Credit Transfer

There are two types of credit transfers that can be taken into account against either of the two programs; the process is slightly different for each and therefore they are setup accordingly.

Transfer of Credit Prior to Admission

Transfer of credit prior to admission is commonly referred to as "Advanced Standing"; if you have taken college- or university-level courses at Carleton, Algonquin or elsewhere before being admitted to BIT, you may wish to apply for credit against these courses toward your BIT degree. Only courses that are substantially and demonstratively the same as courses required for the BIT degree will be considered for Advanced Standing.

Please note that the transfer of any course that is not in the BIT program but was taken while you were enrolled in BIT is treated differently from advanced standing and is described in the next section (Transfer of Credit Subsequent to Admission).

Applications for Advanced Standing will be evaluated, on an individual basis, upon admission to the program and can be made only once. Applications will be reviewed by the Advanced Standing Committee, which is comprised of instructors from Carleton University and Algonquin College. Only university- and college-level courses in which you achieved a grade of C- or higher are eligible to be considered for Advanced Standing.

The application process is as follows:

  • Complete the "Application for Advanced Standing" form, which uses a similar grid to the one shown below, for the BIT, NET and/or IMD courses that you are requesting advanced standing
    • Map each course to the course/courses you've taken that you believe to be equivalent
    • Indicate the institution at which you have taken each course and provide a transcript proving you have successfully completed it.
    • Submit course outlines for each of the courses you believe to be equivalent.
    • To this package, add a cover letter summarizing the request and including any other information you think might be helpful to the committee

Note # 1: course outlines must include a full description of course content, indicated through a week-by-week breakdown or detailed listing of course objectives. The duration of the course (number of total course hours) is an important criterion in assessing equivalencies. Please be aware that neither Carleton nor Algonquin personnel will undertake to obtain supporting documents from a third party on behalf of the applicant, it is the applicant's responsibility.

Example:

BIT Course for which I'm requesting Advanced Standing: Equivalent course which I have taken elsewhere: Institution at which the course was taken: Transcript enclosed? Course outline enclosed?
NET 1000: Problem Solving ECOR 1606(91.166) Carleton University yes yes
NET 1001: Computer Technology Basics CST 8174 Algonquin College yes yes
BIT 1100: Mathematics 1 for IMD Math 1007 (69.107) Carleton University yes yes

Address the envelope to:

The Advanced Standing Committee,
Carleton University - 230 Azrieli Pavilion
1125 Colonel-by Drive
Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6

Applications are due by August 31st. The committee will review all applications at the same time. Results of these evaluations will be available in the BIT office (230 AP) before the last day to make changes to your registration.

Note # 2: You are strongly advised to register in and attend the course you are applying for advanced standing in. If you are awarded Advanced Standing, you are responsible for making the appropriate changes to your registration (via Carleton Central).

Note # 3: Advanced Standing for non-Carleton courses is counted towards your degree requirements but grades for these courses are not counted into your CGPA. If you expect to be awarded Advanced Standing for one or more courses, please think ahead of time about alternate courses for which you may wish to register.

Transfer of Credit Subsequent to Admission

Transfer of any course that is not in the BIT program (i.e. non-BIT course) but is taken while you are enrolled in either of the BIT programs is treated differently from courses taken before you were admitted to the BIT program (discussed under advanced standing).

Should you wish to apply for a course that will be taken (either a Carleton University/Algonquin College outside of the BIT degree or at another institution) toward your BIT degree requirements, you must obtain a "Letter of Permission" prior to enrolling the course. Requests for a Letter of Permission should be made in writing to the BIT Joint Academic Council (which meets 4 times/year, during the academic year). Once approval has been secured, you must go to the Registrar's Office and complete the appropriate forms.

Note #1: A "Letter of Permission" is not required for courses within Carleton University as any permitted course equivalencies have already been established in the Carleton University Calendar (e.g. BIT2000 and STAT2507); i.e. if it's not written as being equivalent in the Calendar you cannot take the course as an equivalency

Note #2: Grades for courses taken outside of Carleton are not transferred – only credits