Transfer Terminology

Applicability: Transfer course work that applies to graduation requirements in a specific major at the receiving institution.

Associate's Degree: The degree customarily granted upon completion of a course of study normally requiring two academic years of college course work. College work encompasses lower division institutional requirements.

Articulation Agreement: An agreement between institutions of higher education to ensure the efficient and effective movement of students and courses among those institutions.

Associate of Arts/Associate of Science (Transfer Degree): Usually referred to as the University Parallel or Transfer Program, the degree is designed for students who plan to complete their first two years of college work at an Ohio community college and then transfer as a junior to an Ohio four-year institution of their choice. (See definition of junior status.)

Associate of Applied Business and Associate of Applied Science Degrees (Technical Degree): The Associate of Applied Business and the Associate of Applied Science degrees prepare students for entry into specific occupation or are designed to articulate with four-year technical programs. The Associate of Technical Study and the Associate of Individualized Study degrees are technical education programs designed to meet specific needs not available in format degree programs.

Bachelor's Degree or Baccalaureate Degree: The degree customarily granted upon completion of a course of study normally requiring four academic years of college course work. College work encompasses both upper and lower division institutional requirements.

Consortium Agreements: A grouping of regionally accredited colleges that allows for smooth transfer of college credit.

Degree Completion: We want to place major emphasis on this term. The focus is on completing a bachelor's degree having started at a community/technical college with planning as the guiding principle. The time frame is of little relevance once the goal of a bachelor's degree has been accomplished.

Higher Education Grade Point Average (HEdGPA): A cumulative grade point average of all college-level work taken at regional accredited institutions (both two- and four-year) including the current institution the student is attending.

Junior Status: At least sixty (60) semester hours of completed course work from a regionally accredited institution. Junior status does not necessarily mean that the student has two years of course work remaining to graduate.

Regional Accreditation: There are six regional accrediting commissions across the U.S. State assisted colleges and universities usually require that, in order for course work to be transferable, it must have been taken at a regionally accredited institution. (North Central Association of Colleges and Schools is the accrediting body for this region of the U.S.)

Reverse Transfer: When a student transfers from a four-year to a two-year institution of higher education.

Seamless Transfer: The ultimate goal - a smooth transition from the two-year college to the four-year college/university, where all courses taken at the two-year institution transfer and apply toward graduation at the four-year institution. This is achieved through a partnership between both of the institutions as well as the student.

Transferability: Transfer of college-level course work between regionally accredited institutions. Does not assume applicability to any specific major at the receiving institution (see "applicability").

Transfer Grade Point Average (TGPA): A cumulative grade point average of all college-level work transferring into a given institution. This does not include the grade point average (GPA) from the institution accepting the transfer credit.

Transfer Module: This is a subset or complete set (in some cases, the institutions' Transfer Module may satisfy the entire set of general education requirements) of a college or university's general education requirements that represents a body of knowledge and academic skills common across Ohio colleges and universities. This module contains 36-40 semester hours or 54-60 quarter hours of courses in the fields of (1) English; (2) mathematics; (3) arts/humanities; (4)social and behavioral sciences; (5) natural and physical sciences; (6) interdisciplinary course work (optional).

Transfer Student: A student who is applying to an institution of higher education who has previously attended another institution of higher education.

Transient Student: Also known as a guest student is a student who obtains prior approval from his/her home institution to attend another institution as a guest, usually for one term, and then transfers the course back to the home institution. An example would be a student who goes away to college but while home for the summer, takes a course at a local institution.

2 + 2: (An outgoing term) Refers to the idea of taking the first two years of college-level work at a community/technical college and then transferring with two years remaining at the four-year college/university.