October 26 1997 For Immediate Release

The University of Northern British Columbia Senate has passed a number of new initiatives that make UNBC the most accessible university in BC for students transferring from the northern colleges or from other areas of the Province.

Minister of Education, Skills, and Training Paul Ramsey helped announce the initiatives during the UNBC Works open house today. "This is good news for students with associate degrees who want to return to school, or want a job that may be out of reach without a bachelors degree," said Mr Ramsey. "UNBC is setting new creative standards that will benefit students and the University. Policy changes like these help to break down the barriers that somstimes prevent students from acquiring the skills they need to compete in today's job market."

About 31% of the University's student population have transfered from the community college system - UNBC's largest single source of students. "UNBC is committed to being accessible to students from northern BC, and many of our students come from the colleges, where transfer credit is a major issue," says UNBC Vice-President Academic Deborah Poff. The following initiatives will make it easier for college students to transfer to UNBC:

• Students with associate (two-year) degrees from a BC college now have the opportunity to transfer all 60 credits as a block towards earning a UNBC degree, eliminating the need for students to be concerned with course-by-course transferability.
• UNBC is giving priority admission to students with associate degrees from BC colleges.
• UNBC will now accept up to 90 credits (three full years) from other post-secondary institutions, allowing a student to complete a UNBC degree program after studying for three years at another university.

The priority admission and block transfer for associate degree holders will take effect in 1998-99. The opportunity to transfer up to 90 credits to a degree program is available immediately.