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Transfer Assurance Guides (TAGs)

H.B. 95 mandated that the Ohio Department of Higher Education/Ohio Articulation and Transfer Network establish policies and procedures applicable to all state institutions of higher education to ensure that students can begin higher education at any state institution of higher education and transfer coursework and degrees to any other state institution of higher education without unnecessary duplication or institutional barriers.

What is a TAG?

A central feature of the policy is the Transfer Assurance Guides (TAGs). TAG is an initiative that guarantees the course equivalency and applicability of degree pathways. TAG is also an advising tool for students and advisors to plan out students' degree pathways from two-year to four-year degree programs in specific disciplines.

Within each TAG pathway guarantee, pre-major-/beginning major courses or course sequences called TAG courses that are identified as being a part of the TAG may be offered at any public higher education institution in Ohio.

Submission Process

Approximately one time each semester, the associate provost in communication with representatives from the Ohio Department of Higher Education/Ohio Articulation and Transfer Network audit the existing course matches for Transfer Assurance Guides. If a match needs to be revised or added, the following steps are taken:

  1. The associate provost contacts the chair or director of the appropriate department or program to inquire about a possible course that might be an appropriate match.
  2. Once the course is identified, the chair or director selects a faculty member who has taught and has in-depth knowledge of the course.
  3. The associate provost provides the faculty member with the appropriate templates and guidelines for creating the needed materials to create a match (see list below) in the ODHE’s electronic system.

Statewide Review and Approval Process

There are two submission deadlines per academic year--the first at the beginning of October and the second at the beginning of March.

However, 兔子先生 typically submits materials to the Ohio Department of Higher Education/Ohio Articulation and Transfer Network for a preliminary review approximately one month prior to the formal submission deadline so that the liaison can quickly skim the materials and offer suggestions, and the faculty proposer has time to make changes before the formal submission occurs.

Faculty proposers are encouraged to submit their materials to the associate provost by one of the following dates:

  • September 1
  • February 15

Materials Needed to Propose a Match

To propose a match, each faculty member will need to assemble the following:

  • Detailed and current syllabus with week-by-week or day-by-day schedule, student learning outcomes, assessments, and grading distributions from summative assessments included as a minimum;
  • Course Details Template which includes course number and title, term when course was first offered, credit hours (including contact hours for lectures, labs, and others), pre- or co-requisites, catalog description, textbook ISBN, outside readings and materials, instructional goals or objectives, description of assessment or evaluation of learning;
  • Learning Outcomes Template which includes a list of the statewide learning outcomes for the course within the Transfer Assurance Guide, a general description of how the course meets the outcomes (e.g., references to language in syllabus) and a detailed description for students’ learning process (e.g., activities/exercises, specific exam question, assignment) that clearly articulates how the students in that course will meet each outcome.
  • Documentation (attachments) which includes examinations, quizzes, homework, assignment prompts or other material that was referenced in the Learning Outcomes Templates. 

The associate provost will provide you with a copy of the two templates which you may complete.

Tips on Submitting a Successful Match

Syllabus

  • When submitting a syllabus, be sure that it is current and includes a week-by-week or day-by-day schedule and a list of summative assessments (e.g., projects, exams, quizzes, etc.).
  • If your calendar references textbook chapter numbers, please also include chapter titles. The statewide TAG Review Panel members might not be familiar with the particular textbook.

Course Details Template

  • On the Course Details Template is a request to list when the course was first offered. If you do not know the semester or term when it was first offered, you may leave it blank or simply list the current term or semester. .
  • Please provide the course credit hours and contact hours per week for lectures, labs, and others (e.g., recitation, practicum, etc.)
  • Be sure to include the ISBN for any textbook(s) offered in the course.

Learning Outcomes Template

The Learning Outcomes Template is typically the component that is most difficult for faculty to complete. Here are some guidelines for this template:

  • Do not copy and paste the same TAG language for describing how students meet each outcome. Instead reference language that is similar in the syllabus or explain in your own words generally how the course advances the outcome. 
  • Rather than phrase the descriptions in terms of what the faculty member does, focus on what the student does; and include specific language. For example, rather than writing, "Faculty member assigns a marketing plan," a possible sentence might be: "As part of their marketing plan project, students must conduct a target market assessment in which they identify two market segments and their specific demographic and geographic characteristics and describe what each market wants, how their money is spent and how each segment can best be reached." When describing students’ learning process, references to the verbiages from the Bloom's Taxonomy can help articulate the expected rigor when meeting the TAG learning outcome.
  • Do not copy and paste the same TAG language for describing how students meet each outcome.
  • Make sure that in your description for how students meet each outcome, you should reference any reading or lecture materials that relate to the outcome. In addition, it is critical that you include a brief 1-2 sentence summary of a particular activity or assignment that the student will complete that is directly tied to that outcome. For example, imagine that the outcome you are describing is: "Understanding of marketing functions within the organization and external environments and marketing contributions organizational attainment of goals and objectives." A possible description might be:

"Content knowledge is gained throughout the course with assigned text readings (chapters 7 and 8) and instructor presentations. Demonstrated competency is done through graded homework assignments, multiple content exams and a graded marketing plan. For example, in week 6 of the semester, students must submit a Marketing Plan Assignment in which they focus on identifying a target market (consumer or business) whose needs are not currently being met, not being met satisfactorily or even recognized. Students must think about competitive offerings, and how their offering will be communicated and delivered. Emphasis in this assignment is on the solution being actionable and realistic."

  • For each outcome, you need to estimate the percentage of the course time that is devoted to that outcome. When you add up all of the percentages for the total number of outcomes, the total should be 100%.

Contact Us

Office of the Provost
209 Roudebush Hall
501 E. High St., Oxford, OH 45056
513-529-6721
Academic Personnel Center for Teaching Excellence 兔子先生 Online MUASAA Office of Liberal Education Office of Institutional Research University Senate