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Transfer Credit

New Students

You may receive transfer credit for previous post-secondary studies at recognized institutions. The Office of the Registrar will evaluate your transfer credit once you are admitted to a particular degree program and only after your official transcripts have been sent directly to Ambrose from the institution where the credits were earned. If your transcript is in a language other than English, it is your responsibility to provide Ambrose University with an official English translation of the transcript.

To be considered for transfer, a course must be equivalent or near to the equivalent of a degree requirement, or fit within the maximum number of elective credits allowed in the particular degree program selected. Practicum, Internship and Mentoring courses are not eligible for transfer into an Ambrose program. Assessments are made on a case-by-case basis. A course taken at any time previously is eligible to be considered for recognition; some courses’ content may be considered time-sensitive.

You may register for courses before we complete any necessary transfer credit evaluation. However, you may miss out on transfer credit by doing so. Credit can be granted only once for similar course work, so you could end up registering and being required to pay for a course that would have been unnecessary if we had known that you could be offered transfer credit instead. Therefore, we advise you to register after your transfer credit evaluation is complete.

Reasons Transfer Credit May be Denied

  • The courses are not appropriate for your chosen Ambrose program
  • You have completed more junior-level courses than your chosen program permits
  • You have been taking more transfer courses than the maximum allowed by the program
  • The course does not meet the minimum grade requirement for transfer courses
  • The institution where the course was taken does not meet accreditation standards for transfer credit
  • The course is a Practicum, Internship and/or Mentoring course

See Conditions of Transfer below for more detailed information.

Current Students: Letters of Permission

With a Letter of Permission, degree-seeking students may take courses at other properly accredited institutions for transfer into a degree program. Such permission is subject to approval by the Registrar. You can request a Letter of Permission through the Office of the Registrar. In order to meet approval for a Letter of Permission, you must have earned at least 15 credits at Ambrose, with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. If you are currently under Academic Probation, you are ineligible for Letters of Permission. Without special permission, you cannot take more courses as a visiting student in a regular semester than the number of credits you are taking at Ambrose University in a regular semester. You must observe our residency and graduation requirements if you plan to graduate from Ambrose University. Once you receive a final grade for a course taken at another institution, you must request that an official transcript be sent directly to the Office of the Registrar at Ambrose.

Conditions of Transfer and Letters of Permission

Students wishing to transfer credits or obtain Letters of Permission should take note of the following:

  • You must have earned a grade of not less than C (according to the Ambrose grade scale) in all courses for which transfer credit is desired;
  • You must complete a minimum of 45 credits at Ambrose University for all three-year degree programs and 60 credits for all four-year degrees;
  • You will not be permitted to complete courses at another institution during your final semester of study;
  • Transfer credit cannot be applied to the University Studies Diploma or Associate in Ministry diplomas;
  • Transfer credit, including Letters of Permission, may not exceed half of the disciplinary courses in any Arts and Science degree program;
  • All transfer credit evaluations are program specific. A change of degree program may therefore result in changes to transfer credits awarded;
  • Grades from transfer credits are not noted on transcripts and are not considered when calculating your GPA or cumulative GPA;
  • Credit is given for courses taken at accredited academic institutions provided such courses meet degree requirements, subject to certain limitations.

Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer (ACAT)

Ambrose is a partner institution of Alberta’s articulated transfer system and fully supports ACAT’s mandate to ensure transferability of courses and programs within the province to the benefit of students. Ambrose University has formal agreements for transfer with other institutions in Alberta which may be found on the ACAT website: www.transferalberta.ca.

International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP)

Transfer credit may be given for International Baccalaureate (IB) or Advanced Placement (AP) courses taken in high school. Students who have earned IB or AP credits will be evaluated individually to determine what credit, if any, they may receive. For IB, only Higher Level courses with a grade of 4, 5, 6 or 7 will qualify for evaluation. AP grades of 3, 4 or 5 will qualify for evaluation. The application of transfer credit requires the submission of official IB or AP transcripts sent directly to the university.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

Transfer credit may be given for CLEP examinations, administered by The College Board in the USA. Contact the Office of the Registrar for further information.

Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) Accredited Institutions

Transfer credit will be considered for courses taken at an ABHE accredited institution for the B.Th. degree and is subject to the conditions of transfer listed above. Transfer credit for courses students have taken at an ABHE accredited institution will be considered on a case-by-case basis for Arts and Science programs. The criteria provided in the non-formal learning policy (below) is the basis of the transfer decision. Note that in granting this transfer credit, Ambrose is granting credit other qualification certification boards may not recognize.

Block Transfer Agreements

Ambrose has agreements with ABHE accredited institutions whereby certain courses are accepted as equivalent to B.Th. classes. These agreements are reviewed every five years.

Currently, we have agreements with:

  • Vanguard College, Edmonton Alberta
  • Horizon College, Saskatoon Saskatchewan

North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies (NAIITS): An Indigenous Learning Community

An agreement between Ambrose and NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community provides Indigenous-specific courses for Ambrose students that are designed and taught by qualified, primarily Indigenous instructors, using Indigenous methodologies within a contemporary context. For further information, see the course descriptions or contact the Office of the Registrar.

Recognition of Prior Learning: Unaccredited Institutions

Recognition of prior learning for undergraduate credit from unaccredited educational settings will be considered on a course-by-course basis. The conditions of recognition are evaluated in consideration of the course description and learning outcomes of the syllabus of the most recent offering of the equivalent Ambrose course. The student applying for recognition of prior learning is responsible to provide documentation of these three aspects of the course (or program) being assessed for recognition:

  • Entrance requirements for the non-formal program or course
  • The academic credentials of the instructor(s)
  • An overview of the course content including a general description of the course with a list of the topics included; time in class, description of the required reading, and outline of the assessment process

Typically, a successful application would indicate that the program had a Grade 12 entrance requirement, that the instructor had a minimum of a Masters’ degree, that the course content overlapped the Ambrose course by at least 60% with equivalent reading and that the assessment process demonstrates that the student successfully accomplished the course.

Any applicable Conditions of Transfer (above) apply.

9 credit hours of prior learning will be considered for B.Th. program. 6 credit hours will be considered for any Arts and Science degree. No recognition of prior learning in the B.Ed. program will be considered.

The application for recognition of prior learning is made to the Office of the Registrar who will bring a recommendation to Undergraduate Academic Affairs. There is a fee for this assessment (see Registrar/Registration Fees).

Capernwray Prior Learning Credit

If you have completed Capernwray studies, a limited number of credits may be awarded as Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) credit, depending on the program you are applying to enter at Ambrose. Please contact the Office of the Registrar for further information.

Recognition of Prior Learning: Life and Work Experience

At present, Ambrose University does not have the capacity to recognize experiential learning acquired through life and work experience.

 
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