“It Didn’t Go as Planned”: Students Struggle With Credit Transfers to UB

Students are raising concerns about difficulties transferring credits from Sacred Heart Junior College to the University of Belize (UB), despite a 2023 agreement that many believed would make the transition into bachelor’s degree programmes easier for students in the Cayo District.

For Hazel Tut, a recent Sacred Heart graduate now pursuing a degree in Business Management at UB, that expectation has not been met. Tut said she was surprised to learn she would be required to repeat more than ten courses she had already completed at the junior college level. 

“I really just wanted it to be smooth sailing, but it didn’t go as planned,” Tut said. She explained that being forced to retake courses has created both financial and emotional strain, particularly for students whose families chose Sacred Heart because of transportation challenges and lower costs.

Tut added that repeating courses already completed feels like a waste of time and money, delaying graduation and entry into the workforce.

“I just want my voice to be heard as a student,” she said. “I want to finish, graduate, and get a job. I don’t think it’s only me.”

In response to the concerns, officials at the University of Belize clarified that the 2023 agreement was never intended to guarantee automatic credit transfers between the two institutions. According to Dr Bernard Watler, Dean of the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, “What was signed in 2023 was an agreement for the University of Belize to offer a bachelor’s programme on the Sacred Heart campus…It didn’t have anything to do with transfer credits.”

Watler explained that students entering UB from junior colleges continue to have their credits assessed on a course-by-course basis. Only courses deemed equivalent and necessary for bachelor-level study are accepted, while others must be retaken to ensure students meet academic prerequisites.

He added that evaluations are conducted by qualified faculty members and are meant to safeguard academic standards, though he acknowledged that a broader programme-to-programme transfer framework is still being developed.

For students like Tut, however, the distinction between programme access and credit transfer offers little comfort.