Glossary

The Career-Technical Credit Transfer (CT²) glossary has terms gleaned from Amended Substitute House Bill (H.B.) 66 language, as well as, Ohio Board of Regents and Ohio Department of Education resources. Other tools included James A. Rhodes State College Assessment Terminology and Learn More Indiana. In most cases, the definitions were modified or created to pertain to the H.B. 66 mandate.

Accreditation and Accrediting Bodies: Official recognition or sanction by an outside or third party that the content and standards (processes) of an institution or program are conforming to standards of performance, integrity and quality.

1. Accreditation speaks to the educational quality of the institution or the programs within the institution. National, regional, and professional organizations, commissions, or bodies establish the standards and processes of recognition as well as evaluate the institution.
2. For the purposes of H.B. 66, accreditation includes recognized business and industry technical program accreditation, such as the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF).

Admission Requirements: A set of conditions that must be met in order to be accepted to a college.³

Advanced Credit: Advanced placement refers to a student being granted admission to a program of study at a point other than the beginning. For example, a student granted credit for the first two technical courses in a curriculum of study, thus allowing that student to begin at the third course.

Advanced Placement (AP): College-level courses (designed by the College Board) offered in high schools. Students with high AP test scores may be placed in upper-level college courses and may receive college credit for beginning-level courses.³

Adult Full-Service Centers: Network of 40 adult career-technical education centers that provide a wide range of programs designed to meet the state's changing workplace training needs.¹

Articulation: A systematic coordination between educational institutions to ensure efficient and effective movement of students among those institutions, while guaranteeing the students’ continuous advancement in learning.² Prescribed curriculum sequence that allows credit transfers from one area to another, such as between grade levels, between career-technical and academic education and between secondary (high school) and postsecondary (higher) education.¹

Articulation Agreement: Formal agreements between or among education organizations that align courses and career majors from one educational institution to another in a way that facilitates transition without loss of course credit or time for the student.³

• Bilateral articulation agreements are written agreements reached between individual educational institutions about course equivalency and undergraduate requirements.²

Articulation and Transfer Clearinghouse (ATC): The Articulation and Transfer Clearinghouse (ATC) is being developed to support Articulation and Transfer policies. The ATC facilitates electronic exchange of student transcript among Ohio, state-assisted higher education institutions. The ATC provides institutions receiving transfer students with additional electronic information regarding how a transfer student’s current coursework matches with his or her new institution’s coursework that is guaranteed to transfer and apply through the Ohio Transfer Module (OTM) and Transfer Assurance Guides (TAGS) This helps receiving institutions consider transfer credits in a consistent manner across the state. Ohio’s institutions of higher education benefit from the ATC because electronic transcript exchange allows for significant automation of transfer student processing. Ohio’s higher education students benefit through the consistent application of TAG and OTM coursework as well as improved reliability of the processed transcript data at the new institution. Electronic processing of transcripts also speeds the overall transcript evaluation process.

Associate Degree: The Applied Science and Associate in Applied Business Degrees prepare students for entry into specific occupations or are designed to articulate with four year technical programs. The Associate in Technical Study and Associate in Individualized Study Degrees relate to technical education programs designed to meet specific needs not available in formal degree programs.²

Beta Test: Refers to the field testing of the Career-Technical Credit Transfer (CT²) five step process.

Bulletin Board:  a searchable web-base resource to that shows students, faculty, registrars, counselors, and others the state-wide equivalent courses/programs for CT².

Business and Industry Certificates: Signifies competency in specific knowledge and skills in a specialized and technical area related to jobs or practice. Certificates are typically focused on specific industry or profession standards. Types of certificates include proprietary or vendor-based (awarded by business certifying competence in a specific body of knowledge based on use of a product or platform produced by the certifying business) and third-party (awarded by a business or association based on a specified body of knowledge based on utilizing a number of products or platforms produced by a number of businesses). Sponsors of Third-Party Certifications may be 1) industry organizations or consortia whose only business is to develop, promote and maintain the certification or certifications they sponsor; or 2) for-profit companies that represent training institutes, professional associations, industry consortia and other organizations.¹

CT²: Stands for Career-Technical Credit Transfer. A collaborative effort among the Ohio Board of Regents, the Office of Career-Technical and Adult Education of the Ohio Department of Education, public secondary/adult career-technical education institutions, and state-supported institutions of higher education. 

CTAG: Stands for Career Technical Assurance Guides. CTAGs serve as advising tools and identify the CTANs that are part of the statewide course guarantee offered by the career-technical credit initiative.  They are analogous to the TAGs between the two- and four-year institutions.

CTAN: Stands for Career Technical Assurance Number. CTANs consist of learning outcomes representing a portion of, or in some cases, the entire set of skills and knowledge needed to transition in selected technical areas from career-technical education to state- assisted colleges and universities.  They serve to communicate the equivalencies associated with courses and programs.

CEMS: Stands for Course Equivalency Management System. A web based tool that supports the course/program submission, review, and posting of equivalent courses/programs. 

CT² Contact:  a representative from secondary career technical education that serves as the primary liaison between the institution and the Ohio Board of Regents for all CT² matters.   

CTAG Coordinator:  representative from public institutions of higher education that serves as the primary liaison between the institution and the Ohio Board of Regents for all CT² matters.  

Career Field: Career fields include multiple occupations and broad industries that share a fundamental base of knowledge and skills that are required for success in pursuing employment and further study. The Office of Career-Technical and Adult Education organizes curriculum into 16 career fields that were adopted as part of Administrative Rule 3301-61-03 in May 2004, and include: Agricultural and Environmental Systems; Arts and Communication Services; Business and Administrative Services; Construction Technologies; Education & Training; Engineering and Science Technologies; Finance; Government and Public Administration; Health Science; Hospitality & Tourism; Human Services; Information Technology; Law & Public Safety; Manufacturing Technologies; Marketing; and Transportation Systems.¹

Career Passport: Comprehensive student-developed credential containing formal documents that identify and describe skills a learner has attained.¹

Career Pathways: Series of academic, technological, and career focused coursework and other educational experiences leading to a career specialty, college major, and employment in a career field.¹

Career-Technical Education: Career-technical education is a program or course that helps prepare students for careers as well as continued education. ¹

Career-Technical Credit Transfer (CT²): Amended Substitute House Bill 66 (2005) directs the Ohio Board of Regents to work collaboratively with the Ohio Department of Education, public adult and secondary career technical education, and state-supported institutions of higher education to establish criteria, policies, and procedures to transfer agreed-upon technical courses from one system to another. CT² has been coined as the initiative’s title. Presently five technical areas of transfer are being developed: Nursing, Engineering Technology, Medical Assisting, Information Technology (Networking), and Automotive Technology. The CT² five step development and validation process includes defining, agreeing, matching, submitting, and reviewing steps.²

Career-Technical Planning District (CTPD): A CTPD is a local education agency configuration (comprehensive district, compact/contract district or joint vocational school district) that meets the minimum requirements of law and subsequent standards to offer state sanctioned career-technical programming for high school and adult workforce students. There are 92 CTPDs in Ohio.

• Associate school district: Any member school district (sometimes called “home school”) of a joint vocational school district or a contracting district that does not serve as the fiscal agent for the Career-Technical Planning District (CTPD).
• Compact/Contract District: An area in which a number of school districts enter into a contract of operation to provide career-technical education.
• Comprehensive District: A legal entity through which career-technical programs are delivered to secondary and adult students. It has 1,500 or more students and offers career-technical education in career centers and/or high schools in the district.
• Joint vocational school district is an area which serves two or more adjacent school districts, and is governed by a board representing the participating districts, and delivered in joint vocational schools or career centers.¹

Certificate: A document granted by colleges or adult/secondary workforce programs after completion of study for a specific occupation.¹ Colleges may award 1.) one-year technical certificates that lead to an associate degree or 2.) short-term technical certificate programs that consist of less than forty-five quarter credit hours and are designed for a specific employment situation.²

College Level Courses: These are courses taught at an institution of higher education for which credit is granted toward a particular degree(s) or certificate. The criteria for awarding college credit include rigor, use, and applicability.²

College Tech Prep: College Tech Prep is a combination of college preparatory academics and advanced career-technical education with the objective of a seamless, nonduplicative transition from high school to postsecondary education. It is a partnership of the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Board of Regents.¹

Community College: A community college offers pre-baccalaureate/transfer degree programs, career/technical degrees, developmental education, workforce training, adult continuing education, and community service activities. All state community colleges are members of the EnterpriseOhio network. ² Two types of community college are identified by state statue. Community colleges are supported in part by local levies; whereas state community colleges do not have taxing authority.

Course of Study: This is an official K-12 school district document defining key components of program curriculum and instruction and based on appropriate content standards. The career-technical courses of study shall delineate the technical, academic and workplace readiness skills to provide students with the necessary competencies to be successful in work and postsecondary education.¹

Credit: Credit is how schools measure a student’s progress toward a diploma or degree. The number of credits assigned to a course depends in part, on how much time is spent in class each week. Quarter and semester courses yield different number of credit hours.³

Credit by Examination - Colleges may administer tests for college credit. Students who meet the established performance may earn credit in specific subjects and skip to higher-level courses.

Developmental Education: Courses and services that emphasize academic skill development in preparation for college-level course work. Developmental education program components enhance access for under prepared students through the provision of both course work and supplemental services, such as tutoring, course placement assessment, advising, study skills, and personal development.²

Enterprise Ohio Network: This is a network of Ohio’s public two-year community and technical colleges and university branch campuses organized to partner with business to profile jobs, assess skill requirements, screen new hires, and deliver training that supports business success.²

Equivalent Technical CT² Courses: Institutions match their technical course/program content to the CT² learning outcomes and then submit course information for review. Those institutions matching the CT² learning outcomes will be determined to have equivalent content.

General Education Requirements: This is a prescribed course of study (generally in the liberal education areas and defined by the institution), distinct from a program major, and intended to insure that all graduates possess a common core of college-level skills and knowledge.

Institution of Higher Education: Two-year and four-year state assisted colleges and universities, and independent colleges and universities accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and authorized by the Ohio Board of Regents.²

Learning Outcome: Observable, verifiable, and measurable learning statement that for H.B. 66 purposes is based on recognized industry standards.

Noncredit Occupational Programming (OBR Workforce Development Courses) - Activities established to provide job-related non-credit offerings and services beneficial to individuals or organizations external to the institution. This area shall include services provided to nonprofit, for-profit, and governmental organizations. These activities include:

• Pre-Employment Training and Development: Activities whose primary purpose is to provide skills necessary for entry positions, career changes, or to improve job skills. This category represents non-credit instructional activities that will provide the student with basic knowledge, skills and training required for employment.
• Career Advancement and Professional Certification: Activities concerned with updating, improving, and expanding employees' knowledge to help Ohio companies maintain their competitive edge. It includes programs for employee licensure and certification.
• Employer Assistance Services: Services provided to employers with the primary purpose of improving their competitive ability through knowledge and skill-building activities. This objective is accomplished through such activities as seminars, training plan development, needs assessments, customized training programs, and advising services.²

Postsecondary: Education provided beyond the high school level.

Prerequisite: Content that prepares students for more advanced classes.3

Program: Set of required courses for a degree or specialization in a major area of study.³

Program Accreditation: A method of determining, through nongovernmental peer evaluation, that a school program meets or exceeds all established standards and requirements of academic/technical excellence in curriculum, student facilities, placement services, training facilities equipment, safety and instructor credentials. The purpose of accreditation to industry standards is to improve the quality of education and to establish a standard supported and developed by
industry. ⁴

Public Adult and Secondary Career-Technical Education: Those secondary and adult workforce programs or courses offered in Ohio’s 92 career-technical planning districts.

Quarter and Semester– An academic quarter in Ohio is eleven weeks in duration with not less than ten weeks devoted to instruction. Also, a quarter is a K-12 school calendar broken down into four periods. An academic semester in Ohio is 16 weeks with not less than 15 devoted to instruction. Also, a semester is a K-12 school calendar broken down into two periods.

Receiving and Sending Institutions: A receiving institution is the institution of higher education at which a student desires to enroll and to have previously earned, agreed upon coursework applied toward a degree program. A sending institution is the educational institution of most recent previous enrollment by a student at which previously agreed upon coursework was earned.²

Recognized Industry Standards: Expectations established by a business, industry, state agency, or professional organization that defines training program curriculum requirements, establishes certification or licensure criteria, and often is the basis for program accreditation or approval.¹

Remedial Course: A course that teaches basic skills needed to succeed in college courses. These skills are often in the general areas of math, writing, and reading.³

Review Panels– Faculty and teachers from colleges, universities, career-technical planning districts that review submitted courses/programs.  All review panel members have expertise in the specific CT² technology.

Standardized Admissions Tests: Tests, such as ACT, SAT, Compass, Asset, designed to measure knowledge and skills, are used to predict achievement in colleges, and may be used for placement purposes. The test score may be considered along with other factors for admission to college.³

State-Assisted Institutions of Public Education: Those community colleges, technical colleges, and universities receiving state funds and supported by the Ohio Board of Regents.

Technical College: Technical colleges specialize in offering career/technical programs, adult continuing education programs, community service activities, workforce skills enhancement, and developmental education. Technical degree programs may be articulated with four-year institutions to obtain a baccalaureate degree. All technical colleges are members of the EnterpriseOhio network.¹

Technical Competency Profile (TCP): Technical Competency Profile for College Tech Prep programs provides a curricular framework for Tech Prep programs beginning in high school and continuing through the end of an associate degree or apprenticeship program or beyond.¹

Technical Content Standards: As developed by the Ohio Department of Education, the standards include technical knowledge and skills and associated academic expectations.

Transfer Assurance Guide (TAG): The Transfer Assurance Guides include the Ohio Transfer Module: both required and elective courses, and then moves beyond those courses into additional hours in pre-major and major courses. Courses in TAGS are guaranteed to transfer and apply directly to the major. Currently, there are 38 TAGS in 8 specific discipline areas involving 6,500 plus courses.²

Transfer Assurance Guide (TAG) Bulletin Board - The TAG bulletin board is an Ohio Board of Regents web-based compilation of approved college and university courses meeting the various Transfer Assurance Guide (TAG) learning outcomes.

Transfer Credit: Transfer credit refers to units (hours) of credit awarded at a receiving institution in recognition of credit earned at a sending institution. Upon meeting admission requirements and enrolling in coursework, CT² guaranteed credit is shown on the receiving institution transcription.

Transcript: This is an official school or higher education institution document that is unique to the individual student and provides information on courses, credits awarded, grades obtained, course of study, degree obtained, etc.

Transition (or Bridge) Course - Transition and bridge courses are similar in nature but differ in context. Both ease the movement from one area of study to the next, and each fills a void by connecting one part of a discourse to another. Whereas the bridge course is particular to a curriculum or individual institution, the transition course is universal to a consistent curriculum offered by many institutions.

Validation Center Coordinator:  VCC:  faculty members from the five centers around Ohio, that manage the validation centers and are responsible for working with the CTAG coordinators, CT² contacts and faculty review panels.  They also provide training and coordination of faculty reviews. 

Workforce Development (OBR) - Workforce development is an activity that enhances the workforce for economic growth in Ohio within 12 months.²

Workforce Development (Career-Technical Programs): Courses of study in specific career fields, also called specialization courses. The courses, also called “career-technical education,” integrate technical skills with academic content standards. Students study in their chosen field from one to four years for a minimum of 450 hours.

• Secondary Workforce Development is career-technical courses and programs (grades nine-12) that support the academic and technical knowledge and skills needed for pathways to further education and careers in current or emerging employment sectors.
• Adult Workforce Education is long- and short-term non-credit technical skills training and educational programming targeted to labor market needs. Programs and courses concentrate on skill development, enhancement and training upgrades to meet the needs of employers. Adult Workforce Education programs are developed in three ways:
  • Career Development Programs are instructional learning experiences, planned in a sequence or stand-alone courses, targeted to develop labor market specific, workforce-related knowledge and skills in adults or specific sets of employees and delivered under the direction of a licensed/certified or permitted instructor via a classroom or simulated laboratory setting, at a worksite or employer facility. Career
  • Enhancement Programs are short-term courses, taught by a credentialed instructor of the school district, and providing basic workforce knowledge and skill development to adults over age 18.
  • Adult Customized Training is contracted services and/or industry/job specific instructional programs conducted to improve the performance, productivity, quality, customer service, employee satisfactions and/or retention for specific employers or a consortium of employers.¹

¹Career-Technical and Adult Education Dictionary - modified
² Ohio Board of Regents (website and documents) - modified
³ Learn More Indiana - modified
⁴ James A. Rhodes State College Assessment Terminology - modified

File: Glossary March 8, 2007