Whether you will be able to maintain your progress and start your second year in the degree that you wish to transfer to just as you would if you remained enrolled in your current degree is dependent on the specific degrees, both the one that you are currently studying as well as the one that you wish to transfer to.
In many instances, students do not have to start from the first year again. This means that they can maintain their progress either completely or partially. This is the case of transfers between similar degrees. Examples of transfers between similar degrees include (note that transfers go both ways):
- Bachelor of Business/Commerce Bachelor of Economics
- Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Medical Science
In other cases, the progress of students in their original degree is likely to be undermined. This means that students may either lose some or all of their progress (i.e. they would have to start again from the first year). This tends to be applicable to degrees that have little to no relationship between each other. Consider the following examples (transfers go both ways, just as above):
- Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) Bachelor of Actuarial Studies
- Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
I hope this helps!