The Ohio Board of Regents released a report Wednesday indicating Ohio credit transfer rates have increased by 21 percent since 2001.
The Board of Regents decided it was critical to build a strong universal transfer system to give students the ability to easily move around the Ohio educational system, said Rob Evans, press secretary for the Ohio Board of Regents.
Although the ability to transfer course credits has been an option for students since the early 1990s, the board decided to improve the system in 2005 to ensure a more flexible and effective system for students, according to the Ohio Board of Regents Policymakers Guide.
The report said students have benefited greatly from the recently refined transfer system.
Students have saved an estimated $20.1 million annually by transferring community college credits to four-year universities, according to the report.
The report also showed an increase in graduation rates and course completion rates for students who transfer from community colleges.
Eric Fingerhut, chancellor for the Ohio Board of Regents, said students want assurance when it comes to college credit.
"Students want a guarantee that when they take a course at a public college or university it will count no matter where their educational path leads," Fingerhut said.
In 2009, more than 36,000 undergraduates transferred within the University System of Ohio, according to the report.
Nearly 23 percent of first-year students enrolled in state institutions have transferred at least once throughout their academic career, according to the report, which looked at transfer volumes between 2002 and 2009.
Miami University junior Sara Keller transferred from Kent State University in spring 2008.
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"I had no problem transferring any of my credits to Miami," Keller said. "It was such a relief that they transferred so easily. It made the transition to Miami that much smoother."
Many students have utilized cost-saving potentials of attending a community college to increase credit accumulation before transferring to a four-year institution, according to the report.
The Board of Regents recently considered how this will affect four-year institutions throughout the state, according to Evans.
"The reason that Ohio universities would do something like this was not because they thought they could do it at no cost to their institution," Evans said. "They looked at it and realized it was a better deal for them. That's the foundation of a lot of our work, making the educational process easier for all students."
The Ohio Board of Regents implemented Ohio's 10-year strategic plan for higher education in spring 2008.
The plan's overall goal is to provide Ohioans access to higher education with low-cost tuition. It includes offering University System of Ohio programs within 30 miles of any Ohioan and allowing "dual admission" to students attending a community college with the intention of transferring to a four-year institution, according to the Ohio Board of Regents website.
Another important element outlined in the plan is the statewide transition to semesters. By fall 2012, 17 Ohio universities will convert from academic calendars based on quarters to semesters, according to the Ohio Board of Regents website. The conversion process is to ensure all transfer classes meet consistent and universal standards, in turn making the transfer process more efficient, according to the website.
"We are leveraging the full strength of Ohio's world-class higher education infrastructure to provide more options to students, incentivize quality and drive down student costs," Fingerhut said.
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