Transfer Credit FAQs

Transfer credit is credit for academic courses that TRU recognizes from a student’s previous education, or for academic courses that are to be earned at a recognized institution as a visiting student, via a letter of permission (LOP).

You become eligible for transfer credit consideration when you have accepted an offer of admission from TRU or are enrolled in a TRU program and TRU Admissions office (Campus, Open Learning, or International) has received all your official transcripts directly from all previous post-secondary institutions.

An official transcript is a permanent record of your studies issued and sent directly to one of TRU's admissions offices (Campus, Open Learning, or International) by the previous institution(s) either as a physical document in a sealed envelope or secured digital file from approved institutions.

Exception to the rule:
Some countries issue an official transcript to the student only once. Additional or updated transcripts are not issued by the institution again. In this case, when a transcript is handed in directly by the student, TRU's admissions office (Campus, Open Learning, or International) will accept this as an official transcript and final credential, if one has been issued.

If you have questions about the process or the requirements, contact the relevant admissions office.

After enrolling in a TRU program and submitting official transcripts, the admissions office reviews your previous education, processes potential transfer credit to your record, and will contact you with more instructions if needed. Have your course outlines from your study period available as you may be asked for these.

Transfer credit will only be processed when you are admitted in a TRU program and all required documentation is on file.

Please review the status of your transfer credit assessment in myTRU under Transfer Credit Summary. When the process is complete, you’ll be notified by email, and transfer credit will appear on your official TRU transcript.

Academic courses from recognized institutions may be considered for transfer credit assessment. You may be awarded a multitude of transfer credits; however, these may not all apply to the program of interest. Only TRU academic advisors will be able to provide guidance regarding whether transfer credits can fulfil the program requirements. Consult a program or academic advisor for more information and also view the BC Transfer Guide for transferability within BC and beyond.

For campus-based programs, normally no more than 50% of the total credits can be earned at another institution. For Open Learning programs, the residency requirements are a minimum of 6 credits for a certificate, minimum of 9 credits for a diploma and minimum of 15 credits for a bachelor’s degree.

Always confirm residency requirements with your academic advisor or review the program summary.

The most common reasons courses may not transfer to TRU:

• The post-secondary institution is not recognized
• The level of study was not at the post-secondary level (e.g., high school equivalents, English as a Second Language courses, vocational, etc.)
• A course did not receive a passing grade
• Non-credit courses

Please consult your admissions office or an academic advisor for more information.

An academic advisor will determine how your transfer credits may apply to program and degree requirements. If you are a first- or second-year student, consult your academic advisor in Enrolment Services.

Once you declare your major, please consult a program advisor in your department to see how transfer credit may fulfil certain major and program requirements.

It is possible to have transferrable courses that cannot be used toward your program for a variety of reasons, including residency requirements, your specific program requirements, or not meeting the minimum grade requirement. Your academic advisor can explain this in greater detail.

Grades for transfer courses do not appear on official TRU transcripts and are not calculated into the cumulative GPA displayed at the bottom of the transcript. In other words, transfer grades are GPA-neutral.

If you are planning to transfer to another institution after TRU to complete a credential or are planning further education after you graduate from TRU, the next institution will require official transcripts for all previous education directly from the institution where that learning took place. The grades for transfer courses appear on the original transcripts.

In myTRU, you will see transfer grades and a transfer average. These are in our student record system to facilitate automated prerequisite checking and other functions.

For transcripts that you order to be sent to other institutions (i.e., official transcripts), grades for transfer courses do not appear on your official TRU transcript and are not included in the GPA displayed on your official transcript.

Your official transcript and other documents such as course outlines, if the originals are in a language other than English or French, must be accompanied by a translation completed by a certified translator. The translator must provide a complete, word-by-word translation, including any information that appears on the reverse side of the documents. The translation by the certified translator does not need to be notarized by a lawyer or notary.

A letter of permission allows a TRU program student to visit another recognized post-secondary institution and take courses that can transfer back to TRU. The LOP must be approved by your academic advisor prior to registration.

Normally, if you have attended one of TRU’s Study Abroad partner institutions you will receive TRU credit for course work completed at the partner institution instead of transfer credit. This is because tuition is paid to TRU rather than to the host institution. Credit earned at the host institution is displayed on TRU’s transcript the same way as courses completed at TRU. The only difference is that you will receive a “pass/fail” grade (COM/NCG) for each attempted course rather than a TRU letter grade. A COM/NCG grade is GPA-neutral and does not affect the cumulative GPA on your TRU transcript.

If you prefer to take all courses for your program at TRU, regardless of your previous education, send an email to [email protected] or your academic advisor, and copy [email protected] stating that you are declining transfer credit.

Transfer credits that have been awarded already are not removed from your record.

If you are currently a TRU student, contact your Academic Advisor.

If you are not a TRU student yet, contact Future Students.