Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (hereafter referred to as “Conestoga”), supports the transferability of academic credits between programs and educational institutions through recognized Transfer Pathways, Articulation Agreements, and course-to-course Credit Transfer equivalencies.

Conestoga recognizes students may wish to move from one post-secondary institution to another or between programs at Conestoga during their lifetime of study. To provide academic mobility and recognize prior completed studies, while maintaining the quality of its programs and credentials, Conestoga has established procedures to review student requests for Credit Transfer and Advanced Standing.

This procedure defines how students can request Credit Transfer.

Conestoga College maintains a glossary of terms specific to the institution. The terms in use for this document are defined below.

Admissions Officer

• Follows established procedures for the processing of applications for Advanced Standing.

Academic Team or Designate

• Reviews and determines course-to-course equivalencies for all new requests.
• Reviews expiring course-to-course equivalences when notified by the Credit Transfer Officer.

Applicant/Student

• Submits appropriate documentation (i.e., official transcript, course outlines) upon receipt of offer of admission to support request for Advanced Standing and/or transfer of credit.
• Is aware of and adheres to established timelines.
• Ensures the submission is complete, including the request form and academic documentation.

Credit Transfer Officer

• Reviews all student requests for Credit Transfer.
• Notifies students throughout the process via their Conestoga student email account.
• Ensures Articulation Agreements and course equivalencies are entered/maintained on the appropriate database.
• Notifies Academic Team of expiring course-to-course equivalencies for review.

Program Chair

• Reviews and approves decisions when forwarded by the Academic Team.
• Resolves disputes for course-to-course resulting in a denied decision.
• Retains copies of gap analysis for existing Transfer Pathways in the central document repository.

Program Coordinator

• Reviews applications for Advanced Standing with input from the Academic Team and makes decisions regarding acceptance into a program level.
• Identifies official and/or unofficial course-to-course equivalencies.
• Communicates the decision to the Admissions Officer in a timely manner.

Records Officer

Individual Course-to-Course Credit Transfer

1. A student who believes they have already earned academic credit at Conestoga or another Recognized Postsecondary Institution which is equivalent to the learning outcomes for a specific Target Course(s) at Conestoga may request transfer of credit by submitting a Credit Transfer request through the student portal and include:
   • 1.1. Course outline(s) for the completed Source Course;
   • 1.2. Additional documentation as needed for proper assessment;
   • 1.3. An official sealed transcript or digitally verified electronic transcript (e.g., MyCreds) must be sent to the Credit Transfer office directly from the educational institution where the course was completed.
2. The Credit Transfer Officer reviews the requests.
   • 2.1. The Credit Transfer officer forwards requests to the appropriate member of the Academic Team when equivalencies are not already noted in the Credit Transfer Database.
3. The student is advised of the decision via an automated email and on the student portal within a maximum of ten (10) business days.
   • 3.1. In instances where additional time is required to review the request, the student will be notified within ten (10) business days.
4. Documents are reviewed once and may not be submitted for reconsideration unless additional documentation is made available to support the request.


5. Students should apply for all Credit Transfer upon confirming their offer of acceptance. In order to ensure that students are able to start the term registered in the appropriate classes, applications for Credit Transfer should not be submitted less than ten (10) business days prior to the first day of class. 


6. Students must continue to attend the Target Course(s) for which the request for credit has been made, until such time as a formal approval decision has been communicated from the Credit Transfer Office regarding the request.


7. It is the student’s responsibility to drop a course for which they have received a Credit Transfer.
   • 7.1. A final grade will be issued if the course has not been dropped prior to the “Drop date without academic penalty” which may result in a negative impact on the student.

Applying for Advanced Standing into an Upper Semester

8. The applicant completes the electronic Advanced Standing application form which is forwarded to the Academic Team for review.


9. If the request is approved, the Academic Team indicates the courses for which Block Credit Transfer is being awarded and forwards the form to Admissions.
   • 9.1. If the request is denied, the Academic Team indicates the decision with a rationale and forwards the form to Admissions.
10. The decision is recorded in Student Information System (SIS) and shared with the applicant.
    • 10.1. Advanced Standing is not granted unless program promotion standards/grades are met.

Letter of Permission

11. Student completes the Letter of Permission form, along with all supporting documentation, and sends it to the Credit Transfer Office.


12. The Credit Transfer Office sends the form and supporting documentation to the Academic Team for review and approval.


13. The Credit Transfer Office advises the student of the decision.


14. Once the student has completed the course, they must send the required information (Official Transcript) to the Credit Transfer Office so that the Credit Transfer can be recorded on the student record.