Hey guys,

On the list of preapproved courses at other universities, it says e.g.
"health age 3*03) under the equivalent courses at McMaster. What does
the asterick mean? Does it mean the course can be used for any course
having a code like 3A03, 3C03, 3B03 etc?

And what if we find a course through Athabasca or any other university
that is not on the list? Can we still take it?

Originally Posted by Phantom

Hey guys,

On the list of preapproved courses at other universities, it says e.g.
"health age 3*03) under the equivalent courses at McMaster. What does
the asterick mean? Does it mean the course can be used for any course
having a code like 3A03, 3C03, 3B03 etc?

And what if we find a course through Athabasca or any other university
that is not on the list? Can we still take it?

The asterisk just means that it's equivalent to some of the third-year Hth age courses. In other words, it's not the exact same course as any one of the courses offered by Mac but it's similar to 2 or more of the ones offered by Mac. Also, yes, you can take a course that's not on the list, however, when you fill out the LOP, it'll ask you for the course code and university name as well as a request for you to email the course outline/description to a specific email (your Associate Dean's office). They review the course and tell you whether or not the course can count towards your degree or that we have a similar course at Mac.

Is there a limit on how many courses you can take thru letter of permission? or/and thru Athabasca in particular?

Originally Posted by Phantom

Is there a limit on how many courses you can take thru letter of permission? or/and thru Athabasca in particular?

Nope. I've never heard of a limit. The only limit I know of is if you're taking your courses for a minor, only 6 units can be taken outside of Mac. Otherwise, there's no cap on how many courses you can take through a LOP or at a specific university.

I asked n academic advisor about the asterisk, and its NOT necessarily an equivalency for all programs... the courses are reviewed every year by the department heads (sometimes only if they're asked to) and all that is usually sorted out (its known if a course is equilvalent or not, but not posted anywhere).

Ex. Chem 2*03 is not equivalent to 2e03 for biomedical engineers for a few certain schools on the 'approved list' because of some content that they're lacking...

You can also take courses and not have it count towards your degree if you wish. It'll still count for when you apply to professional or graduate school though.