College and Career Preparation
www.ufv.ca/ccp

Adult Basic Education (ABE) courses

Adult Basic Education (ABE) courses are for adults who want to:

• review and improve their English, computer, math, or science skills to meet employment requirements or for personal benefit
• prepare for the General Educational Development (GED) high school equivalency test
• complete high school to earn the BC adult graduation diploma (Adult Dogwood)
• complete prerequisite courses for post-secondary programs

Entrance requirements

For entry into ABE courses, students must:

• be at least 19 years of age, or
• have a high school graduation diploma, or
• be 17 or 18 years of age and out of public school for at least one year

Note: If you do not meet the entrance requirements, you may apply for special admission.

Note: Please consult UCFV International if you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

How to apply

Students apply to take ABE course by calling or visiting their nearest CCP department to discuss their education and career goals with an instructional assistant. If necessary, students will be advised to register for an assessment session where their reading, writing, and/or math skills will be assessed.

To find out when the next CCP information and assessment session will be held, please see this section of the CCP website or contact your nearest UCFV CCP centre by phone or email.

Registration into courses is dependant on available seats, so assessing early is recommended.

Registration

Students who have been given a registration time and meet course prerequisites can register online or in person at Admissions and Registration.

Students who do not meet course prerequisites will be given permission to register in courses based on their previous education, assessment results, and their goals. Permission to Register forms should be picked up from a CCP instructional assistant.

Fees and additional costs

UCFV students are required to pay a variety of fees and buy their own textbooks and supplies. The fees paid for courses, which depend on the level of the course and the level of education of the student, are described below.

• There are no fees for courses numbered 051 or 061.
• Students who do not have a high school graduation diploma pay no tuition, but do pay ancillary fees.
• Students who have a high school graduation diploma pay both tuition and ancillary fees. Other fees may apply.

See the Fees and Other Costs section for details.

Financial aid from Adult Basic Education Student Assistance Program (ABESAP)

The ABESAP grant is available to eligible students to help pay required fees and related costs. For information about the ABESAP grant, contact the CCP instructional assistant on your campus or Student Financial Aid Services at 604 864 4601 in Abbotsford or 604-702-2618 in Chilliwack.

Dates and locations

ABE courses are scheduled according to the UCFV timetable. During the fall and winter semesters, courses are offered in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope, and Mission. Summer semester courses are offered in Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Go to this section of the CCP website to see the CCP timetable, or contact the CCP instructional assistant on a campus near you (see above) for more information.

Workload

Three-credit CCP courses meet twice per week for 15 weeks for a total of 90 hours. In addition to attending classes, students are expected to work on assignments outside of class time. For this reason, a full-course load for ABE students is considered to be three courses (9 credits).

Program outline

The CCP department offers courses from the four levels of BC’s Adult Basic Education (ABE) program: Fundamental, Intermediate, Advanced, and Provincial. ABE courses follow the guidelines and requirements established by the Ministry of Advanced Education. A certificate is available for each level for students who complete the requirements.

Fundamental Level (certificate available)
(Basic Literacy)

The following Fundamental-level courses offered through the CCP department help students bring their skills up to the Grade 8 level.

ABE Tutee, ENGL 051, and MATH 051 are Fundamental level I courses. To enrol in a Fundamental level I course, a student must obtain permission from the department (an assessment may be required).

COMP 061, ENGL 061, and MATH 061 are Fundamental level II courses. To enrol in a Fundamental level II course, a student must meet the prerequisite or obtain permission from the department (an assessment may be required).

Fundamental-level certificate requirements:
• ENGL 061
• MATH 061

Intermediate Level (certificate available)

The following Intermediate-level courses offered through the CCP department help students bring their skills up to the Grade 10 level.

Note: Intermediate-level courses meet the entry requirement for some vocational programs.

To enrol in an Intermediate-level course, a student must meet the prerequisites or obtain permission from the department (an assessment may be required).

Intermediate-level certificate requirements:
• ENGL 071
• MATH 071 or MATH 072

and two of the following courses:
• BIO 071 and CHEM 071 (BOTH formerly Science 071)
• COMP 071
• Social Science 071 or 072
• ECP 074

Advanced Level (certificate available)

Advanced-level courses — considered to be equivalent to Grade 11 courses — are offered through several different UCFV departments.

The CCP department offers the following Advanced-level courses.

The following Advanced-level courses are offered through other UCFV departments.

Note: MATH 084 or 085 may be used to fulfill the math requirement of the BC Adult Graduation Diploma (see below for information about the BC Adult Graduation Diploma).

Note: Some Advanced-level courses may be used as prerequisites for post-secondary programs.

To enrol in an Advanced-level course, a student must meet the prerequisites or obtain permission from the department (an assessment may be required).

Advanced-level certificate requirements (four courses):
• ENGL 081
• MATH 084 or MATH 085
• COMP 081 or BIO 083 or PHYS 083 or CHEM 083
• Social Science 081 or Social Science 082 or FREN 100 or Trades specialty or any other approved course at the 80-level or higher (including 80-level courses listed above).

Provincial Level

The provincial level of instruction offers preparation for further training in vocational, career, technical, or academic programs. It is very important to consult an educational advisor when planning such a program.

Provincial-level courses — considered to be equivalent to Grade 12 courses — are offered through several different UCFV departments.

The CCP department offers the following Provincial-level courses.

The following Provincial-level courses are offered through other UCFV departments.

Note: Provincial-level courses may be used to fulfill the requirements of the BC Adult Graduation Diploma (see below for more information)

Course Listings

For complete details on courses see the course descriptions section in the calendar or this section of the CCP website.

BC Adult Graduation diploma (Adult Dogwood)

The BC Adult Graduation (Adult Dogwood) diploma is the adult secondary completion diploma for adults, 19 years of age or over.

To be eligible to graduate in the Adult Graduation Program, adult students (19 years of age or over) must complete five courses in the post-secondary system.

• A Provincial-level English (ENGL 091) or higher course, and
• An Advanced-level (MATH 084 or MATH 085) or higher mathematics course, and
• Three additional courses at the Provincial-level or higher, or
• Advanced-level Social Sciences and two Provincial-level courses or higher

To complete the requirements, students may need to take some courses outside the CCP department, so it is important when planning your program to consult with your CCP Instructional Assistant.

Note: To be eligible for the Adult Graduation Diploma, a person must be 19 years or older. An eighteen-year-old who has been out of school for at least a year may be admitted to an adult program with approval form.

Note: Courses from the BC School System may be counted toward the diploma; however, at least three courses must be taken as an adult.

General Education Development (GED) Secondary School Equivalency Certificate

The General Educational Development (GED) tests are five multiple choice tests in the areas of language arts writing, language arts reading, social studies, science, and mathematics. The language arts writing test also requires the writing of an essay.

The GED Secondary School Equivalency Certificate is awarded to examinees who successfully complete all five tests. The GED certificate is NOT the same as the Dogwood diploma awarded to students who complete the graduation requirements of the BC Secondary School Program or the Adult Dogwood diploma awarded to students who complete the graduation requirements of the BC Adult Graduation Program. While the GED cannot be considered as a substitute for a Dogwood diploma, success in earning the GED certificate will satisfy the UCFV entrance requirements where the stated requirement is secondary school completion or equivalent. However, passing the GED tests does not result in a student having credit for any specific Grade 11 or Grade 12 individual course.

To write the GED, a student must:

• be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant,
• be a British Columbia resident,
• be at least 18 years of age on the date of the tests, and
• not have received a Grade 12 graduation certificate from any institution.

To learn more about the GED, go to http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ged/.