Appendix D

Transfer of D Grades Policy

Policy Approved by the Articulation and Transfer Advisory Council - February 17, 2005
Further Clarifications Provided by the Oversight Committee of the Articulation and Transfer Advisory Council - May 27, 2005, and December 8, 2005

As of Fall 2005, Ohio public institutions of higher education are to accept and apply all transfer coursework with a letter grade of D or higher as the institution would for a native student under the business rules and academic policies of the receiving institution. These business rules and policies may include, but are not limited to, such areas as effective course dates, age of coursework, requirements of a particular major or program, and eligibility.

Points of Clarification:

This policy was adopted to ensure the equitable treatment of transfer students with native students across Ohio's public institutions of higher education.
State-assisted colleges and universities which offer D as the lowest passing grade are required to accept all college level courses with a grade of D or higher. Institutions which offer D- as the lowest passing grade are required to accept all college level courses with a grade of D- or higher. It should be noted that this point applies to other clarifications below that refer to grades of D/D-.
State-assisted colleges and universities shall establish policies which honor the acceptance and award of transfer credit for D/D- graded courses completed in or after Autumn 2005. Institutions may choose to be more lenient in the application of this policy and accept D/D- graded courses completed prior to Autumn 2005. (See also clarification 2)
While state-assisted institutions are required by this policy to accept D/D- graded courses only from other Ohio state-assisted colleges and universities, they have the option to extend their policy to accept such coursework from other regionally accredited institutions.
To provide equitable treatment the requirements to accept courses graded D/D- shall apply equally to transfer students and to continuing students who completed coursework elsewhere in or after Autumn 2005. (e.g. a continuing student at university X who takes a course at college Y, while away on an internship/vacation, would be eligible to transfer that work back to university X if he/she earned a grade of D/D- or higher in the course.) (See also clarification 2)
The 1990 Ohio Articulation and Transfer Policy section which requires the acceptance of all college level courses which they have passed (D/D-) remains in effect for all students with an earned A.A./A.S. degree. (See also clarification 2)
The 1990 Ohio Articulation and Transfer Policy section required that individual courses completed subsequent to the award of an A.A./A.S. degree needed to have a grade of C or higher to be accepted and awarded credit. This portion of the policy has been modified to be consistent with the acceptance of credit at the D/D- level or higher when completed in or after Autumn 2005. (See also clarification 2)
The 1990 Ohio Articulation and Transfer Policy required that students without an A.A./A.S. degree needed to have a C or better in each class used to complete their Transfer Module. This portion of the policy has been modified to require a D/D- or better grade for courses completed in or after Autumn 2005. (See also clarification 2)
This policy does not override institutional admission standards and/or requirements of entrance into a specific academic program. (For example, should a receiving institution require native students to earn a grade of C or better for a specific course in a major, transfer students must meet the same requirement. The D/D- course would be accepted for transfer credit but it would not be applied to the specific course in the major.) (See also clarification 2)
Consistent with the spirit of the policy and clarification 2, there is no universal minimum grade or quality points for the acceptance of credit and thresholds for this are set by institutional grading policy at the D or D- level.