An introduction to the TES Catalog Change Request process
This article shows users how to report catalog and transcript course code differences to CollegeSource and how the population of the Transcript Course field in a TES catalog data set edition can help Transfer Specialists when creating equivalencies/rules.
Throughout the United States, colleges and universities publish academic catalogs that contain the institution’s curriculum, programs, and policies during specific timeframes. These catalogs are considered an institution’s official records of its academic programs and requirements. As of August 2024, CollegeSource has collected almost 190,000 catalogs containing over 160 million course descriptions from around the world, providing subscribers of TES, Transferology, and uAchieve version 5.0 or higher with the information they need to facilitate degree completion and giving students a means to see how their courses transfer.
In an ideal world, the course codes used within academic catalogs would always match those printed on the student transcript. Generally, these codes will match, as most institutions use the same course code in both places. However, whether it be for historical reasons, that the institution’s Course Management and Student Information Systems are overseen by different departments, or another reason, sometimes these codes differ, creating complexities and potential roadblocks within the transfer evaluation process.
The impact of differing course code formats
CollegeSource transforms the catalogs we collect into course catalog data sets. TES subscribers use these data sets to create equivalencies between two institutions’ courses. Colleges and universities that subscribe to TES and are running uAchieve version 5.0 or higher also create Transfer Articulation (TA) rules using this catalog information. Students and staff members select courses from these data sets within Transferology and the Transferology Lab to see how courses transfer to participating institutions.
CollegeSource collects catalogs by permission and supplies course information exactly as it is given to us by a college or university. When creating transfer rules in a transfer solution system (such as uAchieve) or a Student Information System, the best practice is to format the transfer course codes as displayed on the transcript to ensure the correct processing of transfer credit upon entry. When catalog and transcript codes differ in format:
1. A Transfer Specialist cannot locate the transcript course within a catalog data set, which leads to emailing the institution for further information.
2. A Transfer Specialist may create an equivalency (or rule) using the catalog course code if reviewing a course prior to seeing the transcript.
Doing so can lead to additional confusion when processing a student’s transfer credit when the transcript arrives and the individual notices that the code on the transcript doesn’t align with the one used in the equivalency/rule.
3. A student cannot select the correct course code for the class they took in Transferology and instead must manually add the course.
4. A student cannot find matches in Transferology if the rule was created using the catalog course code instead of the transcript code.
Solutions
Adjust the institution catalog
Where catalog course codes and transcript codes differ, the ideal resolution would be for the institution to begin using the transcript codes in future catalog editions. Doing so would ensure that the code used when creating equivalencies/rules corresponds with the transcript. CollegeSource recognizes this solution may not be possible and has created functionality that extends across Transferology, TES, and uAchieve 5.1 to help create an awareness of when catalog and transcript codes differ and help students receive Match results in Transferology despite these differences.
Submit a TES Catalog Change Request
Institutions can inform CollegeSource of differences between course catalog data set and transcript codes via the TES Catalog Change Request functionality in the Transferology Lab. Here, they can ask CollegeSource to display the transcript course code in place of the catalog course code in Transferology. The display of the transcript code is controlled by the population of the Transcript Course field in each catalog data set edition in TES.
When CollegeSource adds the transcript course code within an edition in TES, TES users will see the code within the course details. The Transcript Course can be used to determine how to build the transfer rule for transcript processing. If the transcript course code is not supplied in an edition in TES, this field will be absent from the course details. When data is present, the Transcript Course field also displays in uAchieve 5.1 when using TES Mode.
The Transcript Course field lets users of TES and uAchieve 5.1 know this Biology course appears differently on the transcript than in the catalog.
Institutions should review the guidelines for submission before sending a request to CollegeSource to populate the transcript code within an edition(s) in TES. We will review all requests and may ask the submitting party to supply additional information. As changes to the display of course codes in Transferology will be visible to all users (as will the Transcript Course field in TES and uAchieve 5.1), the institution must take the necessary steps to verify data with the transfer institution before submitting a request and must be aware of the impact of the fulfillment of the request on other institutions.
Don’t subscribe to Transferology? TES subscribers can submit a request through the Help button on any page in TES. When choosing a Request Type, select Transcript or course code question.
Questions?
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