Letter of Permission

Taking courses at another instiution are a good way to take some alternatve electives you might not have access to at the Unversity of Guelph. You are also allowed to take your required courses at other unviersities too (See limitation in Notes section below).

In order to take courses at another degree granting institution, have the course(s) considered as credit towards your University of Guelph degree, and be eligible to re-register at the University of Guelph you need to obtain a Letter of Permission before applying for admission to the other institution.   This is a time consuming process for you. We do not have a list of approved courses from other institutions. You must do the research of possible acceptable equivalent courses on your own. Approval for course substitution and the processing of a letter of permission does not mean you will automatically gain admission at the institution you wish to attend or be able to register in the course that has been approved for substitution. That is up to the admissions department and the faculty of the institution to which you are applying.

 
Process for Applying for a Letter of Permission

  1. Read the information provided in the Engineering Rules and Procedures Guide: (Engineering Rules and Procedures Guide)
  2. Read all of the information provided in the undergraduate calendar (Undergraduate Calendar)
  3. Letters of permission will not be approved by the Engineering Counselling Office for students with an academic status of probation.  Your status must be "Eligible to Continue".  
  4. Read the instructions on the back of the LOP request form.  The request form is available from the Registrar's website (Request for Letter of Permission)
  5. Contact the host institution to make sure you have not missed any deadlines to apply for admission and to make sure that it will be possible for you to enroll in the course before you apply for a LOP. Request a course outline that provides details including assessment details, learning objectives, textbook used, etc. 
  6. Send the outline and the completed request form to an Engineering Program Counsellor (engcouns@uoguelph.ca) for a program approval signature on the form.
  7. You must then take the form to Enrollment Services (es@uoguelph.ca) to be processed.  There is a $50 processing fee for each Letter of Permission request (i.e., each separate institution attended), payable when you submit the approved request form to Enrollment Services.  More than one course can be taken at the same institution (single request) provided all courses and department approvals are included on the request form.
  8. Once you have received your copy of the letter you must apply to the host institution and meet that institution’s deadlines for admission application, registration and fee payments. 

 
Additional Notes:

  • Starting in Summer 2023: Students can take a maximum of 1.5 credits of core (required) courses through a Letter of Permission. There is no restrictions on the number of credits for electives. If you have already completed 1.5 credits of core (required) courses through a Letter of Permission before the Summer 2023 semester, you have reached the maximum allowed. The remaining core courses must be taken through the University of Guelph. 

  • You are required to complete the courses listed on the Letter of Permission during the semester(s) specified on the Letter of Permission;

  • Any course changes must be approved by the Engineering Counselling Office.  The University reserves the right to deny credit equivalency for courses taken without prior approval;

  • If you take a course on Letter of Permission, it will count as a course attempt for the purposes of the 3rd failure rule, but it will not count in the semester average, the cumulative average or your ENGG average (if an ENGG course).  There will be no mark for the course on your academic record.  It will show as CRD (credit).  Courses taken on a Letter of Permission do not show on your official University of Guelph transcript;

  • It is your responsibility once you complete the course to ensure that your final mark(s) are sent from the host institution to the Registrar's Office at the University of Guelph, or else a zero will be placed on your transcript. If you end up not taking the course, then you will need to provide proof for the LOP to be removed from your record.

  • If a course taken by Letter of Permission is a required pre-requisite for a future course, you need to have the course completed (and grade submitted) prior to the last add to register for the future course. Our office cannot add you to the course until we see that you have passed the pre-requisite course taken on LOP. 

  • Courses can not be taken on LOP if they are being offered at the University of Guelph in the same semester. 

We hope this helps to clarify what is involved.  If you have any questions about this process, or you need to have your forms signed by a Program Counsellor, please make an appointment.