PASS program helps high school drop-outs earn diplomas online

Geelasia Boileau with her daughter Liette, nine months old, and son Chase, who is two-and-a-half. Boileau, born and raised in Iqaluit, is in the middle of earning her high school diploma online through Nunavut Arctic College’s Pathway to Adult Secondary School graduation program or PASS. (PHOTO COURTESY GEELASIA BOILEAU)

When asked why she didn’t finish high school, Iqaluit’s Geelasia Boileau isn’t ashamed to say it: she was kind of a slacker and didn’t think school was important anyway.

She was also shy, a bit anti-social, distracted by relationships, slept in a lot and thought she would eventually get a job with no problem, with or without a diploma.

As the years went by, she came to regret turning her back on the classroom. Now 26 and with two young children, she’s determined to get her diploma and maybe even go to college — and perhaps even become a teacher, of all things.

She’s doing it, in part, so she can get a good job and provide for her kids. But she’s also doing it because she’s enjoying learning, and she wants to set an example for her children.

“Some days I really didn’t want to do [the assignments] but I forced myself to just get it done. That way I wouldn’t have to come back and do it again. It feels so good to get it done,” Boileau said.

“I just hope my children don’t have to go through what I went through. I’m going to try my best to make sure they get a good education so they can do whatever they want.”

Boileau is one of more than 40 students currently enrolled in a Nunavut Arctic College program to help more Nunavummiut graduate from high school.

Pathway to Adult Secondary School graduation, or PASS, was launched in November 2013 by Nunavut Arctic College, in partnership with the Government of Nunavut’s education department.

Students range in age from 19 to over 60, said Chris McCarthy, Arctic College’s manager of distant learning, and they already expect three students to complete the program this coming June.

Ottawa announced money for the program in February 2013 through a five-year CanNor commitment of $11.1 million for adult education in Nunavut.

Though Nunavut high school graduation statistics have improved in the past decade, roughly two of every three high school students still don’t earn a diploma, according to Nunavut education statistics from 1999 to 2011.

The PASS program, aimed at youth who have been out of school for a year or adults who dropped out years ago, is an online program which provides everything from a laptop computer, modem and software to free internet and a local facilitator in every community where a student is enrolled.

Once they’ve been furnished with a computer and a space to do the work, students must complete an introduction to online learning course to show them how everything works, said McCarthy.

But, he added, that’s not always the biggest challenge.

“Online learning requires some soft skills such as self-motivation and self direction. You don’t have that teacher in front of you, for five to six hours a day, every day, telling you what to do, how to do it and when you need to do it,” McCarthy said. “We try to instill those skills as well.”

Since their first intake of 10 students from three communities — Iqaluit, Kimmirut and Pangnirtung — the college has been tweaking the program to make it more streamlined for students who now hail from all of Nunavut’s three regions.

One of the biggest changes right off the bat, says McCarthy, was to go from a continuous intake model to a semester model where courses have start and end dates and deadlines in between. Students now start courses in September or January.

Boileau, who is writing her English exams this week to complete her second course, said in the beginning, you could go at your own pace and there were no strict deadlines. That may sound great but in fact, she found herself slacking off again.

Since deadlines have been introduced, she’s more keen to get assignments done on time and feels a greater sense of accomplishment as a result, she said.

She also really appreciates the support she gets from the local facilitator who praises her improvements and lets her know where more work is needed.

“It’s so great seeing the good marks,” she said. “I like reading what the teachers have to say. They tell me how I’ve improved, and what still needs to be improved. Knowing I’m getting it right — I love seeing that.”

When a student is accepted into the program, Arctic College staff will work with them to figure out what credits they have already and what they will need in order to graduate.

And when they get that diploma, it has no caveats, McCarthy said. Students must complete the Alberta-based online learning curriculum and then pass standardized exams in order to earn their diploma so it would be the same as if they graduated from traditional high school.

McCarthy could not provide overall annual budget figures for the program, but explained that it costs roughly $2,000 per student, per course. Those costs are borne entirely by the college, not students.

Nunavut Arctic College does about 200 PASS student/course enrollments per year, he said, so that comes to about $400,000 for equipment, materials, tuition fees and internet service.

And there are added incentives: students who complete the first course get to keep the loaner laptop computer and travel case regardless whether they take any further courses.

If you want to begin the PASS program this coming September, deadline for applications is June 15.

You can find out more about the program, and download application forms, here.

“For students who couldn’t finish high school, maybe they think it’s too late. But it’s never too late,” Boileau said.

“I used to think school was only for teenagers but you can go to school even when you’re older. So don’t give up. Just do it now online.”