Student Experiences in Credit Transfer at Ontario Colleges

Authors
Colleges Ontario
A. Usher
P. Jarvey
Abstract

Student pathways increasingly rely on transfer between postsecondary institutions as greater numbers of students move between institutions, pursue multiple credentials, or return to postsecondary education. In order to improve pathways within and between colleges, to understand the barriers that may exist for students, and to develop strategies to improve student mobility, Ontario colleges embarked on the Improving College System Pathways (ICSP) project. The following pages report the results of a study that sought to support the objectives of the ICSP by developing a better understanding of the experiences of transfer students. It investigated the sources of their satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and potential barriers to credit transfer between Ontario colleges. Between January and June 2012, 232 students at 23 colleges across Ontario colleges were interviewed about their experiences with credit transfer. They were asked to discuss the difficulty of the credit transfer process overall, how helpful they perceived the assistance that they received to be, and a series of questions designed to look for potential barriers to credit transfer between Ontario colleges...