TORONTO – The provincial councils responsible for facilitating credit transfer activities across Canada are signing an expanded Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance student mobility across their jurisdictions and across the country.
The signing of the MoU was celebrated at the PCCAT’s Annual Conference, where pathway initiatives and research, and ongoing collaborations among postsecondary institutions, were honoured as part of Canada’s 150th anniversary.
Seven provincial councils are now signatories to an MoU that formalizes efforts to further develop student pathways and reduce barriers for students who wish to transfer among Canadian colleges and universities. They include the:
- Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer (ACAT),
- British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT),
- Council on Articulations and Transfer of New Brunswick (CATNB),
- Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT),
- Campus Manitoba (CMB),
- Saskatchewan Transfer Credit and Learning Pathways Council (STCLPC), and
- Nova Scotia Council on Admission and Transfer (NSCAT).
The MoU emphasizes the leadership role of the provincial councils in creating partnerships across the country to expand transfer opportunities for students and develop joint research projects for the benefit of the post-secondary community. The long-term goal is to establish a shared database so students in any jurisdiction can search for post-secondary educational opportunities beyond their home province.
Through the MoU, the provincial councils will be able to support the development of an effective and efficient credit transfer system that will span the entire country, expanding opportunities for students nationwide.
Signatories from provincial councils (L-R): James D’Arcy (STCLPC), Ruth Blades (NSCAT), Lia Quickert (ONCAT),
Rob Fleming (BCCAT), Phil Belanger (NBCAT), Ann Marie Lyseng (ACAT), Dave Neale (Campus Manitoba)
QUOTES
“Creating transfer pathways is an important way to improve accessibility to postsecondary education. Increasing the number of available pathways will allow many more students to access a variety of postsecondary experiences without having to repeat their prior relevant learning.”
– Phil Bélanger, Chair of the Pan-Canadian Consortium on Admissions and Transfer (PCCAT) and Executive Director of CATNB
LEARN MORE:
Established in 1974, the Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer (ACAT) is an arm’s-length advisory body that reports to Advanced Education. ACAT works collaboratively with stakeholders to provide advanced learning system oversight, support, and advice regarding access to learner pathways and mobility, with a focus on students, admissions, and transfer. ACAT’s work includes management of Alberta’s Learner Pathways System (LPS), provincial and interprovincial collaboration, and support for articulation committees and Alberta Transfer and Pathways System institution members in Alberta, Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan.
The BC Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) was established in 1989 to oversee the BC Transfer system and enable important links between BC post-secondary institutions, the education ministries, and the public and private education sectors. BCCAT facilitates admission, articulation, application, and transfer arrangements among BC post-secondary institutions for the benefit of students.
The Council on Articulations and Transfer of New Brunswick (CATNB) was founded in 2010 as a participatory Council of the NB department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour (PETL). It works as a link between the NB post-secondary institutions, the education ministries (K-12 and post-secondary), as well as the public and private education providers in order to facilitate articulations and transfers, and to ensure an on-going improvement and enlargement of opportunities for learner mobility within the province and collaboratively with other jurisdictions across the country.
Campus Manitoba is a consortium of Manitoba’s post-secondary institutions. Through collaborative projects and shared services, we facilitate student mobility and expand access to post-secondary programs for students in Manitoba.
NSCAT is a collaboration of the 11 publicly-funded universities and colleges in Nova Scotia, in partnership with the Department of Labour and Advanced Education. NSCAT serves as the organization through which collaborative systems that support student enrolment, mobility and success are managed.
Established in 2011, the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) was created to enhance student pathways and reduce barriers for students looking to transfer among Ontario’s 45 public postsecondary institutions. As a member organization, it works with those institutions to develop transfer credit policies and practices to ease student mobility. ONCAT also maintains ONTransfer.ca, a website for students interested in learning how to transfer their courses.
SASKATCHEWAN TRANSFER CREDIT & LEARNER PATHWAYS COUNCIL
The newly formed Saskatchewan Transfer Credit and Learner Pathway Council is a partnership of credit granting institutions and the Ministry of Advanced Education. The Council encourages and facilitates increased accessibility, student mobility and student academic success by promoting pathways among Saskatchewan’s post-secondary institutions within and outside the province.
Read the 2017 Memorandum of Understanding
Read the 2014 Memorandum of Understanding
The Pan Canadian Consortium on Admissions and Transfer was formally incorporated as a non-for-profit organization in 2013. Its purpose is tohelp develop and implement policies and practices that support student mobility and grant transfer credit- both within and among Canada’s provinces and territories – in order to improve access to postsecondary education in Canada.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Phil Bélanger
Philip.Belanger@gnb.ca
506-470-7317
PCCAT Chair, CATNB Executive Director
