State of Ohio's Transfer and Articulation Policy
Institutional Transfer
The Ohio Board of Regents in 1990, following a directive of the 119th Ohio General
Assembly,developed the Ohio Articulation and Transfer Policy to facilitate students'
ability to transfer credits from one Ohio public college or university to another
in order to avoid duplication of course requirements. A subsequent policy review and
recommendations produced by the Articulation and Transfer Advisory Council in 2004,
together with mandates from the 125th Ohio General Assembly in the form of Amended
Substitute House Bill 95, have prompted improvements of the original policy. While
all state-assisted colleges and universities are required to follow the Ohio Articulation
and Transfer Policy, independent colleges and universities in Ohio may or may not
participate in the transfer policy. Therefore, students interested in transferring
to independent institutions are encouraged to check with the college or university
of their choice regarding transfer agreements. In support of improved articulation
and transfer processes, the Ohio Board of Regents will establish a transfer clearinghouse
to receive, annotate, and convey transcripts among state-assisted colleges and universities.
This system is designed to provide standardized information and help colleges and
universities reduce undesirable variability in the transfer credit evaluation process.
Transfer Module
The Ohio Board of Regents’ Transfer and Articulation Policy established the Transfer
Module, which is a subset or entire set of a college or university's general education
curriculum in A.A., A.S. and baccalaureate degree programs. Students in applied associate
degree programs may complete some individual transfer module courses within their
degree program or continue beyond the degree program to complete the entire transfer
module. The Transfer Module contains 54-60 quarter hours or 36-40 semester hours of
course credit in English composition (minimum 5-6 quarter hours or 3 semester hours);
mathematics, statistics and formal/symbolic logic (minimum of 3 quarter hours or 3
semester hours); arts/humanities (minimum 9 quarter hours or 6 semester hours); social
and behavioral sciences (minimum of 9 quarter hours or 6 semester hours); and natural
sciences (minimum 9 quarter hours or 6 semester hours). Oral communication and interdisciplinary
areas may be included as additional options. Additional elective hours from among
these areas make up the total hours for a completed Transfer Module. Courses for the
Transfer Module should be 100- and 200-level general education courses commonly completed
in the first two years of a student’s course of study. Each state-assisted university,
technical and community college is required to establish and maintain an approved
Transfer Module.
Transfer Module course(s) or the full module completed at one college or university will automatically meet the requirements of individual Transfer Module course(s) or the full Transfer Module at another college or university once the student is admitted. Students may be required, however, to meet additional general education requirements at the institution to which they transfer. For example, a student who completes the Transfer Module at Institution S (sending institution) and then transfers to Institution R (receiving institution) is said to have completed the Transfer Module portion of Institution R's general education program. Institution R, however, may have general education courses that go beyond its Transfer Module. State policy initially required that all courses in the Transfer Module be completed to receive its benefit in transfer. However, subsequent policy revisions have extended this benefit to the completion of individual Transfer Module courses on a course-by-course basis.
Transfer Assurance Guides
Transfer Assurance Guides (TAGs) comprise Transfer Module courses and additional courses
required for an academic major. A TAG is an advising tool to assist Ohio university
and community and technical college students planning specific majors to make course
selections that will ensure comparable, compatible, and equivalent learning experiences
across the state’s higher-education system. A number of area-specific TAG pathways
in the arts, humanities, business, communication, education, health, mathematics,
science, engineering, engineering technologies, and the social sciences have been
developed by faculty teams. TAGs empower students to make informed course selection
decisions and plans for their future transfer. Advisors at the institution to which
a student wishes to transfer should also be consulted during the transfer process.
Students may elect to complete the full TAG or any subset of courses from the TAG.
Because of specific major requirements, early identification of a student's intended
major is encouraged.
Conditions for Transfer Admission
1. Ohio residents with associate degrees from state-assisted institutions and a completed,
approved Transfer Module shall be admitted to a state institution of higher education
in Ohio, provided their cumulative grade point average is at least 2.0 for all previous
college-level courses. Further, these students shall have admission priority over
out-of-state associate degree graduates and transfer students.
2. When students have earned associate degrees but have not completed a Transfer Module,
they will be eligible for preferential consideration for admission as transfer students
if they have grade point averages of at least a 2.0 for all previous college-level
courses.
3. In order to encourage completion of the baccalaureate degree, students who are
not enrolled in an A.A. or A.S. degree program but have earned 60 semester or 90 quarter
hours or more of credit toward a baccalaureate degree with a grade point average of
at least a 2.0 for all previous college-level courses will be eligible for preferential
consideration for admission as transfer students.
4. Students who have not earned an A.A. or A.S. degree or who have not earned 60 semester
hours or 90 quarter hours of credit with a grade point average of at least a 2.0 for
all previous college-level courses are eligible for admission as transfer students
on a competitive basis.
5. Incoming transfer students admitted to a college or university shall compete for
admission to selective programs, majors, and units on an equal basis with students
native to the receiving institution.Admission to a given institution, however, does
not guarantee that a transfer student will be automatically admitted to all majors,
minors, or fields of concentration at the institution.Once admitted, transfer students
shall be subject to the same regulations governing applicability of catalog requirements
as native students. Furthermore, transfer students shall be accorded the same class
standing and other privileges as native students on the basis of the number of credits
earned. All residency requirements must be completed at the receiving institution.
Acceptance of Transfer Credit
To recognize courses appropriately and provide equity in the treatment of incoming
transfer students and students native to the receiving institution, transfer credit
will be accepted for all successfully completed college-level courses completed in
and after fall 2005 from Ohio state-assisted institutions of higher education. Students
who successfully completed A.A. or A.S. degrees prior to fall 2005 with a 2.0 or better
overall grade point average would also receive credit for all college-level course
they have passed. (See Ohio Articulation and Transfer Policy, Definition of Passing
Grade and Appendix D) While this reflects the baseline policy requirement, individual
institutions may set equitable institutional policies that are more accepting. Pass/fail
courses, credit by examination courses, experiential learning courses, and other nontraditional
credit courses that meet these conditions will also be accepted and posted to the
student record.
Responsibilities of Students
In order to facilitate transfer with maximum applicability of transfer credit, prospective
transfer students should plan a course of study that will meet the requirements of
a degree program at the receiving institution. Students should use the Transfer Module,
Transfer Assurance Guides, and u.select (formerly Course Applicability System) for guidance in planning the transfer process.
Specifically, students should identify early in their collegiate studies an institution
and major to which they desire to transfer. Furthermore, students should determine
if there are language requirements or any special course requirements that can be
met during the freshman or sophomore year. This will enable students to plan and pursue
a course of study that will articulate with the receiving institution's major. Students
are encouraged to seek further information regarding transfer from both their advisor
and the college or university to which they plan to transfer.
Appeals Process
Following the evaluation of a student transcript from another institution, the receiving
institution shall provide the student with a statement of transfer credit applicability.
At the same time, the institution must inform the student of the institution’s appeals
process. The process should be multi-level and responses should be issued within 30
days of the receipt of the appeal.