Transfer Credit Awarded
Information and Details
History:
Transfer Credit Awarded (TCA) builds on a 2019 pilot and is an annual provincial/jurisdictional data collection for participating Alberta Learner Pathways System (LPS) member institutions. The first year of provincial TCA data submissions was for 2021-22 academic year data. Year 2 data has also been collected for the 2022-23 academic year.
Purpose:
The vision for TCA is to measure the average number of transfer credits being awarded for unique students in the Alberta Transfer System and learner pathways, and begin to address Alberta’s transfer credit awarded provincial information data gap to support learners. TCA will assist in understanding more about transfer students as they move in the system, and inform best practices and future goals for the system.
TCA tracks how much transfer credit each “TO” institution (institution receiving a transfer student) awarded to students for courses, blocks of courses, or credentials taken at “FROM” institutions (institutions where a student previously completed coursework prior to transfer), both inside and outside Canada.
The TCA data set also includes a data field for Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) Credit Awarded, tracking PLAR credit granted by “TO” institutions for informal, non-formal, or experiential learning that could be used toward a course(s) or credential.
Submissions:
Data collected for the TCA data set is provided via a Data Collection and Reporting (DCaR) TCA module once a year for the previous, completed academic year’s TCA data. Data submissions are made following completion of the academic year (see TCA Definitions - end of academic year = after institution’s fiscal year end).
Applicable institutions compile their annual academic year TCA data submission according to their institution's fiscal year start and end dates, such as May 1 - April 30 or July 1 - June 30.
Institutions submit their TCA XML file annually during the TCA submission cycle - between November 1 - March 31. The next cycle for Year 3 data will occur November 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025 for the submission of 2023-24 academic year data.
For more information or if you have questions regarding TCA, please contact ae.lps@gov.ab.ca.
Documentation
TCA Guiding Principles (vision, goal, guiding principles, data questions), User Guide (data elements and submission information), Data Dictionary (terms, definitions, data caveats), XML Samples (two possible approaches to construct your file), and XML Schema are provided for the TCA data set. This information has been collaboratively developed with LPS member institutions, including Strategic Contact Persons. Further refinements to TCA documentation may occur, informed by institution implementation and Ministry updates.
TCA XML Sample - Student Records Grouped under their ASN
TCA XML Sample - Student Records Listed by Repeating their ASN