Education Services Agreements
IMPORTANT DATES
- UPDATED! Registration opens for the 2024/25 school year (all grades) – 8:00 a.m. MST on August 19
- UPDATED! Deadline to register for the 2024/25 school year (Grade 1-9) – 3:00 p.m. MST on January 27
- UPDATED! Deadline to register for 3- and 5-credit courses (Grade 10-12) – 3:00 p.m. MST on March 24
- UPDATED! Deadline to register for 1-credit courses (Grade 10-12) – 3:00 p.m. MST on April 7
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.
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.
REGISTERING AS AN ESA STUDENT
The SuperUser must follow these instructions to register a Grade 1-9 student: Grade 1-9 ESA Student Registration Process.
The SuperUser must follow these instructions to register a Grade 10-12 student: Adding a Student in VVS SIS – Super Users.
- 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- ESA students must contact their school to request to be withdrawn from a course and any refund will be issued according to our Refund Policy. Please review our Policies page as some of our policies have changed.
COURSE COMPLETION DEADLINES AND EXTENSION POLICY
The Course Catalogue provides a full list of available courses, which are divided by grade level. Please note the delivery method for the various grade levels:
- Grade 1-3 courses are print-based
- Grade 4-6 courses are mostly online with a few print-based courses
- Grade 7-12 courses are available online only
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 $700 per course, while Grades 10-12 students pay $140 per credit (AAIS schools are charged $210 per credit).
TEXTBOOK AND MATERIAL FEES
Please review our Policies page as some of our policies have changed.
Course fees do not include textbooks, materials, or other necessary supplies. Partner schools are expected to supply these items, but VVS can offer them on loan as long as they are returned in good condition. If the materials are not returned in a reusable state, we will be unable to provide a refund.
SHIPPING FEES
Please review our Policies page as some of our policies have changed.
Shipping fees apply for materials purchased from VVS, review our Shipping Policy for pricing.
ONLINE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION SUPPORT
Inclusive Education (IE) is programming that supports students, ensuring they receive equitable opportunities to learn. To learn more about Vista Virtual School’s IE services, visit our Online Inclusive Education Support page.
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 enrollments 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.