register for distance courses while they are away.