Terminology

Academic Residency is defined as the amount of time a student must spend and/or number of credit hours a student must take while enrolled at the University of Cincinnati to be eligible for a degree or certificate.

The ACT is an entrance exam used by most colleges and universities to make admissions decisions. It is a multiple-choice, pencil-and-paper test administered by ACT, Inc.

The State of Ohio, working through the University System of Ohio, has initiated policies to facilitate the ease of transition from high school to college as well as between and among Ohio’s Public colleges and universities. Transfer students often may be required to submit AP scores to their new institution to receive Advanced Placement for the AP courses taken in High School.

The One-Year Option allows graduates of Ohio’s adult career-technical institutions (Ohio Technical Centers or OTC) who complete a 600 or greater hour program and obtain an industry-recognized credential(s) to earn a block of technical credit toward an Associate of Technical Study (Type B). The goal of this Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) initiative is to create a statewide agreement for awarding technical credit in addition to current statewide agreements such as Career-Technical Assurance Guides (CTAGs). Eligible students will be awarded 20-30 semester credit hours of block credit for the approved OTC program toward the relevant 60 semester hour ATS degree.

The College Credit Plus (CCP) program has been established to enhance students’ college and career readiness and post-secondary success by enabling college-ready, 7-12 grade students who qualify for college admission to take college-level courses for which they earn both high school and transcripted college credit upon successful completion of coursework.

CLEP gives students the opportunity to demonstrate prior learning and to earn credit for that knowledge by earning qualifying scores on any of the 33 CLEP examinations.

Evaluation of credit from outside/previous institutions and their equivalency/translation to courses at the student’s new institution.

Ohio’s “Credit When It’s Due” initiative is a process to award associate degrees to students who earned academic credits that satisfied residency requirements at an Ohio public community college / two-year institution, did not earn the associate degree, and subsequently transferred to a four-year institution.

A degree audit is an analysis of your student’s academic progress toward a degree. It helps your student monitor where he is and what he still needs to do to complete his requirements. A degree audit is an advising document that maps out degree requirements and compares them against your student’s transcript.

The DSST is a program that allows students the chance to gain course credit for prior learning by earning qualifying scores on their 30+ exams. DSST exams cover a variety of subjects, including business, humanities, math, physical science, social science, and technology.

A college’s first-year experience course. This requirement may or may not be waived for transfer students depending on previous course work.

Cross-Registration is a program sponsored by GC3 which enables matriculated, degree-seeking students at a GC3 member institution to take courses at another GC3 member institution. Students interested in cross-registering must be enrolled at least part-time at their “home” institution and must obtain all appropriate approvals from both the home and host institutions before registering. Students who cross-register pay the tuition at their home institution, but are responsible for course-related fees to the host institution.

The Global Assessment Certificate program is a university preparation and foundation studies program that provides students from mostly non-English-speaking backgrounds with academic knowledge and skills to prepare them for western-style post-secondary study.

IB schools have been established around the world to educate students with a global perspective. Students who complete all of the requirements will receive an IB diploma. Those who do not complete all requirements may receive an IB certificate. The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) is designed for high school students, ages sixteen to nineteen.

Courses that must be completed before you can be admitted into a specific major. It’s important to talk to advisors at both your current and target college to ensure you’re completing the appropriate classes since course names will likely differ between the institutions.

When students take classes at a higher education institution without being enrolled in a degree program. Their official status is non-matriculated, which is a traditional academic term meaning “not enrolled in a degree program.”

The Ohio Guaranteed Transfer Pathways (OGTPs) are designed to provide a clearer path to degree completion for students pursuing associate degrees who plan to transfer to an Ohio public university to complete their bachelor’s degree. The OGTPs also constitute an agreement between public community colleges and universities confirming that community college courses meet major preparation requirements and will be counted and applied toward the bachelor’s degree. Students still must meet all university program admission requirements.

Ohio Technical Centers (OTCs) provide post-secondary career and technical education (CTE) at 54 career centers across Ohio. These institutions offer programming in the skill trades that prepare learners for certificates, industry-recognized certifications, and state licensures.

The Ohio Transfer Module (OTM) is a subset or a complete set of general education requirements at Ohio public colleges and universities. OTM courses are guaranteed to transfer to any of Ohio’s public institutions of higher education as an area credit, as well as equivalent courses in English and Mathematics.

Placement tests in English and Math are likely required for students who do not have college-ready ACT/SAT scores or official transcripts with qualifying college credit.

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) is a way for students to earn UC credit for knowledge gained outside of the traditional classroom. PLA involves the identification, documentation, assessment and recognition of learning acquired through formal and informal study. This may include work and life experience, training, independent study, military experience, volunteering, travel, hobbies and family experiences. There are different ways to earn PLA credit.

The SAT is an entrance exam used by most colleges and universities to make admissions decisions. It is a multiple-choice, pencil-and-paper test administered by the College Board.

The TOEFL iBT test measures your ability to use and understand English at the university level. And it evaluates how well you combine your reading, listening, speaking and writing skills to perform academic tasks.

Students can complete specified General Education courses anywhere in the public system as well as many courses in the degree/major that have been pre-identified for transfer. These are described in Transfer Assurance Guides for many majors/degree programs.

A currently enrolled student at a college or university who want to continue their education in a degree program at another institution.

Transferology is a nation-wide network designed to help students explore their college transfer options.  By adding coursework, exams, and/or military learning experiences, students can see how many schools in the Transferology network have matching courses that may be awarded when they transfer.