What an Ontario online high school is actually offering
Three things separate one school from another, and none is the website.
Who issues the diploma
Many providers deliver courses. Fewer are inspected schools that grant the diploma themselves. Every official transcript and OSSD at NPU is issued by NPU Canada under BSID 882700, so a university reads a transcript from an inspected Ontario school.
How much teaching sits behind a course
Each NPU course carries 110 instructional hours, the Ontario standard. A full-time student typically completes 800 to 900 instructional hours per year. Courses are offered in English and in French.
What happens when the work gets hard
Flexibility without structure is how students stall in October and panic in May. NPU pairs self-paced course work with a structured school calendar, and offers optional individual teacher support: a fixed weekly meeting, a second on request, pacing guidance, and email support Monday to Friday.
How NPU works, step by step
The academic record is reviewed before anything is promised
Admission begins with a review of the student's transcript and a program consultation. A student entering after Grade 9 may receive equivalencies for completed work, assessed on that student's own record, and placement tests are sometimes required. There is no standard conversion table: the review is case by case. Start with registration.
You leave with a course plan, not a catalogue
From Grade 11, students follow one of three pre-university study profiles: Science, Business and Law, or Liberal Arts. The Grade 12 minimum for the diploma is six Grade 12 pre-university courses plus the Ontario Secondary School Literacy requirement, alongside the province's compulsory courses. Community involvement totals 40 hours across the diploma, pro-rated according to when the student began Ontario studies, and the principal determines how many hours an incoming student must complete. Which six courses depends on where the student intends to apply.
Online high school courses in Ontario, at the student's own pace
Course work runs through NPU's learning management system, with flexible pacing rather than fixed class hours. Students may also register retroactively for eligible courses, which is how an unfinished course gets completed or a grade upgraded toward the diploma. See program info.
Exams are supervised, without exception
This is where online classes for high school stop being casual. Every NPU exam must be supervised by a qualified proctor. Students on site write at school facilities. Off-site students use video proctoring, for a $98 fee, or an NPU-approved proctor, where application fees apply. Families outside those options contact the school.
On site
School facilities, no fee stated
Video proctoring
$98 per exam
Approved proctor
Application fees apply
The transcript and diploma come from the school itself
Transcripts and diplomas are issued by NPU Canada, BSID 882700, in Toronto. Nothing is subcontracted at the moment that matters most: when an admissions office opens the file.
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Is online high school in Ontario free? The honest answer
NPU is not free. It is a private school, not publicly funded and not subsidised, and families pay tuition. If cost is your deciding factor, read this before going further.
Free and low-cost options do exist in Ontario:
- Publicly funded school boards make a selection of online courses available to their own registered students, in the English-language and French-language public and Catholic systems. If your child is already enrolled with an Ontario board, the first call is to their school.
- TVO publishes free course material for Grades 9 to 12, and TVO ILC offers credit courses to Ontario residents at a low per-course fee.
Two conditions decide whether free applies to you: residency and enrolment. Publicly funded routes are built for Ontario residents, usually already registered with an Ontario board. A student living in Quebec is generally outside that pool.
Tuition does not buy the same service at a markup. It buys a transcript review and a personalised plan before enrolment, a school that grants the diploma directly, exam supervision arranged around travel, and optional one-to-one teacher support. NPU publishes its fees.
$399
Registration and application, CAD. Non-refundable.
$599
Per course, CAD, for NPU Canada students.
Course fees are fully refundable within seven days of payment, and not after. Full fee schedule.
Sources: NPU fees and policies from northernpreuniversity.com/program-info, reviewed 2026-07-24. Confirm current public-option fees and eligibility directly with TVO and your school board.
For families finishing Secondary V in Quebec
What the Grade 12 year opens up: an Ontario diploma recognised for admission in Canada, the United States and internationally, typically in one academic year rather than the two of a CEGEP programme, without the CEGEP step.
What to verify before deciding
NPU states it plainly rather than burying it. A Grade 12 entrant admitted to a Quebec university will typically have additional coursework to complete toward the undergraduate degree compared with a CEGEP graduate. Most Quebec universities accept Grade 12 applicants, but not every program is open to them; NPU lists UQO as not accepting them and several others as offering limited options. Medicine requires a Bachelor of Science, and law requires a bachelor's degree or CEGEP completion. Confirm with each admissions office you are targeting. University-specific considerations.
How a Quebec record is recognised: case by case, on the transcript. Anyone quoting a fixed equivalence has not read the file yet.
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Who this fits, and who it does not
It fits
- Students preparing for Canadian or international university admission
- Student-athletes whose training and travel make a fixed timetable impossible
- NCAA-bound students (NPU states its courses meet NCAA compliance standards)
- International students seeking a recognised Canadian pathway
- Learners who need an alternative to a traditional classroom
It does not fit
- A student who needs daily in-person supervision to do any work at all
- Anyone looking for a replacement for a technical DEC program
- Families where cost is the binding constraint and a public option is available
What students and families say
“With this high degree of freedom and flexibility, I was able to maintain a high academic average, while performing at an elite level on the ice.”
“It was an adaptation at the start but it became an advantage when I got used to it. I was able to receive some help during post school hours and I was able to work anywhere at any time.”
“After discussions with both my agent and family, I decided to enroll in a full-time curriculum with NPU, which led to the earning of my OSSD.”
What the $399 registration covers
Registration is $399 and non-refundable, and it is what pays for the review itself. NPU reads your academic record, tells you what is already recognised and what remains, and returns a course plan with a cost. If a publicly funded option serves your family better, you will hear that too.
Register, send your transcript, and you will get back what is recognised, what remains, and a course plan with a cost.
Frequently asked questions
Is online high school in Ontario free?
Publicly funded options exist for residents of Ontario registered with an Ontario school board, and TVO offers free material and low-cost courses. NPU is not one of them: it is a private inspected school and charges tuition, $399 for registration and application and $599 per course for NPU Canada students.
Can my child earn an online high school diploma from NPU?
Yes. Eligible students may earn the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Transcripts and diplomas are issued by NPU Canada, BSID 882700, a private secondary school inspected by the Ontario Ministry of Education in Toronto.
How long does one online course take?
Each course carries 110 instructional hours, in line with Ontario standards. Pacing is flexible, so calendar time varies by student. A full-time student typically completes 800 to 900 instructional hours per year.
How are exams supervised if my child studies at home?
Every exam must be supervised by a qualified proctor. Off-site students use video proctoring, for a $98 fee, or an NPU-approved proctor. Students on site write at school facilities.
I finished Secondary V in Quebec. How will my record be recognised?
Case by case, based on your transcript. Students entering after Grade 9 may receive equivalencies for completed work, and placement tests may be required. It starts with a transcript review and a consultation.
Do Quebec universities accept Grade 12 students?
Most do, though not every program is open to them. NPU lists UQO as not accepting them and several others as offering limited options. A Grade 12 entrant will typically have additional coursework to complete toward a Quebec undergraduate degree compared with a CEGEP graduate. Verify with each admissions office.
How should I compare online high schools in Ontario?
Ask three questions of every school on your list, including this one. Who issues the diploma and transcript, under what BSID? How many instructional hours does a course carry? What supervision applies to exams? A school that answers all three in writing is serious.
Can students outside Ontario or outside Canada enrol?
Yes. Students study from anywhere; the school that grants the diploma, NPU Canada, is in Toronto. The transcript and diploma are issued by NPU Canada.