Attendance
Regular attendance in a learning environment is vital to being successful in a course. Students who do not participate in their online course regularly will be less likely to do well in a course. The following processes have been put into place to encourage regular attendance by the student:
- The Principal will maintain attendance records as it is expected that students and teachers should login to their course on a regular basis.
- Since we are an online school, there is no prescribed yearly or even semesterized calendar. It is expected that a typical online course will take approximately 110 days or 4 months for the student to complete (assuming a minimum of 1.25 hour per day online participation), but this time may start or end arbitrarily.
- Students who leave a course before completion must communicate their intentions either in writing to the Principal or over the phone in the interest of up-to-date record keeping, before any request can be acted upon.
- To encourage attendance, the Principal will work with the curriculum writers, to set manageable assessment and evaluation assignments early in the course, in order to give the student positive feedback and breakdown any existing technology barriers.
- Students who have not completed their course within 12 months from the day of enrollment in that course, will be automatically unenrolled from the course unless they have made an arrangement with Onstudy Academy for an extension to their course.
Learning Platform Use Policy
Our Learning Management System (LMS) has been designed for educational purpose only. All use of Onstudy Academy Learning Management System within a course other than the intended educational purpose is prohibited. Examples of inappropriate use of our LMS include criminal activity, commercial use (sales), use of obscene language among others.
The administration has the right to monitor student work such as contributions to the discussion forums to determine that all content is acceptable. If a student is found to use our LMS inappropriately, the student may be suspended.
Students are reminded to:
- protect the password and to never share it with anyone.
- always report the use of inappropriate language by fellow students to your teacher or principal.
- access only material and resources intended for learning and student use.
Cheating and Plagiarism:
Plagiarism (especially the stealing of someone else’s creative thoughts, words and or ideas) is a very serious challenge. Therefore, cheating and plagiarism will not be condoned by Onstudy Academy. Science is a collaborative endeavor and some students find it helpful to study together for tests and to work on lab reports together. This type of collaboration is completely acceptable. What is NOT acceptable, however, is copying other people’s lab or assignments when asked to turn in individual lab reports or assignments and handling it in as your own. Separating assignments/projects into parts and then copying those segments is also unacceptable. Please make sure that all the work you turn in is your own. No credit for a specific piece of work will be granted when a student has committed plagiarism.
School Safety
Onstudy Academy Administration and Teachers will strive to maintain a safe learning environment. In doing so, we will act to protect the dignity, self-esteem and privacy of all students and staff. Every member of our school is expected to treat each other with respect. Any behaviour or actions that undercut our safety school policy will be dealt swiftly by the principal. Examples of behaviour or actions that put at risk that safety of students and staff include disrespectful and abusive language, distasteful comments and harassment.
Consequences to any behaviour or actions that risk safety may include counselling, parental involvement, suspension, expulsion and when required the involvement of legal authorities (police). All steps of action will follow the laws of the Province of Ontario and the Ontario Educational Act.
Ontario Student Transcript (OST)
The Ontario Student Transcript (OST) is an official document issued by all public or private schools in Ontario. The OST contains a list of the courses completed from grades 9 through 12 including those completed successfully or unsuccessfully. The OST is stored in the OSR folder and kept for many years after the student graduates. Noteworthy, the school that maintains the OSR is also responsible for updating and maintaining the OST according to the Ontario Student Transcript Manual 2013. Consequently, if a student is enrolled full time or part time through another school, that school will house the OST. Onstudy Academy is responsible for assisting in this record keeping process by notifying the OST holding school of the course and final achievement of a student taking a course through Onstudy Academyl. When students complete a course through Onstudy Academy, they will be mailed a final report card. In addition, a second copy will be forwarded to the school that secures the students’ OSR so they can add it to the ongoing list of courses on the students overall transcript. Students that need a certified copy of their Ontario Student Transcript are directed to contact the guidance department of the school that holds their OSR. Students that require their final marks to be faxed to the Ontario University Application Centre are requested to send an email to admin@onstudy.ca clearly authorizing this request including their first and last name, the course and final mark to be submitted, OEN and OUAC reference number.
What is a Credit?
A credit is a recognition for having taken a course at school or university. It is used as a measure if enough hours have been spent by the student to graduate. A credit is granted upon successful completion of a course which has been scheduled for a minimum of 110 hours. Credits are granted by the Principal on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Training for courses which have been developed by school teachers and approved by the Ministry of Education. A half credit is granted for every 55 hour segment of a 110-hour ministry approved course. Even though learning at Onstudy Academy is self-directed, students are expected to spend time on our learning platform, reading, watching video lesson, completing activities, exploring, discussing and being evaluated. The ability to re-wind video lesson and proceed at your own pace will allow students to spend more time deep learning and be able to achieve their full potential.
Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)
Students may receive a credit without taking a course if they can demonstrate that they have the skills and knowledge from prior learning to meet the expectations for the course set out in the provincial curriculum. This must be requested in writing to the Principal of Onstudy Academy.
Hardware and Software Requirements
Onstudy Academy uses the Learndash platform.
- A windows or mac computer capable of accessing online web pages
- A connection to the internet via WiFi hotspots or home network
- An office scanner or mobile scanner (ex. CamScanner) to capture assignments/notes to be sent as attachments in e-mail messages or to upload on our site..
- An e-mail account to send and receive support materials and assignments.
- A webcam with a microphone to communicate via Skype during tutorials.