The Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer (ACAT) serves as an agency through which stakeholders work cooperatively to support learner pathways and mobility in Alberta and Canada, including ensuring effective transferability of courses and programs for the benefit of students. The objective of the Council is to support access to and enhancement of educational opportunities for all learners with a focus on opportunities for learner pathways and student mobility. ACAT operates under a Ministerial Order (2010) and the Alberta Public Agencies Governance Act, with Council's work governed by its Mandate and Roles document. ACAT's framework for admissions and transfer agreements is contained in the Council's Principles, Policies, and Procedures. ACAT and transfer system member institutions conduct business adhering to this document. The on-line Transfer Alberta Search Tool and Mobile App provide the official source for identified Alberta Transfer System agreements and decisions duly negotiated and approved by member postsecondary institutions. The Council monitors and collaborates regarding the effectiveness of admissions and transfer policies and practices throughout the Alberta Transfer System and may make recommendations to the ministry and institutions regarding best practices.

Institutions negotiate with each other to establish the terms of specific credit transfer agreements in accordance with internal policies and practices. By comparing program curriculum and requirements, they determine appropriate by-course and by-program equivalencies. Thousands of active and terminated (grandfathered) course and program transfer agreements have been negotiated between postsecondary institutions in Alberta's Transfer System since ACAT's inception in 1974, with agreements from 1993 onwards accessible on-line via the Transfer Alberta Search Tool and Mobile App. Through these agreements and other decisions by institutions that will be shared via the Search Tool and Mobile App, students are able to begin study at one institution and receive credit at another. Institutions conduct periodic evaluation of agreements and decisions to ensure they remain current. Additional learner pathways information and arrangements related to transfer are also present in the Search Tool and Mobile App and on the Transfer Alberta website, including information regarding high school transitions and adult upgrading.

ACAT is also apprised of other important transfer system arrangements, including an interprovincial Memorandum of Understanding with other provincial councils on admission and transfer in Canada (Alberta, BC, Ontario and New Brunswick) in support of student mobility and transfer; transfer system-related interprovincial agreements with Alberta and BC; and a shared understanding by Comprehensive Academic and Research Institutions in Alberta, that generally accept courses for transfer when the courses fit within a student's degree program, have been completed within a certain time period, and meet minimum grade requirements.