Transfer and mobility
About transfer and mobility
In ONCAT’s work with Ontario postsecondary stakeholders, we have encountered challenges in communicating about transfer and learner mobility topics due to the lack of a common vocabulary. While there are various resources with extensive definition sets, these occasionally conflict with one another or omit important terms.
In response to the situation, we present a set of ONCAT-recommended definitions for key learner mobility concepts and associated terms intended for use across Ontario’s postsecondary sector.
- Learner Mobility: The ability of learners to transition between postsecondary programs of study or to begin/resume postsecondary study after a pause in their formal or informal learning.
- Mobile Student: A current postsecondary student who has transitioned between postsecondary programs of study or has begun/resumed postsecondary study after a pause in their formal or informal learning.
- Transfer: A mechanism of learner mobility whereby a student begins/resumes postsecondary study and receives transfer credit from their receiving institution.
- Transfer Student: A postsecondary student who has begun/resumed postsecondary study and received transfer credit from their receiving institution.
- Pathway: A route that postsecondary learners follow from one program of study to another.
- Transfer Pathway: A defined route that postsecondary students follow from one program of study to another that specifies eligibility requirements or how transfer credits will be accepted and applied at the receiving institution.
Click here to learn more about transfer and mobility.