InformNet Manitoba: What Homeschoolers Need to Know

If your child is approaching high school age and you have been homeschooling in Manitoba, you have probably come across the name InformNet. It tends to surface in two contexts: as the replacement for the now-closed Independent Study Option, and as the government's answer to the question of how homeschoolers can earn accredited provincial credits.

Here is a clear explanation of what InformNet actually is, how it works for home-educated students, and where it fits within a broader Manitoba homeschool strategy.

What InformNet Is

InformNet is Manitoba's provincially accredited online high school, offering asynchronous, teacher-led courses for Grades 9 through 12. When a home-educated student completes a course through InformNet, the credit appears on an official Manitoba Student Records transcript — the same credential produced by the public school system.

InformNet replaced the Independent Study Option (ISO) after the province permanently closed the ISO program in June 2021. The ISO had allowed students to earn provincial credits via correspondence. InformNet represents the government's consolidated distance learning approach going forward.

The difference between InformNet and homeschooling proper is significant. Homeschooling in Manitoba is a family-led, parent-assessed process regulated through the Homeschooling Office. InformNet is a provincial school program with registered teachers, formal course structures, and official grading. Enrolling in InformNet does not replace your homeschool registration — you continue to notify the Homeschooling Office and submit your bi-annual progress reports as usual.

Why Homeschoolers Use InformNet

Most Manitoba homeschooling families who use InformNet do so selectively — for one or two subjects per year rather than as a full replacement for family-led education.

The most common reasons:

Earning accredited credits for university applications. The University of Manitoba, for example, requires specific 40S-level course results for admission to most programs. A parent-assigned grade in Chemistry or Pre-Calculus carries less weight with some admissions offices than a provincially accredited course result. InformNet courses generate the kind of officially verifiable credential that closes that gap.

Courses that are difficult to teach at home. Advanced science and mathematics — Physics 40S, Chemistry 40S, Pre-Calculus 40S — require specific expertise and lab components that some families cannot easily provide. InformNet offers these courses with qualified teachers, making it practical to blend rigorous subject-specialist instruction with the flexibility of home education everywhere else.

Supplementing a portfolio-driven approach. Families committed to a mostly home-based high school education often enroll in one or two InformNet courses per year strategically, ensuring the transcript contains some externally validated marks while maintaining the broader homeschool philosophy for other subjects.

How Enrollment Works

InformNet enrollment is handled through the InformNet website directly. Home-educated students are eligible to enroll. Unlike the public school system, InformNet does not require you to have a school division sponsor your enrollment — you can access it as a private student.

Courses are asynchronous, meaning students work at their own pace within enrollment windows. This suits home educators well, since it allows the InformNet course to be integrated into an existing daily schedule rather than replacing it.

Before enrolling, confirm the current enrollment fee structure on the InformNet website, as fees apply for students outside the funded public school system.

What InformNet Does Not Provide

InformNet covers Grades 9 to 12 only. It is not a solution for elementary or middle school home educators — that documentation work remains entirely parent-led under the standard homeschooling framework.

InformNet also does not resolve the diploma question for families who have homeschooled entirely outside the accredited system through Grades 9 to 11 and are enrolling in InformNet late. A Manitoba High School Diploma requires 30 credits spanning both compulsory and elective subjects. Picking up InformNet in Grade 12 alone will not produce a diploma; it will produce a few credits on an official transcript.

Finally, InformNet does not eliminate the need for a homeschool portfolio. For the subjects you continue to teach at home — and for the progress report requirements that continue regardless of InformNet enrollment — your documentation practices remain exactly as important as they were before.

The Hybrid Strategy That Works Best

The most practical approach for Manitoba families homeschooling through high school is a hybrid model:

• Homeschool independently for humanities, social studies, electives, and any subject where you have strong family capacity or curriculum resources
• Enroll in InformNet for one or two credit-bearing subjects per year in the areas where external validation matters most (typically advanced sciences and math)
• Continue full compliance with the Homeschooling Office — notification and bi-annual progress reports — throughout high school
• Build a parent-issued transcript and course portfolio for the subjects completed at home, formatted to meet the expectations of Manitoba universities

This approach gives your student both the accredited transcript lines that admissions offices look for and the depth of home-based learning that a rigid school schedule cannot provide.

If you are building documentation to accompany your InformNet enrollment — or maintaining a full home-based high school portfolio alongside it — the Manitoba Portfolio & Assessment Templates give you the subject tracking, transcript framework, and course description tools designed for this province.

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