ACE
- Academic and Career Entrance Program
WHAT IS THE ACE PROGRAM?
ACE is a program that was approved for delivery in July,
2004, at all 24 colleges by the Colleges Branch of the Ministry
of Training
Colleges
and Universities after a lengthy development
and approval process. It replaces the College
Entry Level programming called Basic Training
for Skills Development – Level 4 (BTSD 4) approved in the
mid 60 ’s.ACE is a Grade XII Equivalent program. It is accepted as Grade
XII equivalent by the Apprenticeship Branch. It is the level of
programming generally accepted by colleges for admission to college-level
post secondary programs. Students desiring an ACE credential must complete clearly defined
criteria. Students not requiring the credential may continue to
take only those courses or portions of courses required for admission
to their chosen post secondary program
ACE COURSES
- Communications – English
- Communications – Français
- Communications – Anglais Langue Seconde
- Computer Studies
- Self Direction
- Core Mathematics
- Apprenticeship Mathematics
- Business Mathematics
- Mathematics for Technology
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
ACE courses are described in terms of learning outcomes, and colleges
are encouraged to develop demonstrations as part of the evaluation
process for students. ( At this level of programming, the ability
to write tests and exams to demonstrate mastery of specific skills
and knowledge is an important part of preparation for success in
post secondary programming.)
Until July 2008 ACE was primarily an on site program. Beginning in July 2008 all 10 English and 11 French ACE courses are available via Distance. For more information about ACE Online including directions on registering go to ACE Online.
CREDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS
Students
must successfully demonstrate mastery of all the learning outcomes
in Communications ( Anglais or Français ), a Mathematics
course, and any 2 other courses from the list. (Once again, it
must be stressed that completion of all the outcomes in the required
courses and electives will qualify students to receive the ACE
credential. In most cases, this will also fulfill requirements
for entrance to the student’s chosen college post secondary
program. However, college upgrading students
can continue to take only those courses or portions of courses
required for admission
to their chosen college level post secondary
program.)
ACE APPROVAL PROCESS
Managers and faculty at all 24 colleges participated actively
in the development and approval process of ACE.
There were
two objectives for this initiative:
- To
ensure the ACE curriculum included all
outcomes necessary to ensure access to
post secondary programming and success once
admitted
- To
ensure that the relevant outcomes in the senior level college
stream of the
revised Secondary School Curriculum
were addressed in ACE
The following steps were followed:
- A
project manager was selected as well
as 5 content experts.
- Colleges
forwarded all their upgrading course
outlines to these project workers.
- Both
the existing college upgrading
course outlines and the relevant
secondary school curriculum were examined
by project workers for both content and
graduation requirements.
- Project
workers developed draft course outlines
in the 12 courses based on their analysis.
- College
managers and faculty at all 24 colleges
provided input on these courses.
- Revised
course outlines were distributed
as above; comments were collected.
- Final
course outlines were distributed. All
colleges officially signed
off on course outlines, graduation
requirements and the new name.
- Documents
were submitted to Colleges Branch with
the support of the Colleges Vice Presidents
Academic Committee.
PROGRAM NAME
ACE is the curriculum delivered at all colleges. For purposes
of advertising especially on Web pages and in college calendars
Colleges may identify it as the LBS/OBS/ACE program or they may
use other more generic names like College Preparatory Programming
or College Upgrading. Regardless of what it is called, the curriculum
delivered is ACE.
ACE FEES
ACE is a program with specific course outcomes and graduation
requirements approved by the Colleges Branch.
Academic Upgrading (AU) is one of the funding mechanisms available
to students in Ontario which enables them to participate in ACE
programming. AU funded students may also qualify for assistance
with child care and transportation costs.
It is also possible at some colleges for students to pay fees
or have them paid on their behalf by community agencies like WSIB
or employers. All students whose programming is not paid by AU
dollars are called fee payers.
AU funded and fee-paying students are usually scheduled into
the same classrooms at the same time at those colleges which provide
a fee-paying option. There are provincial guidelines for fees.
However some colleges break these fees down differently; by the
hour, week or semester or as fulltime or part-time. Check your local
college calendar for specifics on fees.
ACADEMIC UPGRADING IS A FUNDING MECHANISM
ACE IS THE CURRICULUM WHICH IS DELIVERED THROUGH THIS FUNDING
NEXT STEPS
The
CSC is actively informing those responsible
for assisting students in achieving their employment
and training goals about ACE, including
College Registrars, referring agencies ( e.g.
WSIB, HRSD,and OW),
regional and sectoral networks and umbrella groups
and employers.
The CSC continues to collect data on the success of upgrading students who have moved on to post secondary programming. An annual report, Prepared
for Success, is posted on this website
under Annual Reports.
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