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S.92-16

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Office of the Registrar

Memorandum

From:

Nick Heath, Secretary,

Senate Undergraduate Admissions Board (SUAB)

To: ?

Senate

Date: ?

199201 14

Subject: BC Council on Admissions and Transfer -?

Principles and Guidelines

Action arising out of SUAB's meeting of 20 December 1991 gives rise to the

following motion:

That Senate endorse and approve the "Principles and

Guidelines for Transfer", prepared by the British

Columbia Council on Admission and Transfer, as set

out in S.92 xx.

•

SUAB members expressed continued concern over some features of document

and requested that, if Senate approves the above motion, the attached letter be

sent to the Executive Director of the BCCAT.

nh Jan 92

. ?

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Office of the Registrar

Memorandum

From: Nick Heath, Secretary,

SUAB

To: Senate

Date: 1992

01 15

Subject: Rationale for SUAB 227

B.C. Council on Admissions and Transfer - Principles

and Guidelines for Transfer

Senate has considered and approved, with significant amendments an

earlier version of this document (S. 90

refers). The intent of the

document is to update a set of Principles and Guidelines agreed upon

by institutions of the B.C. post-secondary system in 1976/77.

Attempts had been made through the BCCAT to include in the

document principles which could have limited this University's

autonomy with respect to the admission of transfer students and the

continuance of our own students. Specifically, representatives of

some of the colleges wished the universities to match internal

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continuance standards to the gpa required by transfer students for

admission. For example, if space at SFU were limited, we would

discontinue SFU students who had cgpas below, say, 2.30, in order to

admit college transfer students with 2.30 or better averages. SUAB

and Senate found these and other clauses to be unacceptable and this

view was shared by the Senates of the University of British

Columbia and of the University of Victoria.

Further revisions have been made, which SUABjudge to be

satisfactory, although not ideal. As the attached draft letter to Dr.

G. Fisher shows, the remaining problems are minor and warrant

neither rejection nor formal amendment of the document.

nh Jan 92

• ?

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR

BURNABY, B.C. CANADA V5A 1S6

Telephone: (604) 291-3224

December 20, 1991 ?

DRAFT

Dr. Grant Fisher

Co-Chair and Executive Director

B.C. Council on Admissions and Transfer

1483 Douglas Street

Victoria, BC V8W 3K4

Dear Dr. Fisher,

At today's meeting of the Senate Undergraduate Admissions Board, members voted unanimously to

support the revised Principles and Guidelines for Transfer which accompanied your letter of 9 September

1991. The document will now be sent to our Senate for further consideration, with a recommendation to

approve from this Board.

The members were pleased with the changes that had been made to some of the sections in the previous

draft, which they had reviewed in October, 1990. However, there was still a concern with respect to the

first Guideline. I was asked to convey to you and to the Council the following:

Guideline #1. - Paragraph 2.

The institution seeking transfer credit should be prepared to provide the following

information: course name, course number, length of instructional period, hours per week

(lecture, lab, seminar), objective of course and - although subject to change without

notice - texts and required readings, initial proposals for method of instructing and

evaluation, and the qualifications of instructors.

Previous versions of the document suggested that course outlines be submitted before a transfer credit

evaluation is made. This is missing from the current version and SUAB suggests that this be restored, with

the addition of the word 'detailed'. Since this concern is over a guideline, rather than a principle, members

felt that it was not necessary to either withhold approval or move a formal amendment. Most

representatives on the Board agreed that

had been normal practice for many years to evaluate courses

only when a detailed course outline had been received, and there had been no indication through the

various articulation committees that this practice would be changed.

Other concerns of a similar nature focussed on the desirability of having full information about courses

before they are evaluated. Ideally, this should include sample examinations, grading samples and grading

statistics, but these are rarely available at present and there seems little point in suggesting that these be

provided if compliance is likely to be low.

Yours sincerely,

Nick Heath

Secretary

Senate Undergraduate Admissions Board

NH/sp

BRITISH COLUMBIA COUNCIL ON ADMISSIONS AND TRANSFER

MEMORANDUM

TO: College and Institute Presidents

September 9, 1991

University Vice Presidents Academic

_Principles and GuideiiniO

Transf

As you know, discussions regarding a revised Statement of Principles

and Guidelines for Transfer have been ongoing since shortly after the Council was

formed. Several of you recommended substantive and/or editorial changes to the

last draft that was circulated. Your recommendations have been studied carefully

and many have been incorporated into the enclosed draft.

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Some of you participated in a series of meetings to resolve pressing.

issues

arising:fr0JTI the need of universities to-limit enrolimeritin Ar-ts:..The.

principles agreed .to at those meetings'have. heen:incorpOtated:mto..tths draft ofthe

Statement.

In addition, this draft describes a role for articulatioii1COflflh1itte'S that

is more in keeping with current practice than did the previous one and it

acknowledges that curriculum revision procedures and cycles in most institutions

have not and will not allow for a full year of advance notice of changes. Regarding

this latter item, this draft calls for members of Articulation Committees to be

informed of proposed curriculum changes as far in advance of implementation as

possible. The Council will, in consultation with Articulation Committees, develop

administrative procedures to remind, encourage and facilitate timely exchange of

both intentions and decisions regarding curriculum revisions.

Although the changes from previous drafts are significant, the Council

hopes and anticipates that as a result of the consultation which has occurred they will

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be acceptable to all of the institutions.

Seventh Floor, 1483 Douglas Street, Victoria, B.C. V5'%

\/ 3K4 Telephone (604)' 356 7656 Facsimile (604) 387 9142

............

d Professional

Province of British Columbia in association

Development

with the Centre For Curriculum an

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I will, of course, be happy to meet with you and/or appropriate

committees to provide further explanation of the Council's rationale for each of the

revisions in this draft.

Yours sincerely,

Co-Chair and Executive Director

Assistant Deputy Minister

Universities, Colleges and Institutes

Dr. Nick Rubidge

Director

Colleges and International Education

PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES FOR TRANSFER?

(May, 1991)

(Heading to be added after institutions approve statement)

PRINCIPLES

The primary purpose for transfer among colleges, universities and institutes is

to increase student accessibility to post-secondary education by facilitating

student mobility between institutions.

Each institution in the B.C. post-secondary system will seek to enhance

accessibility by planning for, and accepting as transfers, students who have

completed a portion of their post-secondary studies at another institution in

the system.

In any transfer arrangement the academic integrity of the individual

institutions and programs must be protected and preserved.

Awarding of transfer credit will be governed by the policies and regulations of

the Senates or Boards of the institutions concerned.

Course or Program transfer credit should be based on equivalency of

academic achievement and of knowledge and skills acquired.

In determining the eligibility of transfer students for admission, receiving

institutions will give primary consideration to a student's post-secondary

academic record, provided the student has completed at least 30 credits of

post-secondary studies.

While minimum conditions for admitting transfer students will be published,

receiving institutions may limit admissions to programs based upon

availability of resources.

Admission of transfer students to some programs may be based upon criteria,

pertinent to the program, additional to academic performance. While

academic prerequisites ensure eligibility they do not guarantee admission to a

particular program.

If transfer arrangements are to be effective, students must be provided with

information, prior to beginning their programs at sending institutions, as to

course equivalencies, program prerequisites and levels of achievement upon

which admission to and awarding of transfer credit at receiving institutions

will be based. Receiving institutions should not make changes in these

arrangements without providing adequate notice and "lead time' to sending

institutions.

GUIDELINES

Although formal transfer negotiations shall take place via the designated

persons at each of the institutions, discussions concerning course content,

adequacy of supporting facilities and related matters should generally occur

first at the local (i.e. department to department or instructor to instructor)

level.

The institution seeking transfer credit should be prepared to provide the

following information: course name, course number, length of instructional

period, hours per week (lecture, lab, seminar), objective of course and -

although subject to change without notice - texts and required readings, initial

proposals for method of instructing and evaluation, and the qualifications of

instructors.

Negotiations between institutions regarding equivalency should recognize

that effective learning can occur under a variety of arrangements and

conditions. Various can

of demonstrating or achieving equivalency may

be employed, particularly for career programs, for example, course

equivalency, competency tests, challenge exams, program equivalency and

bridging programs.

Program or discipline articulation committees consisting of representatives of

institutions offering the respective programs meet routinely to share

information and enhance cooperation among people providing instruction in

given areas of study; to promote course equivalency where appropriate; and

to aid in

the process of achieving inter-institutional transfer credit.

Curriculum issues arising from transfer agreements may be addressed to

appropriate articulation committees.

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An institution which denies the transfer of credit requested by another

institution shall state the reasons for this refusal.

Once an agreement has been reached on the conditions of credit transfer of

an individual course or program of studies it shall not be abrogated without

reference to the designated authorities in the institution affected.

An institution planning changes to its curriculum which will affect the

requirements for credit transfer should inform the members of the relevant

Articulation Committees as far in advance of implementation as possible so

that other instituticS can consider the desirability of alterations to their

courses and programs. Until others have been notified of changes,

institutions have an obligation to fulfill the commitments of current course

outlines.

The minimum GPA for admission as a transfer student is 2.0 (C). Receiving

institutions which require higher GPAs for programs to which access is

limited and for which transfer quotas have been established will normally give

preference to students who have completed as much of their programs of

studies as is feasible at the sending institutions.

S ?

For one-of-a-kind programs or programs with very limited enrolments

(usually professional and career) for which sending institutions offer specific

transfer programs, appropriate administrators from sending and receiving

institutions should, as a part of a transfer agreement, establish enrolment

quotas for each of the participating institutions.

Transfer arrangements between colleges and universities are assumed to be

based on 'lower division" (i.e. first and second year) studies. It is recognized

that the assignment of year level" to any individual course might vary at

differerit institutions and, therefore, specific exceptions to this rule might

occur under inter-institutional agreements.

Transfer of credit includes the following categories:

(i)

specific equivalent of a given course (assigned credit).

(ii)

unassigned (elective credit in a discipline or department.

(iii)

unassigned (elective credit in a Faculty or Program.

(iv)

unassigned (elective credit for courses not identifiable with course

offerings but which are evaluated as being appropriate for academic

credit on transfer.