Education Services Agreements
IMPORTANT DATES
- Deadline to register for the 2023/24 school year (Grade 1-9) – 4:00 p.m. MST on January 26, 2024
- Deadline to register for 3- and 5-credit courses (Grade 10-12) – 4:00 p.m. MST on March 25, 2024
- Deadline to register for 1-credit courses (Grade 10-12) – 4:00 p.m. MST on April 8, 2024
Important note! Each student type at our school has unique deadlines and important dates. Students should always review their specific course timelines and consult their teacher if they have any concerns. All important dates can also be found on the Calendar page of our website.
*An active Education Services Agreement (ESA) is required for partner schools to be able to enroll ESA students with VVS.
REGISTRATION
Please do not submit ESA student applications through our website application form.
To enroll students with VVS, partner schools need an active Education Services Agreement (ESA). Alberta Public, Separate and Francophone school divisions must sign and submit their ESAs. Once VVS receives a signed Division ESA, schools within the division can request to be set up as a New Affiliation.
*NEW PROCESS* If your school would like to enroll grade 1-9 students in Vista Virtual School courses, you must email your request to vvsupport@pembinahills.ca. Our team will then send you a Google form to fill out with more information. After we receive your form, our academic counsellors will review your request and may contact you for more details. Once your courses are approved, we will enroll your students and send you confirmation email. You can then add materials by logging into SIS.
Enrolling grade 10-12 students is the responsibility of your designated Super User, who must complete this process through their account. For a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to enroll students, please visit the SIS Dashboard and refer to the Super User Training Documents section.
Each school will have its own affiliation account, and four roles must be designated with contact information provided: a Distance Education Contact, Exam Supervisor, Finance User and Super User. For a breakdown of expectations of the four roles listed above, please review the ESA Roles and Responsibilities document.
Inclusive education information and documentation must be provided at the time of registration to ensure student needs are met (ie. Current Instructional Support Plans (ISP), Psychological/Psycho-Educational Assessments and/or Medical Assessments).
ESA students must contact their school to request to be withdrawn from a course and any refund will be issued according to our Refund Policy.
COURSE COMPLETION DEADLINES AND EXTENSION POLICY
The Course Catalogue provides a full list of available courses, which are divided by grade level. Grade 1-6 courses are mostly print-based with some online options. Grade 7-9 courses are available in both online and print-based formats, with online being recommended. Grade 10-12 courses are only available online. We offer a differentiated, adapted and/or modified personalized learning program for grade 1-9 students who are unable to achieve success in regular programming. See our Personalized Learning page for more information.
ESA students have three months to complete 1-credit courses and six months to complete 3- or 5-credit courses. ESA courses are NOT semester based.
Three-month extensions are available for $100/course, but courses cannot go beyond the June 20 end date. Extensions requested after March 20 (less than three months before June 20) will still be subject to the full $100 fee. Please email vvsupport@pembinahills.ca to request a course extension for your student.
Like any other school in Alberta, we report results to parents/guardians and Alberta Education, please review our Senior High Mark Reporting and Course Withdrawal Policy for more information.
Need assistance placing a student in the appropriate grade level or course? Give us a call at 1-855-974-5333 x5317 or email vvsupport@pembinahills.ca.
EXAM SUPERVISORS
Partner schools are required to provide contact information for an Exam Supervisor who will be responsible for administering course exams and overseeing the Alberta Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) and Diploma Exams. They must prepare in advance for exams, know and communicate exam schedules to students, and keeps exams secure before and after writing.
MATERIALS & FEES
Please be advised that any applicable fees are the responsibility of the partner school and not the student or parent/guardian.
REGISTRATION FEES
ESA students who wish to enroll in courses at VVS will be subject to tuition fees. Grade 1-9 students pay $650 per course, while Grade 10-12 students pay $130 per credit (AAIS schools are charged $200 per credit).
TEXTBOOK AND MATERIAL FEES
Course fees do not cover the cost of textbooks, materials, or other required supplies. Partner schools are responsible for providing these materials, but they can also be purchased from VVS (cost is adjusted for used textbooks). See the Course Catalogue for pricing.
SHIPPING FEES
Shipping fees apply for materials purchased from VVS. Please view our Shipping Policy for pricing.
REFUNDS
Updates to our refund policy have been implemented as of July 1, 2023. Please review the new policy in order to ensure your understanding. Due to this policy change, Adult, International, and ESA students will be able to begin returning textbooks and materials effective July 1, 2023.
CONTACT US
Give us a call at 1-855-974-5333 x5317 or email vvsupport@pembinahills.ca.
Click here to view a summary of the Roles and Responsibilities of Affiliation Schools and VVS.
Vista Virtual School is pleased to be working with so many school partners in an Education Services Agreement. Recently, we have received several questions and requests that we hope the following Q&A will help with.
Please read carefully as many of the answers you seek will be here.
Why do we require a school enrollment in PASI for our school if we are enrolling through an ESA?
Without the appropriate primary school enrollment, Vista Virtual School would end up as the Responsible School in PASI by default. The ESA school (partner school) should be the Responsible School in PASI to ensure appropriate funding is received by them.
Provincial Approach to Student Information (PASI) system (Alberta Education)
We had a school enrollment last year for the student and it didn’t rollover, any suggestions?
Primary school enrollments need to be entered by the primary school. VVS can only enter enrollments into PASI for the courses that your school registers with us at the beginning of each year.
Please contact Alberta Education Student Enrollments and Marks at Studentrecords@gov.ab.ca or (780) 422-9337 with questions regarding your school enrollments.
How do we enter our own school enrolment in PASI?
PASI has instructions here
You may also contact Alberta Education Student Enrollments and Marks at Studentrecords@gov.ab.ca or (780) 422-9337.
Why are our school enrolments in their system not flowing to PASI?
PASI is an Alberta Education managed student information system, and questions about this system are best asked of their Student Enrollments and Marks support team at Studentrecords@gov.ab.ca or (780) 422-9337.
Why do we need to sign a prerequisite waiver form when the student already completed the course with our school and the final grade appears in our system
Alberta Education’s PASI tracks prerequisites required for courses, and will not permit course finalizations without a prerequisite course or a waiver completion. Alberta Education’s preferred process for the waiver is that the principals declare the student has met prerequisite requirements, and the registering schools can do so by completing the waiver form as VVS has no first hand knowledge of this. Once we receive the form, we can submit this in PASI.