Credit Transfer and Student Mobility
in the BC Transfer System:
Principles, Research, and Practice
Provincial Councils Panel
Moncton, New Brunswick
October 20-21, 2014
Dr. Rob Fleming
Executive Director & Co-Chair
bccat.ca
bctransferguide.ca
educationplanner.ca
BC Transfer System: Enabling Features
 25
years of Council as an “arms-length” agency
 25
BC public, 2 out of province, 11 private institution members
 All
send and receive credits through BCCAT’s Transfer Credit
Evaluation System
 67
 In
province-wide articulation committees
2012-13 56,000+ students moved between BC public institutions
 100s
of thousands of credits recognized annually
• 100,000+ course, 900+ block, 50+ dual
admission agreements and IB/AP Pathways
• Articulation Information Centre
• Automated online service
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• 2,100+ BC Transfer System institution programs
• Student advising and career resources
• Pathways planning tools
General Principles and Perspective
Fairness

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
Treat transfer students the same as direct entry students
Transfer principles, membership, grades, admissions
Understanding



Collaborate with peers (faculty, staff, administrators) across autonomous
institutions and sectors to facilitate credit transfer articulation
Articulation committees and transfer credit evaluation system (TCES)
Transparency



Provide public, guaranteed information and practices on credit transfer
BCTransferGuide.ca, EducationPlanner.ca and institutional websites
Trust

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
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Conduct ongoing research on transfer credit practices and student success
Research program, system collaboration, and reciprocal accountability
BC Transfer System Research

Student Performance Reports

Transfer Satisfaction and Success

Admissions and Transfer Practices

Student Transitions Project (STP)
http://www.bccat.bc.ca/publications/
“It seems unlikely . . . that another entity would have the credibility that BCCAT
has enjoyed with the institutions. . . . It seems safe to conclude that . . . the issues
. . . would not have been addressed had the Council not existed.”
Waterhouse, An Assessment of BCCAT Research
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BC Research on Transfer Students
 BC transfer students . . . are just as successful at university as are direct
entrants, and have the grades to prove it
Lambert-Maberly (2009), BC College Transfer Students Admitted to UBC
 . . . transfer students are able to graduate with approximately the same
number of credits as secondary school students. . . .
Pendleton (2011), Credits to Graduation
•94% of respondents were successful in transferring
some of their credits.
•73% received all or most credit completed.
5
at least
BC Trends in Student Mobility
Annual Volume of Student Mobility
Across in Public PSI Sectors
Annual Rates and Volume of
Student Mobility in Public PSI’s
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Source: Student Transitions Project
BCCAT: Some Priorities
Transfer and Mobility Research
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International Student Survey
Transfer Credit Volume Data
Performance Reports
Admissions Pathways from HS
Academic Credit
Learner Pathways and Quality Assurance
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Credential Guidelines
Academic Advising
Inter-provincial Transfer and Credential Recognition
Learning Outcomes, Dual Credit, Experiential Learning
“British Columbia has taken the California model and developed it into . . . possibly the
most extensive credit accumulation and transfer arrangement in the world.”
Bekhradnia, Higher Education Policy Institute, UK
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