The Academic and Career Entrance (ACE) program is delivered on campus by Ontario’s 24 public colleges at 80 sites across the province and through ACE Distance (e-learning).

ACE offers adults in Ontario the chance to achieve their grade 12 equivalency, improve their high school marks and qualify for the college program, apprenticeship and career of their choice. ACE students prepare for college at college, as college students, with all the advantages and supports that colleges offer.

Ontario residents 18 and over can enrol for free if they meet the eligibility requirements. ACE courses and the ACE certificate are recognized as grade 12 equivalent by all Ontario public colleges and many employers across the province.

Only Ontario public colleges and the ACE Distance program can deliver ACE courses and provide the ACE credential (certificate). The ACE program (curriculum, credential and graduation requirements) is only approved for delivery within Ontario’s public colleges.

College upgrading programs normally offer a combination of ACE and pre-ACE (foundational) courses. The colleges may use Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) funding to provide tuition-free ACE courses, just as other LBS providers use LBS funding to deliver curricula that meet the needs of their students. Some colleges also offer a fee-paying option for registration in ACE courses.

College upgrading (ACE) students can:

• Complete one or more ACE courses to satisfy specific prerequisites for application to college postsecondary programs;
  
  
• Use a combination of high school courses and ACE courses to satisfy prerequisites for college postsecondary programs; and
  
  
• Complete the ACE Certificate requirements to obtain a grade 12 equivalent certificate for apprenticeship registration or for college programs requiring the full certificate.