Transfer Credits
When Saint Mary’s University recognizes the value of your previous studies we consider two questions:
1) Where did you study, and at what level?
2) What program of study do you want to take at Saint Mary’s, and how do your previous studies fit in? To graduate, you must complete at least 50% of your degree requirements and 50% of the concentration, major, honours, and minor requirements at Saint Mary’s University.
In general, transfer students are treated the same as direct entry students, including eligibility for scholarships and distinctions.
In-progress courses
Maybe you are still taking courses at another institution but are thinking about applying to Saint Mary’s University. Do not wait until you have a final transcript before applying for admission. If a course is in progress, we will still evaluate it for advanced standing. This evaluation will be based upon the assumption that you will complete the course successfully. At that time we will require an official final transcript. If the final grades differ from the preliminary transcript submitted earlier, your evaluation will be changed accordingly. If your grades drop significantly, the University reserves the right to withdraw your offer of admission.
Credit Assessment
Canadian Universities
Saint Mary's University is signatory to the Pan-Canadian agreement on credit transfer. First and second year university courses from Canadian universities will be recognized for equivalent credit if you have earned a passing grade. Credit is also granted for third and fourth year courses, depending on university regulations about requirements for majors which may affect how these courses are assessed.
Universities outside Canada
Credits from universities outside Canada are recognized if the institution is accredited in its home country and the courses which you completed are deemed comparable to courses offered at Saint Mary’s University. Colleges offering associate degrees and university transfer programs are usually considered equivalent to universities. Saint Mary’s University has articulation agreements with several institutions which set mechanisms in place for transfer credits to be pre-approved.
Community Colleges
We evaluate credits from community colleges on a case-by-case basis. This is because there is significant variation among colleges with respect to credit structure. For a two year college diploma, you may receive between 30 and 60 credit hours (one to two years of credit), depending upon the similarity of courses to those offered at Saint Mary’s University. In a number of instances we have entered into articulation agreements to simplify the credit transfer process. See the list of current articulation agreements.
Career Colleges
Typically, we do not grant credit for studies at career colleges. Nonetheless, every case is reviewed for possible credit, so we encourage you to provide transcripts and course descriptions when you apply for admission to the University.
Documentation required
When applying to Saint Mary’s University you must submit official transcripts from every institution attended. An “official transcript” means that it is sent to Saint Mary’s University directly from the institution. Photocopies and transcripts delivered by the student are not acceptable.
In cases where we have recently reviewed the courses from an institution, the transcript is sufficient documentation. If the course is from a university in Canada, a calendar description may suffice. If the course is from outside Canada or from a college, then an official course outline is required. The outline should include a full description of topics covered, methods of assessment and textbook(s). Be sure to make an extra copy of these documents for your records because we cannot return them to you.
Advanced Standing Report
In response to a successful application for admission to the University, we will send you an Offer of Admissions. Soon after that we will send you an Advanced Standing Report, listing the credits which can be applied to your Saint Mary’s University degree program.
The Offer of Admissions will provide the data that you need to access Saint Mary’s Self-Service Banner (link to banner) on-line system. This will be helpful right away, because you can use our degree evaluation tool, CAPP, to see how the credits listed in your Advanced Standing Report can be applied to your degree program. Even before logging in you can find information on line about how to use CAPP.
Whenever possible, credits are matched with equivalent courses offered at Saint Mary’s University. If we offer courses in the same discipline, but not the same course, elective credit may be granted (e.g., MKTG 1901 Marketing Elective). In the Advanced Standing Report when the course number has 9 as the second digit, this means that although we could not find a comparable course at Saint Mary’s University, we are awarding elective credit in the discipline. If we do not have an exact discipline match, elective credit may granted as:
ARTS 1901 Arts Elective
BUSI 1901 Business Elective
HUMA 1901 Humanities Elective
SSCI 1901 Social Science Elective
SCIE 1901 Science Elective
LOGX 1901 Logical Reasoning Elective (can be used to satisfy BA regulation 3b)
LITR 1901 Literacy Elective (can substitute for ENGL 1205)
NCEL 1901 Non-Commerce Elective
ELEC 1901 Unspecified Elective
Each program has provision for some electives, but often with restrictions.
Evaluation Process
When a course is reviewed for the first time, it is sent to the chairperson of the department responsible for the discipline. Reviews may take up to three weeks if we have complete course descriptions. Otherwise, reviews should be completed within one week of receiving your application. Students may appeal the evaluation of advanced standing credits by contacting the Registrar.
Credit Assessment versus Program Applicability
Receiving advanced standing (transfer) credit does not automatically imply that that these credits can be applied to a particular program. Some programs have minimum grade requirements for a credit to apply (e.g. B.Sc. students must earn a minimum grade of C in all courses for their major). Each program has provision for elective credit, but you may receive transfer credits for more electives than can be applied to your program.
Registration and Prerequisites
Courses beyond first year (those numbered 2000 and above) usually have prerequisites. You may be permitted to register before your advanced standing is assessed, but prerequisites must be satisfied. For this reason, we advise you to submit your final transcript as early as possible so that your registration is not compromised.
Your Saint Mary’s University transcript
Credit awarded upon admission appears on your transcript with the name of the institution, course name, Saint Mary’s University equivalent and a grade of TR. Courses not accepted for advanced standing do not appear. The grades for advanced standing credit do not factor into your grade point average (GPA) or in the calculations for academic distinction.
After admission, you may take courses at other institutions on a Letter of Permission (see Academic Regulation 21). If you take a course at a Canadian university, its grade will be recorded on the transcript and included in the GPA. Remember, 50% of degree and major requirements must be taken at Saint Mary’s University.
Articulation Agreements
Saint Mary's has articulation agreements with various institutions and around the world. These agreements allow students to complete a specific program at another college or university and earn advanced standing for pre-determined courses toward their degree at Saint Mary's. The pages below outline some advanced standing credit agreements between Saint Mary's and partner institutions:
Beijing Normal University - Zuhai
Nova Scotia Community College Notice: The NSCC Articulation agreement is currently being updated for 2011/2012 Academic Year. Please note that we will award up to 60 credit hours, depending upon the similarity of courses to those offered at Saint Mary’s University.