Diploma Exams
**Please be sure to confirm your writing centre below prior to your exam date. In most cases, diploma exams are NOT held at the Vista Virtual School Calgary campus as we require larger venues to accommodate our students.
WRITING SESSIONS
Diploma exams are offered in January, April, June, August and November. Note: not all exams are offered at all sessions.
Adult students can write a diploma exam during any of the scheduled exam sittings as they are able to challenge any exams (proper preparation recommended).
June 2024 – Diploma Exam Dates and Times
August 2024 – Diploma Exam Dates and Times
PREPARATION INFORMATION
ARRIVAL TIME
Students must plan to arrive:
at 8:30 a.m. for exams that start at 9:00 a.m. Students cannot be admitted after 10:00 a.m.
at 12:30 p.m. for exams that start at 1:00 p.m.. Students cannot be admitted after 2:00 p.m.
WHAT TO BRING
1. GOVERNMENT-ISSUED PHOTO IDENTIFICATION
You will be required to sign in and present ID prior to writing your exam.
2. DICTIONARY, THESAURUS, AND APPROVED WRITER’S HANDBOOK
We recommend students bring these items for English and Social Studies Part A exams.
3. APPROVED CALCULATOR
Math and science students are expected to provide their own approved calculator (calculator memories will be cleared before and after the exam). You may also bring a ruler and a protractor.
Be sure to review the Diploma Exam Guide for Students to find out what you can and cannot bring in for the exam.
WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE DAY OF YOUR DIPLOMA EXAM
This section applies to students writing their English Language Arts 30-1 or 30-2, Social Studies 30-1 or 30-2, and French Language Arts 30-1 or 30-2 diploma exams at either the Vista Virtual School North Writing Centre or the Vista Virtual School South Writing Centre. As you have been informed, the platform for these courses’ Part A exams has shifted from QuestA+ to Vretta. To make sure you are ready for exam day, we kindly ask that you review the reminders below and reach out to your course teachers as soon as possible with any questions.
- It is mandatory to attend your diploma exam(s) in person at either the VVS North Writing Centre or the VVS South Writing Centre – the specific centre where you registered. If you are a non-primary student writing your diploma exam at your primary school, please continue with those agreed-upon plans. Even though you took the Vretta practice exam remotely, your actual diploma exam must be completed in person.
- When you arrive at the writing centre, you will need to connect to their Wi-Fi and log in to Vretta. After logging in, you will receive a unique code that grants access to your exam. This code will NOT be sent to you through email, but will be provided to you verbally at the writing centre. We strongly recommend arriving early at your designated writing centre to make sure that you have sufficient time to get set up before the exam begins
- You will still receive a paper exam on which you will attach your student label and complete any planning.
To make sure that you are ready for the upcoming exam, it is mandatory to have the Vretta software installed on your personal device. If you have not already installed it, please follow these instructions. Contact techsupportstudent@pembinahills.ca as soon as possible if you require assistance. It is mandatory to have Vretta on your laptop during the exam.
If you are borrowing a Chromebook from us, we recommend clicking here to get a glimpse of what the Vretta system looks like. This will help you become familiar with the system and ensure that you are fully prepared for the exam.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Once registration for an exam sitting is open, we send students an email with instructions to sign up for their exam.
Please note that students have until 4:00 p.m. MST on the registration deadline to register for their diploma exams. Those who miss the deadline must contact vvsupport@pembinahills.ca to be added to the waitlist.
REGISTRATION DATES
| Diploma Exam | Registration Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| November 2023 | September 11, 2023 - October 2, 2023 | CLOSED |
| January 2024 | October 12, 2023 - November 1, 2023 | CLOSED |
| April 2024 | February 1, 2024 - February 20, 2024 | CLOSED |
| June 2024 | March 21, 2024 - April 11, 2024 | CLOSED |
| August 2024 | June 17, 2024 - July 3, 2024 | CLOSED |
Please be advised that late registrations or walk-in students will not be accepted.
These writing centres are for VVS students only. Third party venues are booked to accommodate our exam writers (typically at universities).
MYPASS INFORMATION
All students must register to write a diploma exam through Alberta Education’s myPass website.
Once logged in to myPass, follow the prompts to register for a diploma exam. Students will register at either:
-
- Vista Virtual School – South (school code 1558) or
- Vista Virtual School – North (school code 1682)
As a VVS student, you may enter VVS Principal, Steven Kaplan, as granting you permission to register for the exam with our school.
If a student does not have an account, they need to review the myPass account requirements and contact us at vvsupport@pembinahills.ca or 1-855-974-5333 x5317.
As listed above, we offer two writing locations for diploma exams, one in Southern Alberta (Vista Virtual School – South) and one in Northern Alberta (Vista Virtual School – North). The cities in which we hold diploma exams are determined by the number of exam writers registered and location availability. Students will be notified of the location details closer to the writing date.
If you cannot write at either writing location, please reach out to your local school about supervising your diploma exam, however, they are not required to do so.
EXAM FEE INFORMATION
Students who are rewriting a diploma exam are required to submit the Alberta Education rewrite fee in myPass.
Non-funded visiting students (International or Out-of-Province students) are required to submit the Alberta Education administration fee in myPass for first-time diploma exam writing and for rewriting each diploma exam.
Adult and International students have a $50 non-refundable, non-transferable, fee (per diploma exam) to access the VVS writing centre. Adults registered with the school must write under the school’s supervision. If you are unable to write due to COVID-19 circumstances, please contact us.
ACCOMMODATION INFORMATION
Exam accommodations are approved and offered to students who supply Vista Virtual School with the required documentation. This may include:
-
- Educational Assessments (5 years old or less)
- A School Support Plan (current or from your last school year)
- A Medical Note (less than 1 year old)
Exam accommodations must be used for VVS school exams. If VVS is not able to confirm that you received accommodations for school exams, Alberta Education may decline to provide accommodations for diploma exams.
Students with extensive exam accommodations may be able to write their diploma exam at our Calgary campus. Availability is limited, particularly in June and August. To apply for special accommodations for your diploma exam, please email vvsupport@pembinahills.ca or call 1-855-974-5333 x5317.
All students are permitted to use double time for diploma exams without applying for exam accommodations.
REQUIREMENT INFORMATION
Diploma exams are mandatory for all students registered in an eligible Alberta Education program (even if a student already has their high school diploma).
-
- Diploma exams are not the same as course final exams; students must write both.
- Registration is required to write a provincial diploma exam in one of the diploma exam sittings.
- Both the course mark and diploma exam mark are required for a final mark to appear on your transcript.
- if you are upgrading your course mark and have already completed the diploma exam, you may be able to use your previous diploma exam mark.
- VVS does not support special writing centres outside of Alberta. Visit the Alberta Online Learning Directory for other options.
NEWS
Diploma Exam Weighting Change 2023/2024
IMPORTANT NOTE! Diploma exam weightings are returning to 30% for the 2023-24 school year. Students who wrote a diploma exam or completed a diploma exam course in 2022-23 may still be eligible for the 20% weighting that applied last year. For more information about these special circumstances, see the Diploma Exam Weighting Overview Facts Sheet.