Alexander College participates fully in the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) system for articulation of courses among institutions in British Columbia. It is our policy to compare our courses to the courses of other participating institutions and to recognize course to course equivalencies where appropriate.

Policy on credit transfer includes but is not limited to the following:

• International Credit Transfer

  For courses completed outside of Canada, students may apply to transfer a maximum of five subjects per request. Additional requests may be considered after the previous request has been completed. To ensure that the program learning outcomes are met, a maximum of 25% international transfer credit may be applied to an Associate degree.

  International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES)

  All students applying for transfer of credit taken outside of Canada must first obtain a comprehensive report from the International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES). ICES is an external service which authenticates academic credentials and provides a report on how the credentials are comparable within the BC education system. Effective for all requests submitted from May 14, 2018)

  International Course Evaluation Fee

  A course evaluation fee of $50 is charged for the service of international course evaluation by Alexander College. The fee for this service is charged per international course submitted for evaluation, is non-transferable and non-refundable. Payment of the fee does not guarantee that transfer credit will be granted. It is the responsibility of the student to select which courses to submit for evaluation based on applicability to a degree program, and to ensure that course outlines contain the required information. Effective from Winter 2018 term (requests submitted from February 1, 2018)

• Course Outline Requirements

  Individual students who apply for transfer credit will have their prior courses individually assessed. All credentials issued by BCCAT member institutions receive generous consideration. Credentials issued by non-BCCAT member institutions within Canada are also considered, provided that the institution is authorized to grant degrees.

  At a minimum, the course outline must contain all of the following information:

  • Name of institution or official stamp
  • Name/course code/title and program year of the course
  • Number of course hours (e.g. number of hours per week x number of weeks)
  • Minimum of 40 hours per term for non-lab course/minimum of 60 hours for lab course
  • Grading system used, including passing mark
  • Learning outcomes and/or topics covered
  • Learning resources (textbooks and other resources). Currency of text may be a factor in the acceptance or rejection of a course in certain subject areas, at the discretion of the evaluator

  In the event that any of the above information is missing from the course outline, the student will be notified via email and provided with an opportunity to submit the missing information. If the missing information is not provided within 90 days of the date of the email request, the request to transfer the applicable course(s) will be deemed closed.

• Limitations on Quantity of Transferred Credit

  Some courses can (and must) be combined in order to obtain the equivalent 3-credit course at Alexander College. The College’s Registrar and the course evaluator will make this determination based on the courses content and outcome coverage.

  Unless otherwise noted, external credit granted may not exceed one half of the total credit required for the program. For example, 60 credits are required for completion of the Associate of Arts degree and therefore a maximum of 30 credits can be presented for transfer into the program.

• Unassigned Credit

  Assigned credit is given for a course that matches (with 75% correspondence or greater) a specific Alexander College course. Unassigned credit is given for a course accepted as fulfilling a requirement but not matching a specific Alexander College course. Arts electives, including fine arts, are assigned to either Humanities (HUMN) or Social Sciences (SOSC). In order to ensure that the program learning outcomes are met, a maximum of 25% unassigned credit may be applied toward an Associate degree.

• Applicability

  Credit transfer cannot be used as a substitute for meeting all of the credential requirements. For example, obtaining a total of 60 credits does not eliminate the requirement to complete a laboratory science course. Each course accepted for transfer credit must satisfy at least one requirement for the credential.

• Level of Study

  AC will only accept undergraduate courses for credit transfer and prerequisites to a maximum of a 200-level credit at AC. Graduate courses may be considered for exemptions to this policy (via application to the Associate Registrar), as long as the courses adhere to the College’s credit transfer guidelines and do not interfere with the student’s ability to attempt further courses at the College.

• Minimum Grade

  Courses accepted for credit or prerequisite must have been completed with a grade of at least D (GP 1.0).

• Stale Dating

  Credit is not normally given for courses completed more than 10 years in the past. A decision to not accept a course for credit can be appealed to the Registrar who will consult appropriate experts (instructors or SASC members) for a decision.

• Disclosure of Post-Secondary Studies

  Unless they are disclosed at the time of admission, post-secondary courses completed prior to the date of admission to Alexander College are not eligible for transfer credit, however may be used to satisfy course prerequisites. Effective from Fall 2017 term (students admitted after July 1, 2017)

BC Transfer Guide

Alexander College is a member of the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) system and has established transfer agreements with college and universities across British Columbia, including the most prestigious universities in the province. Alexander College is continuously negotiating new transfer agreements with the major universities in BC and the rest of Canada, as well as with other colleges and universities around the world.

The BCCAT transfer system’s online transfer guide enables students to check the transferability of the courses they wish to take, as well as develop a study plan allowing seamless transfer between Alexander College and the specific program they wish to complete.

www.bctransferguide.ca

Transfer Credit Procedure

• Courses which are Articulated in the BC Transfer Guide

  Transferability of courses with the BC Post-Secondary Transfer System is determined by articulation agreements between member institutions. Course transferability is viewable online using the BC Transfer Guide.

  Students who wish to transfer credit from another BCCAT member institution are required to submit the following:

  • Completed Transfer Credit Request (Domestic) Form
  • Official transcript

  Where BCCAT articulations exist, transfer credit requests will normally be completed within 2-4 weeks from the date that all documentation was submitted. It is responsibility of the student to ensure that credit transfer/course evaluation requests are submitted at least 4 weeks prior to the posted registration deadline.

  When an equivalent course cannot be found using the BC Transfer Guide, Admissions Officers may refer to the credit transfer folder on the Admissions server. This folder contains records of courses previously reviewed and approved by the Registrar on a case-by-case basis. If an equivalent course cannot be found using these two sources, the procedure for non-BCCAT transferable courses (below) will apply.

• Courses which were completed in Canada but are not Articulated in the BC Transfer Guide

  Alexander College does not generally accept courses taken outside of the BC Transfer System for credit. In exceptional circumstances, students may request to have coursework from an accredited degree-granting institution evaluated by a subject matter expert.

  1. Prepare the following documentation:

  • Completed Transfer Credit Request Form
  • Official transcript
  • Course outline (also called course syllabus) for each requested course. Course outlines must be emailed (soft copy) in a secure file format (e.g. .pdf)

  2. Submit your application documents in person to the Office of the Registrar at Burnaby Campus, or by email to: transfercredit@alexandercollege.ca Please note that an Officer will only verify that all required documents are present.

  3. Wait for processing. You will be contacted by email if more information or documentation is required. If you are unable to provide the requested additional information within 90 days of the original request submission date, evaluation of the associated course will be cancelled without refund.

  Course evaluation requests will normally be completed within 6-8 weeks from the date that all documentation was submitted. It is responsibility of the student to ensure that credit transfer/course evaluation requests are submitted at least 8 weeks prior to the posted registration deadline.

• Courses which were Completed Outside of Canada

  Alexander College does not generally accept courses taken outside of the BC Transfer System for credit. In exceptional circumstances, students may request to have coursework from an accredited institution evaluated by the Registrar.

  1. Prepare the following documentation:

  • Official International Credential Evaluation Service (ICES) Comprehensive Report
  • Completed Transfer Credit Request Form
  • Official transcript
  • Course outline (also called course syllabus) for each requested course. Course outlines must be emailed (soft copy) in a secure file format (e.g. .pdf)

  2. Submit your application documents in person to the Office of the Registrar at Burnaby Campus, or by email to: transfercredit@alexandercollege.ca Please note that an Officer will only verify that all required documents are present, but will not review the documentation until the evaluation fee has been paid. If all required documents are present, an Officer will sign the form, and instruct you to submit payment of the course evaluation fee.

  3. After the form has been signed by the Office of the Registrar, submit the form to the Student Financial Services Office and pay the course evaluation fee. Return a copy of the payment receipt in person to the Office of the Registrar, or by email to: transfercredit@alexandercollege.ca

  4. Wait for processing. You will be contacted by email if more information or documentation is required. If you are unable to provide the requested additional information within 90 days of the original request submission date, evaluation of the associated course will be cancelled without refund.

  Course evaluation requests will normally be completed within 6-8 weeks from the date that all documentation was submitted. It is responsibility of the student to ensure that credit transfer/course evaluation requests are submitted at least 8 weeks prior to the posted registration deadline.