Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit - Northern Lakes College

Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit
Course Credit
Each course offered at Northern Lakes College has a credit value attached. The credits are determined by the type of
course taken (lecture, work experience, practicum, lab, etc.) and the number of hours the course takes to complete.
Each course may be weighted differently. For example:
University Studies Program ENGL1011 Critical Reading and Writing (3 credits) lecture, 45 hours
Practical Nurse Program NPRT1000 Nursing Practice I (5 credits) practicum, 192 hours
Assessment of Course Credit for Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit
Assessment of course credit is based on the following criteria:
1) Does NLC have an agreement in place to accept the course from the external post-secondary institution
2) Is the course from an accredited post-secondary institution
3) 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.
4) What is the grade the student achieved in the transfer course Depending upon your program, the minimum
grade for transfer is 50% or a “D” or a 1.0 (4.0 point scale).
5) Will the student meet the minimum requirement for residency in the program 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) unless the student has a Letter of
Permission from the Registrar.
Advanced Standing for NLC Course Credit
Advanced Standing is used for career programs such as Practical Nurse, Health Care Aide, Medical Receptionist,
Office Administration, Early Learning and Child Care, Educational Assistant, Survey Theory and Calculations,
Emergency Medical Responder, Emergency Medical Technician, Oilfield Operator Training, and Power Engineering.
Students may have courses taken at another post-secondary institution and want to receive advanced standing for
them for a NLC program. By using advanced standing courses the student may be able to reduce the overall cost and
time needed to complete his/her NLC program. Steps for assessment of advanced standing:
1) Student must obtain acceptance into the program of study at Northern Lakes College
2) Student then completes an Advanced Standing/Transfer Credit form and submits the assessment fee ($50)
with his/her program registration to Northern Lakes College
3) Student must request an official transcript from his/her previous post-secondary institution and have it sent
to Northern Lakes College.
Once the student’s course advanced standing has been assessed, he/she will receive a letter from the Associate
Registrar, Admissions outlining the result of the assessment.
If the student’s advanced standing assessment was successful:
1) The student’s transcript will have a notation outlining the course code, name and credits of the Northern
Lakes College course which is equivalent.
2) The required number of courses the student needs to complete his/her program with Northern Lakes
College will be reduced. The advanced standing course credit will count toward his/her overall program
credit total. Please note, advanced transfer course grade is not calculated in overall grade point average for
the student’s NLC program.
3) The student will not be charged tuition or fees associated with advanced credit course with the exception of
the $50 fee associated with advanced standing credit assessment.
If the student’s advanced standing assessment was unsuccessful:

1) The student’s NLC transcript will not reflect the unsuccessful advanced standing assessment
2) The required number of courses the student needs to complete your program with Northern Lakes College
will not be reduced and he/she must successfully obtain all required credits for program completion.
3) The student may appeal the decision regarding the unsuccessful advanced standing assessment.
Transfer of Course Credit to NLC
Transfer Credit is used for university transfer programs such Social Work Diploma, University Studies
Certificate/Diploma and Business Administration Certificate/Diploma.
Students may have courses taken at another post-secondary institution and wish to transfer them to their NLC
program. By transferring courses in, the student may be able to reduce the overall cost and time needed to complete
his/her NLC program. Steps for assessment of transfer credit:
4) Student must obtain acceptance into his/her program of study at Northern Lakes College
5) Student completes an Advanced Standing/Transfer Credit form and submits the assessment fee ($50) with
his/her program registration to Northern Lakes College
6) Student requests an official transcript from his/her previous post-secondary institution and have it sent to
Northern Lakes College
Once the course transfer has been assessed, the student will receive a letter from the Associate Registrar,
Admissions outlining the result of the assessment.
If student’s course transfer assessment was successful:
4) Your transcript will have a notation outlining the course code, name and credits of the Northern Lakes
College course which is equivalent.
a. Assigned Transfer Credit – Transfer course matches an NLC course
b. Unassigned Transfer Credit – Transfer course does not match an NLC course, but it does met the
criteria for recognition of transfer credit, then the transfer course may be used as an elective option
for your program (not all programs have elective options). Your transcript will have the notation of
unassigned transfer credit, the category of course Arts, Social Science, Humanities, or Science),
the course level (1000 or 2000) and the credit equivalent.
5) The required number of courses you need to complete your program with Northern Lakes College will be
reduced. The transfer course credit will count toward your overall program credit total. Please note, your
transfer credit grade is not calculated in your overall grade point average for your NLC program.
6) You will not be charged tuition or fees associated with your transfer credit course with the exception of the $50
fee associated with transfer credit assessment.
If the student’s course transfer assessment was unsuccessful:
4) The student’s NLC transcript will not reflect the unsuccessful transfer assessment
5) The required number of courses the student needs to complete his/her program with Northern Lakes
College will not be reduced and he/she must successfully obtain all required credits for program completion.
6) The student may appeal the decision regarding his/her unsuccessful transfer credit assessment.
Transfer of Course Credit out of NLC
If the student is planning to attend another post-secondary institution after he/she completed his/her studies with
NLC, the institution the student wishes to attend will determine what transfer credits will be accepted from NLC. The
institution receiving the student’s transfer credit request for assessment has the authority to determine what courses
they will recognize from a sending institution (NLC).