Night school, summer school, online courses: do Ontario universities care?
Updated August 22, 2026
Most accept them as equal, provided the school is inspected by the Ministry of Education. A handful say they may ask why — and one group enforces a hard cut-off date for when the mark arrives. The difference between those three positions is the whole answer, and which universities sit where is below.
The rumour, and where it comes from
Every year someone on Reddit says night school is “patched” — that universities have started rejecting marks earned outside the regular day timetable. The rumour survives because it is a quarter true. Three universities say, in the counsellor guide, that they reserve the right to ask why a course was taken outside day school and what mark it replaced. That is not a rejection policy. It is a flag. But it is enough to keep the story alive.
The rest — the large majority — say the opposite in plain language: a credit is a credit, provided the school that issued it is inspected by the Ministry of Education. The full breakdown:
13 universities accept them as equal, provided the school is Ministry-inspected
Algoma · Brock · Carleton · Laurentian · Queen's · RMC · Trent · Guelph · Guelph-Humber · Ottawa · U of T (St. George) · Windsor · York
7 universities accept them but enforce a hard cut-off date
Lakehead · McMaster · Nipissing · OCAD · TMU · Western · Laurier (Waterloo)
1 university accepts them but reserves the right to ask questions
Waterloo
- 2 answers are worded too loosely to classify — read them in full below.
The Ministry-inspected condition
Almost every answer carries one condition: the school must be a Ministry of Education inspected school. Public boards are. Most well-known online providers are. A private credit mill that promises a 95 may not be — and if it is not, the credit may not be recognised for an OSSD at all, let alone by a university. Before paying for a private-school course, find the school on the Ministry’s list of inspected private schools. If it is not there, the mark will not help you anywhere.
The date problem nobody mentions
A second group of universities does not care where you took the course. They care when the mark arrives. Universities receive grades from the OUAC on fixed dates — the first full set in late February, the spring set in early May, finals in July. A summer school mark that lands in August is too late for a decision that was made in May. If you are taking a prerequisite in summer school after Grade 12, check the program’s conditional-offer wording: some will hold a place, some will not.
What the three “may ask questions” universities are really saying
Read their wording below. What they describe is a pattern: a student who drops a course in day school with a 62, retakes it at night school, and returns with a 91. The university sees both attempts on the transcript — the OUAC sends every attempt — and reserves the right to ask which one represents you. Taking a course at night school because it did not fit your timetable, or because you are taking seven courses, is not that pattern and does not draw the question.
What to actually do with this
If you are choosing between a day-school course and the same course online or at night because of timetable, take it wherever it fits — at a Ministry-inspected school — and stop worrying. If you are planning to replace a weak day-school mark with a night-school retake, look up your target universities below and on the repeated-courses page before you spend the money, because at a few of them the first attempt still counts.
Every university’s answer, verbatim
13 accept them as equal, provided the school is Ministry-inspected
We grant equal standing to all courses recognized by the Ministry of Education.
We treat all Ministry-approved high school courses equally.
If the home school does not submit the course via the OUAC according to established timelines, the student must email the Admissions Office (futurestudent@brocku.ca) to provide proof of registration in the course.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure we receive their midterm and final grades.
Space is not guaranteed in all programs.
We treat all Ministry-approved high school courses equally.
We accept all Ministry-approved 4U/M courses.
We accept all courses completed at Ministry-inspected and -approved schools.
Royal Military College of Canada
We accept all Ministry-approved courses.
We will accept credits from any institution that is accredited by the Ontario Ministry of Education.
Students who are completing courses outside of their regular day school must notify the Admissions Office using the Intention to Upgrade Form on their myTrent portal.
We consider all Ministry-inspected and -approved high school courses equally.
We will consider U/M courses taken at a Ministry-inspected and -approved school, regardless of format.
We treat all courses taken through a Ministry-inspected and approved institution as equal for the purpose of calculating an admission average.
University of Toronto — St. George
We accept all Ministry-inspected and -approved courses.
We are unable to accept grades unless the school submits them to us through the OUAC.
We accept all Ministry-inspected and approved courses.
We accept all Ministry-inspected and -approved courses.
Prior to registering for courses at a private school, students should ensure it is approved by the Ministry of Education.
7 accept them but enforce a hard cut-off date
We accept all Ministry-approved courses regardless of the mode of instruction.
Students must supply transcripts for courses outside of their regular school program. Students must submit summer school courses by August 15, 2026.
We accept all Ministry-inspected and -approved courses.
Students may not use summer school courses taken in 2026 to meet the conditions of an offer of admission for September 2026 because the coursework is completed after the June 30, 2026, deadline.
We accept all courses completed at Ministry-inspected and -approved schools.
Schools must send midterm and/or final grades for these courses to the OUAC by April 24, 2026, to be included in the regular admission decision timelines.
Schools should submit summer school grades by August 15, 2026.
Provided that the course is completed at a Ministryinspected and -approved institution, we will accept Grade 12 U/M courses regardless of how or where students take them. Final official documents are due in July or August each year.
Toronto Metropolitan University
We accept all courses completed at public and Ministry-inspected, registered private schools that are authorized to grant credits toward the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.
Courses completed after June 30 in the Grade 12 year (e.g., regular or condensed summer school courses) require authorization and may not be considered. www.torontomu.ca/admissions/undergraduate/ after-applying/summer-school-extensions
We will accept online, summer, night and private school courses as long as the school is accredited through the Ontario Ministry of Education and offers the same rigorous curriculum and level of instruction that they would receive from their day school.
When students take courses outside of a regular day school, it is their responsibility to ensure that all in-progress and final grades are uploaded to their OUAC Undergraduate application by the appropriate deadlines.
Wilfrid Laurier University — Waterloo
We will accept Grade 12 U/M courses, provided the school or institution is accredited by the Ministry of Education.
Ontario high school students must submit the Summer School Registration Form if they intend to take summer school courses to meet the conditions of their offer. Final grades for summer courses must be submitted by August 12, 2026, to maintain an offer. If we receive documents after August 12, we may consider the student for an alternative offer or rescind the offer. Dates are subject to change, but we will inform applicants if they do.
1 accept them but reserve the right to ask questions
We accept all approved courses through schools accredited by the Ministry of Education.
Once students have applied, we may ask them to identify courses they have taken or are taking outside of regular day school and to explain why. Taking required courses in summer school could negatively affect a student's application to some programs. www.uwaterloo.ca/future/repeated-courses
Worded their own way
Ontario Tech University
We will accept credits from all accredited institutions. www.ontariotechu.ca/upgrading
We will use the highest 4U/M (or equivalent) grade(s) for admission.
Students accepted into one of our competitive programs, who do not meet the grade cut-off, will not be able to upgrade their grades in summer school.
Summer school courses taken immediately prior to the start of the September term to upgrade grades are not included in grade calculation for awards.
Saint Paul University
Case-by-case evaluation.
Quoted from the OUAC guide for guidance counsellors, September 2026 entry. Structural policies like these change rarely, but confirm anything you are about to act on with the university.