How to Articulate

Transferring credits from one institution to another can be a confusing process, so the SOCHE Articulation Council has worked to provide you with resources to simplify it. We recommend that you begin with the FAQ's, which provide answers to common transfer questions.

Frequently Asked Questions about Transfering:

Definition of Common Terms

An Articulation Agreement is a formalized agreement between two institutions, which outlines the general transferability of students, courses and credits and facilitates movement of students from the sending institution to the receiving institution.

A Program Agreement (or Parallel Program) is a program of study, which articulates how courses at the sending institution transfer toward requirements for a specific program at the receiving institution.

The Ohio Transfer and Articulation Policy is intended to facilitate transfer from one Ohio institution to another. The entire policy is available on the Ohio Board of Regents web page.

The Ohio Transfer Module is a core of courses that will transfer from one Ohio public institution to another. The Ohio Transfer Module includes courses in English composition, mathematics, arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences.

The Course Applicability System (CAS) (www.transfer.org) is a web-based course equivalency system that allows student to determine the transferability of courses from one institution to another.

Why should you develop articulation agreements?

To encourage and enhance interest in post secondary education
To facilitate transfer from one institution to another
To avoid duplication of resources
To create linkages and fosters partnerships within the learning community

When should you articulate?

When you receive a high number of transfer students from one institution.
When you are sharing the same information repeatedly to prospective students and advisors at other colleges.
When you want to formalize transfer equivalencies.
When you want to recruit transfer students from a particular institution.

Before Getting Started

Determine where your students transfer from.
Consider what credits you take from those institutions.
Gather what is already written about transfer credits from these institutions.
Assess the climate on campus and interest in creating articulation agreements.
Gather support from appropriate administrators, staff and faculty at your institution.
Determine the interest at the sending institution in creating agreements.

The Steps to Articulation

Connect with the sending institution
Create a general articulation agreement
Evaluate all courses from the sending institution
Build parallel program agreements
Build course-by-course guides, if appropriate
Inform students of new opportunities available

See the steps in detail.