A deal signed by the presidents of Algonquin College and Carleton aims to make it easier for Algonquin students to transfer to Carleton with credits they have already earned.
The Transfer Credit Agreement, signed March 12, focuses on giving students credits for material they’ve already learned so they don’t have to repeat it, according to a statement issued by Carleton.
“Anything that shortens time to completion for students is a benefit for everyone,” Carleton’s admissions director Janice O’Farrell said, citing reduced costs and getting into the workforce earlier.
The three-year agreement, deemed a “memorandum of understanding” by Carleton, signs 28 new transferable credits. All but one of the transferable credits allow students to move from Algonquin College disciplines such as museum studies or broadcasting to a Bachelor of Arts at Carleton, according to the statement.
The 28th agreement allows college students to transfer to third-year accounting at Carleton.
O’Farrell said individual faculties at Carleton received course syllabi from Algonquin to assess what courses meet the requirements for transfer.
Algonquin graduates looking to start courses at Carleton previously would have had to individually apply to transfer each of their credits, but the new agreement formalizes this process, which was already ongoing, O’Farrell said.
“This is just a little bit more proactive,” she said.
The agreement will also initiate new collaborative degrees or other program offerings, according to the statement.
“We are excited by this opportunity to work together and provide more education options to students in our region,” Algonquin president Cheryl Jensen said.
The two schools already have collaborative degrees and diplomas that include classes at both institutions, such as the combined Bachelor of Information Technology.
“This agreement provides a collaborative model supporting our students in achieving their individual goals while serving the Province of Ontario,” Carleton president Roseann Runte said in a statement.
The province of Ontario outlined mobility between institutions as a priority in a 2011 policy statement.
“Ontario will have a comprehensive, transparent and consistently applied credit transfer system that will improve student pathways and mobility, support student success and make Ontario a post-secondary education destination of choice,” the statement read.
