SYA Canada & USA Experience Trip 2020

From 2 to 14 February, the Senior Year Admission (SYA) Project Team organized an oversea experience trip to Toronto, Ontario and Los Angeles, California to understand more about the transfer systems and mechanisms in Canada and the USA. Five project team members and seven student ambassadors from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University participated in this trip.

The host institution in Toronto, Ontario Council on Articulation & Transfer (ONCAT) and the host institution in Los Angeles, The Centre for Community College Partnership (CCCP) of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) offered insights about the tertiary education pathways in North America, the benefits of effective transfer and the general credit transfer policies. The hosts also conducted visits to the local community colleges and universities and online meetings with the supporting institutions to introduce 1) the operations of credit transfer at the institutional level, 2) support to the transfer students and 3) formally signed articulation agreements. The team was excited to meet great experts from different institutions enthusiastic about helping the transfer student population.

Considerable discrepancies in transfer culture between Ontario, California and Hong Kong were observed in the experience sharing during the trip. Their credit transfer systems are mature, with a history of several decades. They rely on the coordination work from a central organization, Ontario Council on Articulation & Transfer (ONCAT) and The California Intersegmental Articulation Council (CIAC). The effective practices of credit transfer in Ontario and California can be attributed to the recognition of the importance of transfer among senior management in tertiary institutions, a well-established administrative framework on the transferrable curriculum from faculties, and a stigma-free environment created by all students.

The SYA project team sincerely appreciated the arrangement of the hosts in Canada, ONCAT, and in the USA, CCCP, which gave the team a fruitful experience about the entire credit transfer system. The connections with supportive researchers, academic staff and supporting staff made in the trip were also valuable for future international collaboration. Charged with helpful insights and positive energy, the team is ready to build a transfer-friendly culture in Hong Kong!

Please watch the video below for the trip highlights.