Summary of Ohio Articulation and Transfer Policies

 

Prepared by:

Maureen Sevigny

Oregon Institute of Technology

July 12, 2004

 

 

This report summarizes the articulation and transfer goals and policy as described by the Ohio Board of Regents and provides an example of how the Transfer Module is used in practice at three public universities and one community college. The universities chosen represent diverse missions in the state of Ohio: Ohio State University (land grant), Bowling Green State University (regional), and Miami University (regional with strong emphasis on interdisciplinary courses and programs). The community college chosen, Lorain County Community College is in a relatively populated area west of Cleveland.

 

The “Policy” and “Transfer Module” sections below are excerpts taken verbatim from the Ohio Board of Regents Transfer Module Guidelines websites (http://www.regents.state.oh.us/transfer/policy.html and

http://www.regents.state.oh.us/transfer/catalog.html, respectively, both accessed July 12, 2004).

 

Ohio adopted its transfer and articulation policy in 1991. It can easily serve as a working model for Oregon, “fleshing out” the earlier policy draft proposal prepared by OIT in June 2004.

 

Ohio’s Transfer Module allows for a common core of general education requirements to aid transfer within the state’s public colleges and universities while respecting the need for each university to specify additional courses consistent with its mission and individual programs. Up to one-third of the courses in the Transfer Module may be electives, chosen from courses enumerated by each institution. Students who are considering transferring are urged to discuss appropriate courses with the “receiving institution” in order to plan their studies at their home (“sending”) institution. This is directly addressed by the Regents in the section entitled “Student Responsibility.”

 

 

Policy

Introduction

The Ohio Board of Regents is required by law to coordinate the Ohio institutions of higher education in the development and implementation of a statewide student credit-hour transfer policy to address the articulation problems associated with students transferring between institutions of higher education. As a result, the following policy has been developed to facilitate the transfer of students and credits from one institution to another so that a transfer student with an equivalent academic record may complete a degree comparable to that of the student who began at the receiving institution. However, all residency requirements (e.g., the minimum number of lower and/or upper division credits) must be successfully completed at the receiving institution prior to the granting of a degree.

 

The Commission on Articulation and Transfer, which drafted this document, was guided by assumptions that the policy should:

1. Create an academically sound and facilitative system to afford students an opportunity to attain their goals.
2. Encourage students to move as far through the educational system as they can.
3. Maintain a balance between good public policy and administrative burden.
4. Recognize the diversity of Ohio institutions without perpetuating barriers to articulation and transfer.
5. Continue the institutional autonomy of curricula and degree requirements.
6. Create a coherent statewide policy that encourages cooperation and that can be maintained over time.
7. Assure equitable consideration and treatment for both native and transfer students.
8. Assure students that they will not be required to repeat course work successfully completed at another institution.
9. Encourage independent institutions to adopt this policy.

 

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 program. Transfer Module consists of 54 to 60 quarter hours (or 36 to 40 semester hours) of courses in the following areas: English, mathematics, arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, natural and physical sciences, and interdisciplinary study.

 

A Transfer Module completed at one college or university will automatically meet the requirements of the 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 of Institution R’s general education program. Institution R, however, may require additional general education courses beyond the Transfer Module.

 

Since many degree programs require specific courses that may be taken as part of the general education or Transfer Module program at an institution, students are encouraged to meet with an academic advisor at the institution to which they plan to transfer early in their academic career. For example, students who will be majoring in any of the majors in the College of Business and Administration at the receiving institution should take Economics 201, 203, and 203 (or equivalent course at another institution) rather than the Economics 200 course listed as part of the Transfer Module. Because of specific major requirements such as these, early identification of a student’s intended major is encouraged. Advisors at the institution to which a student wishes to transfer should be consulted regarding Transfer Module and general education courses and any specific program requirements that can be completed before transfer.

 

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. Specifically, students should identify early in their collegiate studies an institution and major to which they desire to transfer. …

Ohio Transfer Module (TM) requirements as embodied at several universities and colleges

 

Subject area and discussion of courses	Ohio TM minimum credits (quarter or semester hours)	Ohio State University (quarter)	Bowling Green State University (semester)	Miami University (semester)	Lorain County Community College (semester)
English Composition: The major emphasis should be on written composition, although the course(s) may include other components such as speech, literature, and communication. Transfer students who have completed the Transfer Module will not be subjected to a diagnostic placement test at the receiving institution (unless required of native students, who have completed comparable course work).	5-6 quarter or 3 semester hours	5	ENG 111	6	ENGL 161
Mathematics: Courses must build on and extend beyond three years of college preparatory mathematics or the equivalent (e.g., two years of high school level mathematics and one college mathematics course). Courses satisfying these criteria may include symbolic logic, college mathematics, statistics, and computer science.	3 quarter or 3 semester hours	4	3 or more hours	3	3
Arts/humanities: Courses must be broad, language based, 100- and 200-level courses that focus on the study of human endeavors over time (e.g., varying perspectives, spanning time, and cross-culture). Courses must be selected from the following areas: arts, music, visual arts, theater, film, literature (a culture spectrum), religion, philosophy, ethics, and history. Students must select courses from at least two discipline areas.	9 quarter or 6 semester hours	9 hours including at least 1 literature course	6 or more hours	6 hours from at least two areas	6 hours from at least two areas
Social and Behavioral Sciences: Courses must be 100- and 200-level survey courses which explain through empirical investigation and theoretical interpretation the behavior of individuals and various groups in societies, economies, governments, and subcultures. Courses may be selected from the traditional social science disciplines: anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology. Courses with an interdisciplinary or integrated focus on social sciences are also acceptable. Students must select courses from at least two discipline areas.	9 quarter or 6 semester hours	9	6 or more hours	6 hours from at least two areas	6 hours from at least two areas

 

Subject area and discussion of courses	Ohio TM minimum credits (quarter or semester hours)	Ohio State University (quarter)	Bowling Green State University (semester)	Miami University (semester)	Lorain County Community College
Natural and Physical Sciences: Courses of an introductory nature must make clear the importance of experimentation and observation in the sciences and the way in which these observations of the physical and biological world lead scientists to formulate principles that provide universal explanations of diverse phenomena. These courses should have as a goal the development of an understanding of how scientific principles are built and used in the modern world and of the impact of science on society and the human health and well-being of individuals. Through these courses, students should develop an understanding of structured thinking involving induction and deduction. Courses may be selected from traditional natural and physical science disciplines such as: anatomy, astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental science, geology, physiology, physical geography, and physics. At least one of the courses must be a laboratory course with one laboratory meeting each week from at least two discipline areas.	9 quarter or 6 semester hours	9	6 or more hours	6 hours including 1 biological science and 1 physical science – 1 of these must be a lab	6 hours including at least 1 lab course
Interdisciplinary Studies: Interdisciplinary will be defined as courses that fall into more than one Transfer Module category.	≤ 9 quarter or ≤ 6 semester hours			3 hours fine arts and 3 hours world cultures
Electives		18 hours selected from list	12 hours selected from list	3	12 hours selected
Total Transfer Module credits	54-60 quarter or 36-40 semester	54	36	36	36

 

 

Sources:

 

Bowling Green State University 2001-2003 Catalog

(http://collegesource.org/displayinfo/frame.asp?projectid=98502, accessed July 12, 2004)

 

Lorain County Community College 2003-2004 Catalog

(http://collegesource.org/displayinfo/frame.asp?projectid=106341, accessed July 12, 2004)

 

Miami University General Bulletin 2002-2004 (http://collegesource.org/displayinfo/frame.asp?projectid=100676, accessed July 12, 2004)

 

Ohio Board of Regents Transfer and Catalog Statement: (http://www.regents.state.oh.us/transfer/catalog.html, accessed July 12, 2004)

 

Ohio Board of Regents Transfer Module Guidelines (http://www.regents.state.oh.us/transfer/guidelin.html, accessed July 12, 2004)

 

The Ohio State University 2003-2004 Course Offerings Bulletin

(http://collegesource.org/displayinfo/frame.asp?projectid=105946, accessed July 12, 2004)