Students who wish to pursue a bachelor's degree after earning an associate degree should begin the transfer process as early as possible. This process begins when a student first meets with a Tri-C counselor to select transferable courses using available resources such as statewide guarantees, transfer guides, articulation agreements and approved transfer pathways.

We recommend that students who plan to transfer meet with a counselor early and often. Courses they select should meet Tri-C’s minimum graduation requirements and, ideally, as many of the transfer institution’s graduation requirements as possible. Students should also meet with a Tri-C transfer specialist to discuss pre-transfer planning, including their transfer timeline. Transfer specialists can help in a number of ways, such as connecting students to admissions and/or advising representatives at the transfer institution. Please note that acceptance of transfer credit is always at the discretion of the receiving institution.

To shorten a student’s path from associate to bachelor's degree, the Ohio Department of Higher Education has established credit transfer guarantees, which include courses in the Ohio Transfer 36 and Transfer Assurance Guides (TAGs), among others. These courses are guaranteed to transfer to any four-year public college or university in Ohio and to ensure comparable, compatible and equivalent learning experiences across Ohio's public higher education system. Knowing in advance that their courses will transfer gives students the flexibility to choose lower-cost, more convenient options. In addition to saving money, students who take advantage of transfer guarantees and graduate with an associate degree are more likely to excel academically and graduate with a bachelor's degree.

Courses that are not part of the Ohio Transfer 36 or a TAG are assured to transfer only as part of an approved articulation agreement between Tri-C and a four-year college or university. A Tri-C counselor or transfer specialist can provide information about which courses and degree programs have articulated credit. Note that courses with numbers lower than 1000 usually do not transfer. Learn more about semester course numbering.

Students who plan to transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a bachelor's degree after earning an associate degree from Tri-C should schedule a meeting with their intended transfer institution's admissions office to make sure they have met all of that institution’s admission and transfer requirements. As part of its admission review process, the transfer institution will require official transcripts of college-level courses completed. Learn more about ordering Tri-C transcripts online.