The School-College-Work Initiative The First 25 Years 1997-2022

In 1997, the School-College-Work Initiative was launched in Ontario. This 150 page document provides a chronology of the origins, the evolution and the refinement of the initiative over a 25-year period as well as highlighting relevant research reports, updates to educational policy and significant government announcements from that same period of time.

The School-College-Work Initiative: A brief chronology of the first 25 years

This document describes the development and evolution of the SCWI from its introduction in 1997 to the celebration of its 25th year in existence in 2022.

Dual Credit Students and Their Transition to College, 2023

As the 2023 data demonstrates, dual credit students are receiving offers, and enrolling, at rates higher than system-wide applicants – an indication of the positive results stemming from the dual credit program.

These results, as highlighted in this report, provide a strong argument for the value of this program and the need for continued support.

May 2024.

Level 1 Transitions Support Pilots

Level 1 Transitions Support Pilots were first conducted in summer 2020. Given the success of these pilots, they were extended in 2020-21 and expanded to include all Level 1 dual credit students starting in 2021-22.

In February 2021, a webinar was held to provide an opportunity to hear more about the previous pilots, supplementary reporting, costing and to seek answers to questions.

Another webinar was held in February 2022 which focused on expanding the delivery of these pilots to all Level 1 dual credit students.

Recordings, Power Point presentations, the supplementary reporting template, and webinar notes are available for download.

Updated – February 2022

Level 1 Apprenticeship Update Webinars

These webinars provided an opportunity to bring together people involved in the delivery of Level 1 Apprenticeship Dual Credits. These webinars included updates on Ministries’ announcements that are relevant to Level 1 Dual Credits and recommendations regarding program delivery and funding. The April 2020 session included information on reporting Level 1 Dual Credits on students’ report cards and transcripts, including the use of partial credits. The November 2020 session focused on delivery of Level 1 dual credits during COVID-19 restrictions.

In November 2021 along with an update, the focus was on the new OYAP Level 1 Transitions Support pilots, Level 1 delivered through College Oversight and successful strategies for working with small schools to deliver Level 1s.

The February 2022 webinar included an update, as well as a discussion about supports for students and connecting with employers. Guest speakers described their impactful resources.

Updated December 2022

Pathways to Apprenticeships: how can dual credits and School-College-Work Initiative Activities and Forums help?

Unlike applying to college or university which has specific processes, entrance requirements and deadlines, helping students interested in becoming journey persons can be complicated. Likely even more difficult is helping at risk students who have no career goal consider if an apprenticeship is right for them. Online workshops designed for new Regional Planning Team members, OYAP coordinators, guidance counsellors and experiential education coordinators were held in September and throughout 2019. Below you will find the Background information, the power points and resources shared during these sessions, along with the responses from participants.

Updated September 2021

Level 1 Apprenticeship In-school Training with College Oversight

Typically, apprenticeship in-school training is delivered at a college site. However, Level 1 training may also be delivered by a secondary school teacher in a secondary school, using the Ontario curriculum. In such cases, there is an oversight protocol that must be followed. Resources shared at the November 2019 webinar are available including: The Power Point presentation, the Q’s and A’s from the webinar, a recording of the webinar, and the Oversight background document.

Updated December 2022

Setting Up a New School Within a College Program

School Within a College programs have been a successful way to engage students to complete their OSSDs and to transition on to post-secondary education. This unique, made-in-Ontario model is worth exploring for your students.

Sue Hawkins (Manager, School College Work Initiative & Academic Upgrading, Durham College), Adriana McDonough (currently the ELTPT Financial Services Coordinator, previously Durham Catholic DSB representative on the ELRPT) Stephen Hughes (Student Success Coordinator, Durham Catholic DSB representative) and Tom Smith (South Western Ontario RPT Co-Chair and Thames Valley DSB representative ) will be sharing their extensive experiences with SWAC programs.

Updated June 2020.

Provincial Conference Presentations 2021 and later

Below are links to power point presentations given at provincial conferences including OSCA, OCEA and CESBA. These presentations may be of interest to RPT members, board and college administrators, dual credit teachers and others who work with dual credit students.

View the latest presentations:

OCEA (April 2022)
- Dual Credits: An Update for Administrators, Co-ordinators and Consultants

- The Dual Credit / Co-op Connection: For Educators New to Dual Credits

OSCA (October 2021)
- Student Success in Dual Credits

OCEA (October 2019)
- Introduction to Dual Credits
- Dual Credit / SCWI Updates and Discussion

Leaders of Experiential Learning Webinar (March 2019)

Stepping Stones Forum (October 2018)
- Introduction to Dual Credits

Updated April 2022

Wrap Around Adult Dual Credits (ADC) and Wrap Around School Within a College (SWAC) 2020-2021

The support of the College Advisor and the provision of a college or university application voucher for students in ADC or SWAC programs has been an impactful addition to the SCWI. Below you will find Interim and Year End provincial reports which summarize feedback and data collected from College Advisors and Regional Planning Teams.

These supports were formerly known as After ADC and After SWAC.

Updated August 2024. Content prior to 2021 has been archived.

Community College Research Centre

CCRC is a leading US independent authority on two-year colleges in the United States. They conduct research on the issues affecting community colleges and work with colleges and states to improve student success and institutional performance.

The Dual Enrollment Playbook: A Guide to Equitable Acceleration for Students was released in October 2020. Similar to Dual Credits, Dual Enrollment in the US provides opportunities for over 1 million high school students. "The playbook identifies five principles and the supporting strategies and practices through which community colleges and K-12 leaders can advance equity in high-quality dual enrollment."

Updated October 2020