Credit transfer and articulation in Alberta

The Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer (ACAT) is an advisory agency that works collaboratively with stakeholders to support learner pathways and mobility in Alberta and Canada, including effective transferability of courses and programs. The objective of the Council is to support access to and enhancement of educational opportunities for all learners with a focus on supporting learner pathways and student mobility. ACAT currently operates under a Ministerial Order (2010) and the Alberta Public Agencies Governance Act, with Council's work governed by its Mandate and Roles document. ACAT's framework for admissions and transfer agreements is contained in the Council's Principles, Policies, and Procedures. ACAT, Alberta Learner Pathways System member institutions and other system stakeholders conduct business adhering to the governance in these documents. ACAT will also be experiencing a renewed mandate and governance estimated in 2019.

The Transfer Alberta Search Tool (housed on the Transfer Alberta website) and Transfer Alberta Mobile App (App Store, Google Play) provide a central source for identified Alberta Learner Pathways System transfer and high school transitions decisions shared by system members. . An institution will make a transfer decision on another institution's program or course by comparing program and course curriculum and requirements to determine appropriate by-course and by-program equivalencies. Thousands of transfer decisions are accessible online via the Transfer Alberta Search Tool and Mobile App, assisting students to begin study at one institution and receive credit at another. Institutions conduct periodic evaluation of decisions to ensure they remain current. Additional learner pathways information and arrangements related to transfer are also present on the Transfer Alberta website, including information regarding high school transitions (IB and AP course placement, dual credit opportunities, and out-of-province matriculation course equivalencies) and academic upgrading. More information about transfer and pathways can be found in ACAT's Transfer Alberta FAQs.

ACAT also supports other important transfer system arrangements, including:

• an interprovincial Memorandum of Understanding with identified provincial councils on admission/articulation and transfer and like bodies in Canada (Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) in support of student mobility and transfer;
• interprovincial partnerships and collaboration, including the Pan-Canadian Consortium on Admissions and Transfer and the Western Canadian Consortium on Admissions and Transfer (soon to be identified as the Councils on Admissions/Articulation and Transfer of Canada Network)
• transfer system-related interprovincial agreements with Alberta and BC; and a shared understanding by Comprehensive Academic and Research Universities in Alberta, that they will generally accept courses for transfer when the courses fit within a student's degree program, have been completed within a certain time period, and meet minimum grade requirements.

Comprehensive review of this information: January 2019