Transfer Credit

1. 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.
2. Does NLC have an agreement in place to accept the course from the external post-secondary institution? If not, then students must include course outline for each course they want assessed for transfer credit. Two weeks prior to the term start 
3. Is the course from an accredited post-secondary institution?  
4. How old is the course? Some programs which have constantly changing outcomes due to continual changes in the field of study or industry (business related, information technology, health care, etc.) use a shelf life for courses of seven to ten years. However, other programs with courses that change little around learning outcomes have shelf lives much greater. 
5. What is the grade achieved in the transfer course? Depending upon the program, the minimum grade for transfer is 60% or a “C- “or a 1.7 GPA (4.0 scale). 
6. Will the minimum requirement for residency in the program be met? Each program has a minimum number of credits and specific courses which must be taken at NLC and may not be transferred in. Most Programs have a residency of 25% (i.e. minimum of 4 courses of 12 or 24 credits of 32, unless the student has a Letter of Permission from the Registrar. 
7. Once you have been accepted to your program and have confirmed your courses from the Institution, will be accepted by Northern Lakes College. Complete the NLC-RO229 form and email it to transfer@northernlakescollege.ca along with required supporting documents.

Upon acceptance to your program. You have until the add/drop date which is 14 calendar days from the start of your program, for terms greater than 10 weeks and 7 calendar days from the start of your program, for terms that are 10 weeks or less. 

The average processing time for transfer requests is four to six weeks. It is recommended that applicants enroll and actively attend the requested transfer credit course(s) if the transfer decision is not made prior to term start. For students who have applied for TC by the add/drop date: if approved, the enrolled course will be dropped without financial penalty. 

What is a letter of permission?  Students who plan to complete courses outside of NLC and want to transfer those credits back to the College must request a Letter of Permission. 

How do I request a letter of permission?  Students request LOP’s from their Program Advisors. Prior to submitting the request for LOP, the program advisor will check that the courses meet the requirements for the program in which they are enrolled.  

Students need a. to be in good academic standing, b. to not be in arrears, c. to meet all progression and admission requirements, and d. to comply with residency requirements 
 
Students need to ensure that they include course outlines for any courses not approved on the Transfer Alberta website. Your program advisor may request additional information. 

Program advisors will send your requests for Letter of Permission to the registrar’s office. 
 
When should I request a letter of permission? Requests for Letters of Permission must be submitted 3 weeks in advance of starting at another institution.  
 
Once approved the student must forward the letter to the other institution.   
 
Seven days after the completion date, students are required to have an 
official transcript sent to NLC. 

Students have a right to appeal, appeals are submitted in writing to StudentAppeals@northernlakescollege.ca within seven calendar days of the transfer credit email notification and must include evidence of why the original decision should be reconsidered. You will receive a response to your appeal within 5 business days of your appeal date. 

NLC-RO229 – Application for Transfer Credit
NLC-RO227 – Letter of Permission – Request form
Student Services - Transfer Credit Procedure