75 13.1 Transferring Between Post-secondary Institutions
75 13.1 Transferring Between Post-secondary Institutions
British Columbia has an amazing transfer process. In fact, it is said to be the envy of the world, and many Canadian provinces and other countries are now trying to emulate it. A strong transfer process makes it much more convenient and flexible for students. This is not to be taken for granted.
Author’s Story: A Transfer Nightmare
My transfer experience many years ago was a nightmare. I did my first year of engineering at one university and transferred into engineering at a different university in the same province (not BC) for my second year.
Transferring from one university to another was a job in itself. There were no transfer agreements and the receiving university didn’t want to accept many of the courses from the sending university even though the courses and the course outlines were virtually identical. I had to go to the dean and argue my case for every single course. In some circumstances, I had to go to the professors and convince them that the courses I took were of a high enough quality. One professor wanted to see my lab notebook. Another asked to see my final project from a course; I had to request it from the sending university which didn’t want to comply. Still another gave me a very challenging test on the spot and insisted I pass it or I wouldn’t get credit. (I did!) It was hard work getting credit for my courses and a very intimidating process that took an incredible amount of perseverance. However, I still didn’t get credit for all my courses and had to repeat some.
When I came to BC and became an education advisor, I had an amazing respect and appreciation for the beautiful thing it was to have the BC Transfer Guide. I knew it was a good fit for me to be involved in the articulation process for post-secondary transfer. I regularly show students how to use the guide to do their education planning.
— Mary Shier, College of the Rockies
The British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) oversees the BC Transfer System, enabling links between the BC colleges and universities, the government education ministries, and the public and private education sectors.
Articulation Committees
Articulation committees play a critical role in facilitating smooth student mobility between educational institutions in BC. British Columbia has articulation committees for 66 subjects that are offered in BC colleges and universities. They exist for most disciplines or programs that are delivered in more than one BC post-secondary institution. Articulation committees have provincial meetings every year, with representatives from all the BC post-secondary institutions that have courses or programs in the respective subject areas. At meetings, articulation committee members share information and discuss curriculum. They develop shared learning outcomes and discuss important changes in curriculum to ensure relevancy in their fields.
Each university and college has a voice at the table.