Students will be able to switch schools more easily; but intra-school hurdles still abound
The Government of Ontario has unveiled plans to streamline the credit transfer process. The news comes only three years after plans were announced to make it easier for students to complete their post-secondary education. The new initiative utilizes a universal online database that provides students with the necessary details to transfer between schools while also limiting delays in entering the labour market.
“[The database] will reduce education costs for both students and taxpayers by clearly showing which credits are needed to complete diploma or degree programs when combining courses from different colleges and universities,” said the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities in the Jan. 16 press release.
Touted as a “course-to-course database,” the information found at ONTransfer.ca continues the progress made by the Government of Ontario in efforts to ease restrictions post-secondary institutions place on students. Further plans include doubling the number of credit transfer pathways from 300 to 600 and establishing the Ontario Council of Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT). The increase in the number of pathways is expected to provide over 35,000 transfer opportunities for hopeful students.
“The government of Ontario and [ONCAT], alongside many universities and colleges including the University of Guelph, have been working over the last several years to streamline the process for students interested in transferring from one university to another, from college to university, and university to college,” said Deanna McQuarrie, Associate Registrar at the University of Guelph.
The University of Guelph is excited at the possibilities produced by the new regulation.
“In April 2013, the University of Guelph Senate approved four major pathway agreements enabling students to begin their studies at Guelph, said McQuarrie. “Specific Credit will help these students earn their degree in less time…We are very pleased to be working with the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities and ONCAT in supporting this effort.”
For transfer students at the University of Guelph, however, transferring credits is only beginning of a long list of potential difficulties.
Meghan Snelgrove is one such transfer student. A former psychology major at York University who made the decision to transfer to the University of Guelph in her second year, Snelgrove faced more difficulty than just gaining accreditation for courses she had already taken.
“It was very frustrating for me, being a second-year student starting an entirely new program at a new school,” explained Snelgrove, who is a Guelph local and transferred schools to be closer to home. “By [the time I was accepted into Guelph], all of the classes I needed were full. I was assigned a student to help me through my transition but there was only so much that he could do. I finally was able to get some decent classes for my first semester.”
Difficulty finding necessary courses, confusing academic regulation, and tedious bureaucracy, makes transferring schools an arduous process.
“[Technically], being a second-year university student, I was [somehow one of] the very last [people] to be able to add courses for the winter semester,” said Snelgrove. “When I realized this, I spoke to the BA office arguing that, really, I was a first year student at Guelph (since I was a psychology major at York and am an English major here), but there was no moving around my predicament. Somehow I was able to squeeze into the last available spots in the classes that I needed…Guelph was not necessarily trying to make my transition difficult, but [they were] definitely not trying to make it easy.”
The Government of Ontario plans to focus more on the problem of making sure students can transfer schools without needing to take extra classes. However, the internal complications that many students like Snelgrove face have yet to be addressed. Intentions seem to be more focused on reducing wasted time and money spent.
“The progress we’ve made implementing a strong credit transfer system will lead to a more valuable and flexible post-secondary education for students across Ontario,” said Brad Duguid, the Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities. “The new course-to-course database will also save students time and money by giving them the information they need to avoid repeated courses.”
For students hoping to transfer to or from the University of Guelph, there are now over 70 different potential transfer pathways, in addition to the already existing transfer policies.
“Guelph already [enrolls] hundreds of transfer students each year,” explained McQuarrie. “It is our hope that through pathways and tools like the course-to-course transfer guide that we will increase our transfer student enrolment, improving access to a Guelph education.”
Still, the process of transferring schools will retain some hurdles.
“I would not try to transfer again because it was a very stressful transition,” said Snelgrove. You do not know how a university will accept you into their school or if they will try to accommodate you at least in the first year.”