Common Visiting Student
Common Visiting Student Information
As a Common Visiting Student you may take any course delivered in alternate format that is offered at a campus saskatchewan partner institution toward your program. There is no application fee if you use this Form and there will be no transcript fee for sending your course results to your home institution upon completion of the session.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I apply first?
Identify the institution that offers the program you want to take, this will be your home institution.
How do I take courses at another institution?
By applying as a visiting student as follows:
- Wait for confirmation that you have been admitted to your chosen home institution (you can't be a visiting student if you don't have a home institution).
- Download and print the Common Application Guide and Visiting Student Application & Course Approval Form A guide to, and application form, for taking courses at more than one post-secondary institution in Saskatchewan. If necessary, please download the free Acrobat Reader to access this PDF document and application form.
- If you need help in identifying appropriate courses to take, consult an academic advisor at your home institution or your nearest regional college. Students from SIAST need to contact a Program Head from their particular program of studies or a SIAST counselor.
- Fill out the form and fax or mail it to your home institution. Addresses and fax numbers are on the form. It's a good idea to choose one or two alternatives to your first choices, in case you can't get a course you want.
- Go through the process again if you want to take courses from a third institution.
Now what happens?
An advisor in your faculty or college reviews your choices to make sure that they can be credited towards your program and that they should be at the right level for you.
The advisor either lets you know that your choices don't work, or approves them by sending a signed copy to you and a copy to the host institution. When the host institution receives the approved form, it admits you. SIAST and University of Regina also register you for the courses you have asked for, if they are offered and have places available. You may be waitlisted for a course that is offered, but that is currently full. The University of Saskatchewan sends you information on how to register yourself using the USTAR registration system. Important note: getting permission to take a course does not guarantee that you will be able to register in it. A course may be full, may be cancelled, or may not be open to visiting students.
When you have finished the courses, the host institution sends a copy of your official transcript (complete record at the host institution) to your home institution, which gives you transfer credit for the ones you successfully completed. If you didn't register, or dropped your courses, the host institution will share that information with your home institution.
If you didn't register, or dropped your courses, the host institution will share that information with your home institution. Once you are registered in courses you become responsible for any assessed fees and you will be subject to the cancellation and refund schedules of the host institution.
Isn't it better to apply to a program at these other institutions?
No. It will save you time and money to be a visiting student. As a visiting student from one Saskatchewan institution to another, using the visiting student application form on this site:
- You pay no application fee
- You don't have to supply transcripts of what you've done anywhere else
- You get written confirmation that the other institution's courses will count towards your program, before you take them
- Your grades are automatically forwarded to your home institution
If I'm taking courses at two or three institutions, where do I pay my fees?
You pay tuition and any applicable student fees at each of the institutions for the courses that you are taking there. When you have registered for courses, you can follow these links to check your account(s):
If I'm taking courses at two or three institutions, whose rules apply to me?
You must apply at each institution by that institution's application deadlines, which are often earlier for program students than for visiting students. The home institution's rules govern how you progress in your program (academic standing) and your eligibility for financial assistance (awards). Each institution's rules apply to the courses that you are taking from it. These include deadlines on registering for or dropping courses (withdrawal), refunds of fees, and how you behave in class (disciplinary regulations).
I have a student loan and I need to have someone approve that I'm full-time, but I'm only part-time at each of the two institutions whose courses I'm taking. Help!
Not a problem. Staff at your home institution will approve the form for you if you show them that you are registered at more than one institution. Call them for more information. At SIAST, loans are approved by Registration Services. For the U of R, contact Student Awards & Financial Aid (585-4325) and for the U of S, Student Financial Assistance & Awards (966-6748).
I don't really like this class. How do I drop out?
For courses offered by University of Saskatchewan, you can use USTAR to drop a course. For courses offered by SIAST contact Registration Services. For courses offered by the University of Regina contact the relevant Registrar's Office. Make sure that you know the deadlines for refunds and grades (published in each institution's Calendar). Don't just walk away: you may be walking away from a possible refund and into a failing grade. If you are dropping a course because you are ill or have family problems, there may be another solution: consult your home faculty or college and the Campus Saskatchewan contact at the host institution.