Making Ontario credit transfers more efficient

One of the features of the education section of Ontario's Drummond Report discussed the need to simplify the credit transfer system between and among Ontario colleges and universities. As a result, Ontario's credit-transfer system is undergoing revision.

This March, the College University Consortium Council (CUCC) is being wound down and replaced with the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT). The CUCC was focused mainly on transfers from colleges to universities, while the new ONCAT is looking to smooth the path for post-secondary students to transfer from college to university, university to college, from one college program to another and from one university program to another.

In January 2011, the Ontario government announced a $73.7 million investment over five years to support the development of this credittransfer system with the hopes that it will reduce the need of transfer students to repeat courses.

According to Bonnie Patterson, the President of the Council of Ontario Universities, Ontario universities and colleges currently have more than 500 bilateral and multilateral agreements in place. The new plan, however, will combine current agreements with others that are similar to those found in Alberta or British Columbia where students can complete the first two years of their undergraduate program at a college and then transfer to a university.

Some institutions have taken their own steps toward improving the credit transfer system in Ontario. Algoma University, located in Sault Ste. Marie, recently announced that they would simplify the process by which students with a college diploma have their credentials assessed when applying to the university.

"In the past, college students would earn transfer credits based on an evaluation of individual course by course comparisons," said Algoma University Registrar David Marasco. The new policy provides direct entry into a degree program for students with a 3.0 GPA or higher who have earned 45 credits (for a two-year diploma) or 60 credits (for a three-year diploma) towards their degree.

The University of Guelph is another institution that is looking at ways to recruit college graduates by creating the Mobility and Pathways Working Group. "Transfer students come to university armed with previous knowledge and experiences, and their needs and expectations are often different from those of traditional students," said Maureen Mancuso, University of Guelph's Provost and Vice-President, Academic. "Our goal is to look at how we can attract and sustain this unique student group by improving services and transparency and helping to streamline the transfer process," she continued.

Fanshawe College currently has articulation agreements with numerous universities both in and outside Ontario, including the University of Western Ontario, Brock University, Ryerson University and the University of Western Sydney in Australia. For more information on Fanshawe's articulation agreements, visit www.fanshawec.ca/university.