9.9 Undergraduate Transfer Credit Policy
[University Policy No. AC2050]
POLICY PURPOSE
Concordia University of Edmonton recognizes certain credits earned at other recognized
post-secondary institutions. The principles of that recognition are described in this policy.
DEFINITIONS
- Assessment Authority
- the faculty member or Registrar ultimately responsible to assess a course for transfer credit
- Block Transfer Credit
- credit granted in recognition of a completed credential from another recognized post-secondary institution
- Course Challenge
- an attempt to earn university credit for prior learning by taking a challenge examination in a Concordia course
- Credit-Granting Institution
- the post-secondary institution where the credits were originally earned
- Faculty Transfer Credit Assessment
- the final assessment of a course offered by a post-secondary institution for the granting of transfer credit
- Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)
- the assessment of non-credited courses, certificates from professional organizations, and life or work experiences for university credit
- Student Transfer Credit Evaluation
- the compilation of the transfer credit granted to a student for courses taken at other post-secondary institutions based on applicable Faculty Transfer Credit Assessments or existing Transfer Credit Agreements
- Transfer Credit
- credit granted for the successful completion of course work at another recognized post-secondary institution
- Transfer Credit Agreement
- an agreement between Concordia University of Edmonton and a recognized post-secondary institution to grant Concordia transfer credits for courses successfully completed at the recognized post-secondary institution
- Visiting Student Request (VSR)
- a request by a student enrolled in a Concordia University of Edmonton credential program of study to receive a Letter of Permission to be allowed to take a course at another post-secondary institution for inclusion in their Concordia program.
JURISDICTION/SCOPE OF THE POLICY
This policy applies to undergraduate transfer credit only. It specifically does not address block transfer credits, PLAR, and/or course challenges.
POLICY
Principles
Concordia University of Edmonton endorses the principles of the Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfers, specifically:
- Student access to higher education and the opportunity for student mobility among institutions of higher education in Alberta shall be optimized.
- Negotiation of opportunities for student mobility shall be based on the recognition that while learning experiences may differ in a variety of ways, their substance may be virtually equivalent in terms of learning outcomes and rigour.
- Individual institutions have the primary responsibility for instructional programs, even though responsibility for higher education is shared among various constituents. The responsibility of institutions includes program design and delivery, determination of academic prerequisites and student admission criteria, and certification of the academic achievement of students.
- Post-secondary institutions are committed to developing and maintaining clearly stated policies and procedures for consideration of transfer credit and to applying them in a consistent manner.
- After students are granted admission to an institution under a transfer arrangement, they shall be granted the same rights and privileges as students who began their studies at the institution.
Concordia University of Edmonton supports the Pan-Canadian Protocol on the Transferability of University Credits as adopted by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) which invites all members of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (now Universities Canada) to take the necessary measures to ensure
that all course work by transfer students during the first two years of university study in Canada [including the final year of studies leading to a diploma of college studies (DCS)
in Quebec and the university transfer courses offered by community colleges and university colleges of British Columbia and Alberta] will be recognized and fully credited for the purpose of granting a degree provided that:
- the transfer student is deemed admissible and has been presented with an offer of admission;
- the transfer student has achieved a passing grade in his/her course(s) and has obtained grade levels that would normally be required of continuing students; and
- the credits earned are related to the program of study in which the transfer student will register, or the credits can be counted as electives for the program of study.
Concordia University of Edmonton recognizes the strategic priorities of the Edmonton Coalition of Post-Secondary Institutions including the priority to establish a city free of barriers to student learning pathways among coalition institutions.
Transfer of credit to Concordia University of Edmonton involves consideration of
- the educational quality of the learning experience which the student transfers; and
- The comparability of the nature, content, and level of the learning experience to that offered at Concordia.
Transfer credit assessment does not involve determination whether or how the transferred credits can be used in a specific program of study.
The assessment of courses for transfer credit relies on the judgment of Concordia faculty or subject matter experts as to the equivalence of content. The determination of equivalence involves identifying the level to which the courses at the credit-granting
institution and Concordia University of Edmonton courses match in content or outcome. Discipline contexts dictate the relative importance of the similarity.
Recognized Post-Secondary Institutions
Concordia University of Edmonton recognizes all post-secondary institutions that are officially recognized, licensed and/or accredited by national or regional bodies such as Ministries of Higher Education or government recognized accrediting organizations. Concordia University of Edmonton also recognizes all of its partners and all members of Universities Canada. Concordia University uses various tools to determine the status of a post-secondary institution including AACRAO Edge as well as the handbook of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and others. The registrar is the final authority on the recognition of post-secondary institutions.
Courses Considered for Credit Transfer
Concordia University of Edmonton considers for credit transfer all university-level courses except practica, internships, or work experiences provided said credit was earned in the 7 years prior to the Student Transfer Credit Evaluation.
Vocational courses are not considered for transfer credit.
If the credit-granting institution offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Management or Commerce, and/or Bachelor of Science in Mathematical or Natural Sciences degree programs, then credits acceptable to none of these programs will not be transferred to
Concordia University of Edmonton.
Credits granted by a Canadian recognized post-secondary institution within the last 7 years prior to the Student Transfer Credit Evaluation that are applicable to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Management or Commerce, and/or Bachelor of Science in Mathematical or Natural Sciences degree program at that post-secondary institution will be transferred to Concordia University of Edmonton.
Assessment Authority
The assessment authority for a course is normally the chair of the Concordia University of Edmonton department representing the discipline of the course. The chair may utilize the expertise of other faculty members in their department. If no chair considers the discipline of a course to be represented by their department and the course to be university-level, the assessment authority is the dean of the faculty normally representing the discipline. The dean may assign unspecified credit in their faculty only.
If no dean considers a course to be appropriate for credit in their faculty and transfer credit is to be assigned pursuant to the last paragraph of the `Courses Considered for Credit Transfer’ section, then (and only then) shall the registrar assign `Outside Faculty’ (OFAC) credit at the level of the original credit.
Transfer Credit Types
Transfer credit is granted as specified credit or as unspecified credit.
Transfer credit granted as specified credit is assigned to a specific CUE course, that at the time of the Student Transfer Credit Evaluation is listed in the CUE Academic Calendar. For all purposes, the student being granted this specified transfer credit is considered to have successfully completed the specified course.
Transfer credit granted as unspecified credit may be assigned a discipline or a faculty. It may be modified by specification that the recipient may not also earn or use credit in certain specified courses. In the latter case, the assessment will indicate whether the transfer credit can be used to fulfill pre- or co-requisite or program requirements that are normally fulfilled by these specified courses.
While transfer credit is normally granted at the level (junior, second-year etc.) of the original credits, assessment authorities may assign a different level, especially if this enables specified credit to be assigned.
Course Repeats
Concordia University of Edmonton’s policy on course repeats as specified in section 4 of the CUE Academic Calendar is also applied to transfer credits, independent from any policies of the credit-granting institution.
Grades Associated With Transfer Credits
Grades assigned by the credit-granting institution are converted to CUE grade points with due consideration of relative values at the credit-granting institution and any grade descriptors provided by the credit-granting institution. CUE also utilizes the AACRAO
EDGE database and various other standard sources.
Review of Assessments
To remain valid, faculty transfer credit assessments will be reviewed by the assessment authority after 7 years and whenever there are changes to related courses. In the faculty transfer credit assessment, the assessment authority may specify an earlier review date.
Transfer Credit Agreements
Concordia University of Edmonton will sign transfer credit agreements with other post-secondary institutions only based on Faculty Transfer Credit Assessments reserving the right to discontinue these agreements should the Faculty Transfer Credit Assessments change.
Roles and Responsibilities
The transfer credit coordinator in the Registrar’s Office is responsible for:
- determining whether a course is considered for transfer credit assessment according to this policy,
- managing the Faculty Transfer Credit Assessments by communicating with the appropriate Assessment Authorities to have courses assessed for transfer credit,
- recording the assessment in the CUE transfer credit database, and
- determining when the Faculty Transfer Credit Assessments require review.
The Admissions Office performs Student Transfer Credit Evaluations for applicants based on the information in the transfer credit database.
The Registrar’s Office performs Student Transfer Credit Evaluations in the case of Visiting Student Requests.
The Registrar is the final authority in determining whether a post-secondary institution is recognized for the purpose of transfer credit.