Recognition of Prior Studies

General Credit Transfer (GCT)

• Transfer credits/credit-units awarded by means of General Credit Transfer are known as GCT credits/credit-units.
• GCT is only available for programmes with free-choice requirements. 
• GCT credits/credit-units may be used to reduce the number of credits/credit-units required for graduation, but cannot be used for the exemption of a specific named course. In other words, GCT credits/credit-units can only be used for the exemption of free-choice credits/credit-units in an undergraduate programme.
• GCT credits/credit-units are deemed to be related to Foundation/1000- level studies, and are therefore counted as credits/credit-units at Foundation/1000- level in satisfying programme requirements.
• GCT credits/credit-units are awarded for an eligible qualification with Total Credit Value (TCV) > 0, subject to a maximum limit set in the respective programme. Under 5-credit system, the BGS programme may grant GCT up to a maximum of 40 credits. For other programmes, normally, a maximum of 20 GCT credits may be granted, but some programmes may award fewer.  Under 3-credit-unit system, the BGST programme may grant GCT up to a maximum of 21 credit‑units. For other programmes, a maximum of 12 GCT credit‑units may be granted, subject to the free‑choice requirements of the respective programme.  Applicants are advised to refer to the respective programme regulations (5-credit system) / programme requirements (3-credit-unit system) for details.
• GCT credits/credit-units may be used together with SCT credits/credit-units towards a programme, subject to the applicant’s maximum entitlement, and the maximum transfer allowed in a programme.

COURSE CHOICE ADVICE: 

• You should not register for free-choice courses until the GCT application result is known.

Specific Credit Transfer (SCT)

• Transfer credits/credit-units awarded by means of Specific Credit Transfer are known as SCT credits/credit-units.
• SCT deals with course exemption. SCT credits/credit-units are awarded towards a particular course specified in the requirements of a programme.  Students awarded SCT credits/credit-units towards a course are exempted from taking that particular course. In short, this is course-to-course exemption.
• Applicants are required to nominate one or more course(s) from (a) previous qualification(s) in applying for SCT towards a course.
• Award for SCT credits/credit-units is primarily based on syllabus match. The course(s) nominated by an applicant in the application must exhibit a very high degree of syllabus match (at least two-thirds match is required) with the course in respect of which SCT is sought in contents and level. Moreover, each SCT application is considered case by case. All related factors such as course results will be taken into account in considering an application.
• SCT credits/credit-units may be used together with GCT credits/credit-units, subject to an applicant’s maximum entitlement and the maximum transfer allowed in a programme.
• Each SCT application will automatically be processed for GCT if the number of SCT awards is not yet up to the applicant’s maximum entitlement.

COURSE CHOICE ADVICE: 

• You should not register for a course in respect of which SCT application is made.
• Also, you are advised to enrol on free-choice credits/credit-units only after the application result is known.
• SCT application will not be accepted if an applicant has already enrolled in that particular course.

Block Credit Transfer (BCT)

• Transfer credits/credit-units awarded by means of Block Credit Transfer are known as BCT credits/credit-units.
• BCT credits/credit-units are unspecified credits/credit-units which may be counted towards the credit/credit-unit requirements of a programme. In an award of BCT credits/credit-units, the successful applicant is also assigned a list of top-up courses. The applicant must complete all top-up courses assigned in the top-up list in order to use the awarded BCT credits/credit-units for graduation.
• The number of top-up credits/credit-units required to study is fewer than the normal requirements of a programme.
• An applicant is required to nominate one complete qualification in applying for BCT.
• The number of BCT credits/credit-units awarded depends on the TCV of the qualification used in a BCT application.
• The number of top-up credits/credit-units assigned depends on the relevancy between the applicant’s prior qualification used in the BCT application and the University programme to be pursued. The more relevance between the two, the fewer top-up credits/credit-units will be assigned, and vice-versa. Hence, an award of BCT credits/credit-units does not imply an automatic reduction by that number in the number of credits/credit-units required for completion of the respective programme.

Top-up Courses

• In a bachelor’s degree programme or sub-degree programme, the required Higher/3000-/4000-level courses must be included in the top-up list (in other words, no transfer at Higher/3000-/4000-level is allowed). Free-choice credits/credit-units are NOT included in a top-up list (except in some special cases).
• Successful cases may serve as precedents. Applicants are advised to consult the BCT precedents before submitting an application.

COURSE CHOICE ADVICE:

• Do not enrol in free-choice courses.
• Enrol in a course which is on the top-up list if a precedent is available.
• If no precedent is available, you are advised to register for required Higher/3000-/4000-level courses in a bachelor's degree or sub-degree programme.
• Alternatively, you may apply via the Extended Scheme in case a precedent is not available; or, if you would like to have a top-up list before enrolling in any courses.

Use with Other Transfer Credits/Credit-units

BCT credits/credit-units cannot be used together with either GCT credits/credit-units or SCT credits/credit-units.