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 recognized institution as a visiting student, via a letter of permission (LOP).

The applicant has accepted an offer of admission from TRU or is an active TRU student and TRU Admissions office (Campus, Open Learning, or International) has received all official transcripts directly from all previous post-secondary institutions.

An official transcript is 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, however, issue an official academic transcript to the student only once. Additional or updated transcripts are not issued by the institution again. In this case, when an academic 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.

Once you are enrolled in a TRU program and your official transcripts are on file, Admissions reviews your previous education and either automatically processes potential transfer credits or will contact you to advise further steps to apply for transfer credits. Have your course outlines from your study period available as you may be asked to submit these. For course outlines in a language other than English or French, please provide translations by certified translators in addition to the original outlines.

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

When completed, transfer credit will appear in myTRU and on your official TRU transcript. You can view the status of your transfer credit in myTRU under Transfer Credit Summary. Review this on a regular basis. When the transfer credit file is complete, you'll be notified by email.

Academic courses from recognized institutions may be considered for transfer credit assessement. 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 if transfer credits can potentially satisfy the program requirements. Consult a program or academic advisor for more information.

Depending on the TRU program that you're enrolled in, TRU's campus or Open Learning residency policy is in effect.

For campus-based programs, normally no more than 50% of the total credits can be earned at another institution. For Open Learning programs, normally the residency requirements are 6 credits for a certificate, 9 credits for a diploma and 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. At TRU, first- and second-year students consult your academic advisor in Enrolment Services.

Once students have declared their majors, they consult the program advisors in their department to see how transfer credit may satisfy certain major and degree requirements.

It is possible to have transferrable courses that cannot be used toward your program for a variety of reasons, including, residency requirements (see FAQ 8), your specific program/credential requirements, or not meeting the minimum grade requirement. Your academic advisor can explain this in greater detail.

No, grades for transfer courses do not appear on official TRU transcripts because the grades 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.

No, your official transcript and other documents such as course outlines must be accompanied by a translation done 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.

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, students who visit one of TRU's Study Abroad partner institutions receive TRU credit for their course work 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 the TRU transcript the same way that courses they take at TRU appear. The only difference is that students receive a “pass/fail” grade (COM/NCG) for each attempted course rather than a letter grade. A COM/NCG grade is GPA-neutral, so does not affect the cumulative GPA on the TRU transcript.

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

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

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

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