If you have completed courses at another accredited post-secondary institution that are similar and relevant to courses in your certificate or diploma program at NorQuest, you may request transfer credit.
Visit TransferAlberta.ca to search for existing transfer decisions. We may also be able to grant transfer credit for courses that are not listed on Transfer Alberta.
When to request transfer credit
Once you have been admitted, submit your transfer credit request as early as possible, well before you start your program. Transfer credit assessments can take up to 12 weeks. We focus on transfer credit requests for the upcoming term. Requests for future terms will be held for processing once the upcoming term’s add/drop date has passed.
If you are enrolled in the course for which you are requesting credit, you must submit your transfer credit request no later than the drop deadline of the course. You are not eligible for transfer credit for a NorQuest College course if you have already attempted or completed the course
Steps for requesting transfer credit:
Be admitted to your program. Transfer credit can only be reviewed once you have been admitted to a credential-awarding post-secondary program at NorQuest College.
Research your program’s courses. Find your program under Programs and Courses and review the descriptions on the course listing page. Compare your program’s courses to previous courses you have taken. When you submit a transfer credit request, you must state a specific course you took before, as well as the NorQuest course for which you are requesting transfer credit.
Submit your transfer credit request before the deadline.
Complete the Transfer Credit Request form.
Provide official transcripts. If an official transcript has not already been submitted, you must contact your previous institution and request an official transcript be sent to the Office of the Registrar. See Transcripts for information on requesting post-secondary transcripts.
Provide supporting documents. If the courses for which you’re seeking transfer credit to and from are listed at TransferAlberta.ca, you do not need to provide course outlines. For all other transfer credit requests you must submit a complete course syllabus/outline from your previous institution from the time you took the course. Short calendar course descriptions are not enough for assessing course equivalencies. If you do not have a copy of the syllabus or course outline, you must request one from your previous institution. If the syllabus is not in English, you must include a certified English translation.
Your eligibility for transfer credit will then be reviewed, and we will email the decision to your MyMail account. If you are granted transfer credit:
You will receive a grade of “ADV” on your NorQuest transcript.
If you were enrolled in the course for which you requested credit and you submitted your transfer credit request before the drop deadline, the course will be dropped from your schedule without academic or financial penalties. (This may affect your full-time status in your program.)
Other important information
Courses must be directly equivalent
Transfer credit is evaluated for directly equivalent courses. This means that the course you took before must have equivalent learning outcomes to the NorQuest course for which you are requesting credit. Each course for which transfer credit is requested must carry the same minimum credit weight as the NorQuest course (e.g. for a three-credit NorQuest course, the course you are submitting for transfer must be worth at least three credits).
In cases where institutions divide the subject matter into two credit courses, two courses may be used to give credit toward one NorQuest course. However, one previous course will not be used to give credit towards two or more NorQuest courses, and the same course cannot be used for transfer credit multiple times. Courses which were not taken for credit will not be considered for transfer even if they have similar learning outcomes.
Minimum grade requirements
NorQuest College reserves the right to determine the minimum grade required for transfer credit approval. A minimum grade of C- or 60% is required for most programs. Minimum grade requirements vary based on the grading scale used by your program.
Residency requirement
You must meet NorQuest College’s residency requirement of 50% of the program’s credit load. This is the minimum number of credits you must complete at NorQuest to graduate and get your credential.
Shelf life
All courses are subject to time limitations for awarding transfer credit, as up-to-date knowledge and skills are essential to student success. Five years is the standard shelf life for a program’s discipline-specific subjects (e.g. Nursing, including Anatomy and Physiology courses), and 10 years is the standard shelf life for more general courses (such as English or Psychology). NorQuest College reserves the right to determine the shelf life, and these requirements may vary by faculty.
Provincial Business Administration Pathway
Incoming transfer students may be eligible for transfer credit if they have completed Business Administration coursework at Athabasca University, Bow Valley College, Northwestern Polytechnic, Keyano College, Lakeland College, Lethbridge College, MacEwan University, Medicine Hat College, NAIT, Northern Lakes College, Olds College, Portage College, Red Dear Polytechnic, or SAIT in the last five years. Submit your transfer credit request to be considered for this pathway.