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Ohio Administrative Code (Last Updated: January 12, 2021) |
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3357:15 Stark State College |
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Chapter3357:15-13. Academics |
3357:15-13-25. Transfer and articulation
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State of Ohio's transfer and articulation policy
Stark state college abides by the Ohio department of higher education Ohio articulation and transfer policy
[The Ohio articulation and transfer policy: the policy | Ohio higher ed: https://www.ohiohighered.org/transfer/policy ]
Institutional transfer
The Ohio department of higher education in 1990, following a directive of the 118th 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. Additional legislation from the 125th Ohio General Assembly also initiated the development of a statewide system for articulation agreements among state institutions of higher education for transfer students pursuing teacher education programs.
Action by the 126th Ohio General Assembly led to the establishment of criteria, policies, and procedures for the transfer of technical courses completed through a career-technical education institution and standards for the awarding of college credit based on advanced placement (AP) test scores.
Legislation from the 130th Ohio General Assembly required public institutions of higher education to: use baseline standards and procedures in the granting of college credit for military training, experience, and coursework; establish an appeals process for resolving disputes over the awarding of credit for military experience; provide specific assistance and support to veterans and service members; adopt a common definition of a service member and veteran; and establish a credit articulation system in which adult graduates of public career-technical institutions who complete a nine hundred clock-hour program of study and obtain an industry-recognized credential approved by the chancellor shall receive thirty college technical credit hours toward a technical degree upon enrollment.
While all public 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 department of higher education has established an articulation and transfer clearinghouse to receive, annotate, and convey transcripts among public 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.
Application of transfer and articulated credit
Application of credit is the decision process performed by the receiving institution to determine how the credits it has accepted and recorded on the student's official academic transcript will or will not apply toward program and degree requirements. While the receiving institution makes this decision, it will do so within the parameters of this policy.
The following guidelines and requirements shall govern the application of transfer and articulated credit:
(A) Ohio transfer module (OTM): It is assumed that a common body of knowledge, comprised of a subset or the complete set of an institution's general education curriculum, can be found in the associate of arts, associate of science, and baccalaureate degree programs offered at various institutions. An OTM can be drawn from this broader general education curriculum. Each institution has identified its OTM according to the guidelines and learning outcomes appended. Students enrolled in applied degree programs may choose to go beyond their degree requirements to complete the entire OTM. Individuals who successfully complete the OTM at one public institution of higher education in Ohio will be considered to have met the OTM requirements of the receiving institution. Approved OTM courses, when taken individually, are also guaranteed for transfer among public higher education institutions on a course-by-course basis and are to be applied to the OTM of the receiving institution.
(B) Transfer assurance guides (TAGs): Discipline-specific guides, or pathway guarantees, have been developed and explained in the policy as advising tools, each containing selected courses from the existing Ohio transfer module, pre-major/beginning major courses (called TAG courses), advising notes, and foreign language requirement when appropriate. TAG courses are guaranteed to transfer and be applied to specific TAG-related degree/program requirements as equivalent courses.
(C) Career-technical assurance guides (CTAGs): Built upon a similar philosophy as the TAGs, CTAGs facilitate the award and transfer of college credit in technical courses/ programs among public institutions of learning, including secondary and adult career-technical institutions, colleges, and universities.
(D) Military transfer assurance guides (MTAGs): College credit is guaranteed for service members with military training, experience, or coursework that is recognized by the american council on education (ACE) or a regionally accredited military institution, such as community college of the air force. Pathway guarantees (MTAGs) have been developed to ensure the applicability of equivalent courses toward specific degree and program requirements.
(E) Apprenticeship pathway programs: Technology-specific statewide articulation agreements in apprenticeship programs recognize non-traditional prior learning, for which college credit is awarded toward a technical associate degree.
(F) Prior learning assessment (PLA): Prior learning at the college-level that is acquired through means other than credit course enrollment (e.g., work experience, professional training, military training, or recognized examinations, certificates, and certifications) is assessed through a number of rigorous evaluation methods. Credit is awarded and applied within the scope of this policy (See the definitions section of this policy, prior learning and prior learning assessment).
(G) Advanced placement (AP) exams: College credit is guaranteed for students who achieve an AP exam score of 3 or higher in accordance with the course alignment recommendations.
(H) College-level examination program (CLEP): College credit is guaranteed for students who achieve an established college-level examination program (CLEP) test score for exams that have been endorsed statewide as college level. Statewide faculty panels aligned CLEP exams to equivalent Ohio transfer module (OTM) and transfer assurance guide (TAG) courses, as appropriate. Specific endorsed alignments and scores for individual CLEP exams that are outlined in the college-level examination program (CLEP) endorsed alignment policies document are available on the Ohio department of higher education website at https://www.ohiohighered.org/transfer/clep.
(I) International baccalaureate (IB) exams: Each public institution of higher education in Ohio provides a policy including the minimum scores and course/credit alignments for awarding college credit for successfully completed international baccalaureate exams.
(J) One-year option: Adult learners are awarded technical course credit toward a general associate of technical studies degree for completing an occupational skills training program at an adult public career-technical education institution and the respective credential approved by the chancellor.
(K) Associate-to-baccalaureate degree pathways: An associate degree holder from an Ohio public institution of higher education is able to apply his or her associate degree toward a baccalaureate degree program in an equivalent field at any baccalaureate degree-granting public institution of higher education.
(L) Credit when it's due: Through the credit when it's due program, participating institutions collaborate to exchange the academic records of eligible transfer students to determine if their previously earned college credit is sufficient to be awarded an associate degree or certificate by applying credit before and/or after they began their current degree or certificate program.
(M) Application of credit to the major, minor, and field of concentration: Other than the Ohio transfer module (OTM), transfer assurance guides (TAGs), career-technical assurance guides (CTAGs), military transfer assurance guides (MTAGs), apprenticeship pathway programs, advanced placement (AP) exams, the one-year option, and the "2+2" programs, the application of credit for requirements in a specific academic major, minor, or field of concentration will be made on a course-by-course basis by the receiving institution.
(N) Treatment of upper- and lower-division credit: A course completed at one public institution of higher education and transferred to another will be applied to the student's degree objective in the same manner as its equivalent course at the receiving institution.
(O) Applied associate degrees: Applied degree graduates who transfer to an associate of arts (AA), associate of science (AS), or bachelor degree program typically must complete additional general education courses to satisfy the general education requirements. Individual OTM courses completed will transfer and apply toward the OTM of the receiving institution.
(P) Non-traditional credit and electives: Non-traditional credit transfers as an equivalent course(s) when available at the receiving institution. If there are no equivalent courses and the courses are not applicable to the TAG, CTAG, MTAG, OTM, general education requirements, or specific program requirements, such courses will transfer or articulate as free or general electives when they exist in a program.