This summer, meet your admission conditions and earn university credit at the same time.
The School of Continuing Studies’ Academic Upgrading opportunity is open to graduating high school learners with current conditional offers of admission to the University of Guelph or another Ontario post-secondary institution. Be sure to check with the admission team at the post-secondary institution you have received conditional admission from to ensure that they will acknowledge this Academic Upgrading opportunity and recognize it as meeting admission requirements for a 4U course.
Why Choose AU?
AU provides high schoolers the opportunity to improve their high school grades and become more competitive or admissible to Canadian post-secondary programs by completing high school 4U equivalent courses.
All AU courses are offered in a virtual asynchronous format (i.e. there is no set time for meetings/lectures, etc.), giving you the flexibility to fit them into your schedule when it is convenient for you. Gain exposure to a more advanced learning environment, get a taste of university course format & systems, and get ahead by earning university credit prior to your official degree start date.
Admission
Dates and Deadlines
Course enrolment, for Summer semesters, opens in March and closes:
- In early May for 12-week courses
- In early May for early summer 6-week courses
- In late June for late summer 6-week courses
Please note that space is limited. Seats are claimed on a first-come-first-served basis. Contact info@opened.uoguelph.ca for exact closing dates.
Enrolment Process
- Add one of our Academic Upgrading (AU) courses to your cart
- Select the tuition fee that aligns with your citizenship/residency status
- Go to “Checkout”
- Create or log in to your account using the learner's name and email
- Complete the Open Learning Program Application form. Please specify "High School Academic Upgrading" when you are asked why you are interested in taking courses through the Open Learning Program.
- Complete checkout by making your payment with MasterCard or Visa to complete your registration
Available Courses
Below is a list of available courses through the AU opportunity and their Ontario Secondary School (OSS) equivalent course codes. By clicking on each course code, you can view additional details (ex: dates, fees, refund schedule, course description, technical requirements, etc.) and enroll.
*Additional courses coming soon for Summer 2026!
Equivalent: ENG4U
Recommended Preparation: ENG3U or equivalent
Equivalent: SCH4U
Recommended Preparation: SCH3U or equivalent
*Please note that while ENGL*1030 is not an equivalent course to ENG4U, it meets the admission requirements for ENG4U. ENGL*1030 goes above and beyond what an ENG4U equivalent course would include. AU courses offered by the University of Guelph do not count for OSSD credit; these are not dual-credit courses.
Modes of Delivery
All courses are offered in a virtual asynchronous format. There are no set times for meetings/lectures, etc. Assessments, nevertheless, will still be due on specific dates at specific times.
Grading Framework
Credit/No Credit Grade Policy
The University of Guelph is committed to developing the whole learner, providing a learning environment that encourages exploration. The School of Continuing Studies’ credit/no credit grade option will encourage student learning and participation in academic areas in which they have interest but perhaps not expertise. This policy allows learners taking courses through the SCS’s Academic Upgrading (AU) and High School Enrichment (HSE) opportunities to receive credit for eligible courses without impacting their cumulative average. This grade option is not available to University of Guelph students who fall under the purview of the Undergraduate, Graduate, or Associate Diploma calendars or general Open Learning program Students.
The intention of this option is to provide AU and HSE learners with the opportunity to explore university-level learning. The application of this grade option to a course is automatic upon enrolment in the HSE and AU opportunities and is not subject to consideration through the academic consideration process.
Learners complete course work as usual and must achieve a final mark of at least 50%, to receive a Credit (CR) under this option. So long as a learner does not reverse a credit/no credit request for a final numeric grade, the course(s) are not included in the calculation of the learner’s overall cumulative or semester average. The SCS’s credit/no credit policy is separate from the University of Guelph undergraduate credit/no credit policy. They bear no influence on one another.
The SCS’s credit/no credit policy, therefore, does not impact the total number of credits/courses an undergraduate student is allowed to apply the undergraduate Credit/No Credit policy to.
Courses where the credit/no credit grade option has been applied can be used subsequently to satisfy Degree-Credit Certificate or Diploma requirements, provided those courses are included in the Certificate or Diploma in question.
If a learner fails the course and receives a No Credit (NCR), it is in the learner's best interest not to request that the credit/no credit grade option be reversed to a numeric final grade. Nevertheless, the option to change the NCR final grade into a numeric final grade will still be available to the learner.
Reversing the Credit/No Credit Grade Option:
The credit/no credit grade option applied to courses taken by HSE and AU learners can be reverted to a numeric final grade, after the last day of classes, by submitting a reversal request by email to the Learner Success Advisor (counsel2@uoguelph.ca).
To create a safe space for high school learners to try out university learning and mitigate academic risk, a Credit/No Credit grading framework is applied to learners completing courses through the Academic Upgrading opportunity. Please see our Credit/No Credit grade policy for additional information.
A Credit/No Credit grading framework provides learners with the option to flip their final grade from Credit/No Credit to a numeric final grade after the last day of classes.
Please note that grades obtained through the School of Continuing Studies may be able to count for transfer credit at another post-secondary institution. How a credit transfers is up to the discretion of the receiving institution. Please reach out to the institution you are interested in transferring credit to in order to learn more about how School of Continuing Studies courses may transfer.
Support Services
With access to academic advising and academic accessibility accommodation services, the School of Continuing Studies is committed to ensuring you have the support you need to succeed. Reach out to counsel2@uoguelph.ca with any questions you may have about academic advising or academic accessibility accommodations.
Cost & Bursaries
Tuition fees listed on course pages are subject to change and do not include the cost of textbooks or other required/supplementary reading and learning materials. You may purchase these materials from the University of Guelph Bookstore, the Guelph Campus Co-op Bookstore, or from another third-party seller.
The School of Continuing Studies is a cost recovery operation and requires payment upon registration. We are unable to offer financial aid or a payment plan to learners. Learners may, however, qualify for a bursary. Please review our bursary webpage for more information.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents interested in enrolling in Academic Upgrading opportunity courses are eligible to apply for a School of Continuing Studies bursary. Our bursaries can each cover the tuition fees of 1 course.
Contact
University of Guelph undergraduate program requirements can be found on the Undergraduate Degree Requirements for Ontario Applicants webpage. If you wish to speak to a University of Guelph Admission Counsellor to determine if the Academic Upgrading (AU) opportunity is right for you, please reach out to admission@uoguelph.ca.
If you have additional questions about the Academic Upgrading (AU) opportunity, please reach out to the Manager, Learner Success and Credit Learning Access by emailing purcellr@uoguelph.ca or calling 519-824-4120 ext. 54828.
