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Executive Summary

Transfer credits—the academic credits that a receiving institution awards to students in recognition of previous learning experiences—are a foundational component of a successful learner mobility system. For students, transfer credits help reduce the amount of time and money required to complete new programs. Prior research has examined the role of transfer credits in Ontario’s postsecondary sector (e.g., Higher Education Strategy Associates, 2021) and their significance in shaping positive transfer student experiences (Aurini et al., 2024; LaCroix et al., 2024). Despite the importance of credits in the transfer process, there is relatively little insight into the way transfer students develop expectations about their transfer credits, or the extent to which those expectations are fulfilled after they begin their studies. There is also limited understanding of the ways in which transfer students interact with institutions and navigate the transfer credit process. To close these gaps, this report examines students’ experiences at two different stages of the transfer process: when they begin to contemplate transferring (i.e., transfer intent stage) and when they begin to submit materials to a new institution (i.e., transfer application stage). By covering both of these stages, this report uncovers the successes and challenges students experience when transferring institutions and applying for transfer credit.