Letter of Permission

A Letter of Permission is a document that allows you to take one or more courses at another university as a visiting student and transfer the credit(s) towards your degree at Western University. Students must apply to the academic advising office of their faculty for a Letter of Permission to take courses at another university (note the non-refundable fee charged by the Registrar's Office) and must be submitted before you register at the other university. If you take a course without requesting a Letter of Permission, you may have to apply for re-admission to this university.

Please note that you will not be approved to take an online course at another institution if it is being offered online at Western during the same session. For example, if Bio 2244A/B is offered at Western in the summer term online you can not take it at Queen's University online.

Eligibility

  1. You must be in good academic standing. Students on probation are not eligible.
  2. You must have completed at least 3.5 courses at Western with an average of at least 60%. If you are in first year, you will be asked to verify your term marks.
  3. Special Students and students completing second degrees are not eligible.

Steps to take:

  • Complete a   Request for Letter of Permission form  and the   Letter of Permission Checklist
  • Visit the other university's website for a description of the course(s) that you wish to take
  • Print off the course description and take it to the department for approval - they will review and sign your Request for Letter of Permission if they approve.
  • You can find a list of contacts for Departments within the Faculty of Science on our Department Advisors page .  For non-science departments, use the Western Directory.
  • Once approved by the Department, send completed forms through our Academic Advising Help Portal .
  • Completed forms must be sent through the help portal to the Academic Advising Office by the published deadlines.
  • You must adhere to the other university's policy/deadlines for admission as a visiting student, and to Western's policies and deadlines for completing the course, as well as Western’s add deadlines. Remember to have an official transcript transferred to Western upon completion of the course(s). Instructions and deadlines are provided on your copy of the letter of permission form and on the  Registrar's Office website.

Courses requested from International universities

Approvals for Letter of Permission requests from International universities not affiliated with Western’s exchange and study abroad partners can be challenging due to our unfamiliarity with these institutions. Requests for courses at these institutions must be vetted carefully to ensure consistency and congruency with the learning outcomes for our courses. As such, a detailed course syllabus for each course you have requested must be submitted to the relevant Department for approval. Course syllabi should include the following: course title and description, number of course hours/credit weight, textbooks required, methods of evaluation being used and their weight, along with a detailed course schedule. You must also demonstrate that the course can be found easily from the homepage of the institution offering it. Departmental approval of a course must be granted before our office is able to consider your request for a Letter of Permission at an International institution.

Courses Taken at an Online University

Letter of Permission will not be processed for Athabasca after:

For Summer Term: May 10 th

For Fall Term: August 10 th

For Winter Term: December 10 th

For summer courses, coursework must be completed and the final exam must be written by August 31. Transcripts must be sent to Western prior to the November 2 deadline for the submission of grades. 

If we have not received a transcript by November 1, you will receive an "F" for the courses. No exceptions/extensions will be given unless proof is provided that the course was completed prior to August 31.

The following links provide more information on Letters of Permission.

Transfer of Credit to Western