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Transfer Advising Guide (TAG)
A crosswalk agreed upon between the community college and a transfer university partner which provides a detailed pathway for transition that offers: the most direct path, cost efficiency and degree applicability.
Transfer Advising Guide (TAG) Titles
Example: Accounting (Major) - AA (ACD Degree) to BBA (University Degree) - UT San Antonio (University) 2025-2026 (Catalog Year)
The TAG titles will vary, but always provide you with the following information:
- University Major
- Degree Information
- In the example, this informs students that if they follow this TAG, they can earn an AA degree that will feed into the university BBA degree.
- Other TAGs might state the baccalaureate degree abbreviation only, which informs students that although this TAG will NOT earn them an Associate’s degree, this pathway offers requirements that are required for the university degree.
- University Name
- Catalog Year
- This TAG was built based on this specific catalog year.
Degree Types
- AA: Associate of Arts
- AAT: Associate of Arts in Teaching
- AAS: Associate of Applied Science
- AS: Associate of Science
- BA: Bachelor of Arts
- BAAS: Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences
- BAT: Bachelor of Applied Technology
- BBA: Bachelor of Business Administration
- BFA: Bachelor of Fine Arts
- BS: Bachelor of Science
- BSN: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
- BSS: Bachelor of Security Studies
- BSW: Bachelor of Social Work
Milestone Course(s)
*** denotes Milestone Course(s).
A milestone course is a course that is critical for success in this program as determined by the Faculty of the Alamo Colleges District.
Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT)
This section provides information on the AAT.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (Coordinating Board) approves new degree programs (and program changes) for institutions interested in offering degree programs in the field of Education. Education degree programs may be developed with or without teacher certification pathways embedded in them. Community colleges may offer an Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) as a Texas Direct degree that incorporates the Texas Core Curriculum and one of the Board-approved education fields of study in Education.
Additional information can be found at: https://www.highered.texas.gov/educator-preparation-resources/
AS Approved Course Requirements
This section informs students which courses are marked and needed to earn an AS degree.
º denotes an Alamo Colleges District AS Approved Course Requirement
The Associate of Science (AS) is designed to align closely with the first half of a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree. Students should follow the pre-major AS to BS Transfer Advising Guide for the major and university selected. The Transfer Advising Guides are developed in conjunction with the senior institution to which the student plans to transfer.
To be awarded the AS degree at one of the colleges in the Alamo Colleges District, students must have 9 hours of AS Approved Course Requirements not included in the 42 hours of Core Curriculum. Please check with your advisor for assistance.
Gateway Course(s)
This section is specific to UT San Antonio TAGs only.
### denotes Gateway Course(s)
Students pursuing this degree at UT San Antonio must successfully complete each of the Gateway Courses with a grade of “C” or better in no more than two attempts. A student who is unable to successfully complete these courses within two attempts, including dropping a course with a grade of “W” or taking an equivalent course at another institution (including any colleges of the Alamo Colleges District), will not be allowed to select this major at UT San Antonio.
Associate’s Degree Completion
This section informs student when they are eligible for an Associate’s degree while there is additional optional coursework to complete before transferring.
Upon completion of the semesters above, students can earn an Associate’s degree. The title of the Transfer Advising Guide will tell you which degree (AA, AAT, AS or AAS) is earned. The coursework below are additional degree required courses for the transfer university. ALL coursework within this transfer advising guide will transfer and apply towards the transfer university degree unless specified in the Applicable Transfer Credit Hours section.
(+) Associate of Arts (AA) - Additional University Degree Requirements
This section provides information regarding earning an additional degree for some TAGs if applicable.
Upon completion of the semesters above, students can earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree. The coursework below/coursework outside the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree plan are degree required courses for the university. Once the student completes the remaining coursework, student will then become eligible to earn an Associate of Arts (AA) degree with the Alamo Colleges District. ALL courses within this transfer advising guide will transfer and apply towards the university with the exception of those listed in the Applicable Transfer Credit Hours section.
+ denotes Applicable courses towards the Associate of Arts (AA) degree for Alamo Colleges District. See Graduation Requirements for the Alamo Colleges District section for more information.
(+) Associate of Science (AS) - Additional University Degree Requirements
This section provides information regarding earning an additional degree for some TAGs if applicable.
Upon completion of the semesters above, students can earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree. The coursework below/coursework outside the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree plan are degree required courses for the university. Once the student completes the remaining coursework, student will then become eligible to earn an Associate of Science (AS) degree with the Alamo Colleges District. ALL courses within this transfer advising guide will transfer and apply towards the university with the exception of those listed in the Applicable Transfer Credit Hours section.
+ denotes Applicable courses towards the Associate of Arts (AA) degree for Alamo Colleges District. See Graduation Requirements for the Alamo Colleges District section for more information.
Texas Transfer Framework: Field of Study Curriculum (FOSC) Information
This section provides information regarding the THECB field of study for some TAGs.
Field of Study Curriculum (FOSC) is a set of courses that fulfill lower-division (freshman and sophomore) requirements for a specific major/degree plan in addition to the core curriculum. FOSCs are guaranteed to transfer to any public college or university in Texas.
The Fields of Study are now part of Texas Direct. What is Texas Direct? Texas Direct is the state’s effort to articulate seamless degree pathways between two- and four-year institutions.
Students who complete the Texas Core Curriculum and Field of Study at any public two-year institution automatically qualify to receive an associate degree - the Texas Direct Transfer Degree. They are also qualified to transfer their courses as a block applied directly to their selected major.
For additional information, please visit: https://www.highered.texas.gov/texas-direct/
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Elective Information
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When Alamo Colleges District (ACD) builds Transfer Advising Guides (TAGs), ACD accounts for the total SCH (Semester Credit Hours) for each university degree plan that ACD develops a TAG for. This allows us to verify and determine which courses are used towards residency, advanced hours, maximum transfer credit hours limit and electives.
Traditionally, a baccalaureate degree plan requires a minimum of 120 SCH. ACD determines what courses are eligible to complete at an ACD College after verifying equivalents/requirements and having discussions with our University Partners. If a university has a 66 SCH maximum transfer credit hour limit, then ACD needs to ensure the best transfer route while providing as many options that best benefits ACD students. ACD strives to provide degree completion, ACD core completion, University core completion, and field of study completion if applicable without students gaining excessive hours.
Example: If a university will only accept 66 transfer credit hours from ACD, 42 SCH of the 66 SCH will typically be reserved to meet core completion and both ACD and the university if possible. This leaves 24 SCH for ACD to degree complete and take additional course requirements to meet the 66 SCH transfer limit. If there were 12 SCH of specific course requirements with transfer equivalents, ACD will provide those course options. This leaves us with a total 12 SCH to meet the 66 SCH transfer limit. If there were 18 SCH of OPEN ELECTIVES from the university, ACD could only use 12 SCH of the OPEN ELECTIVES, because of the 66 SCH transfer limit. The remaining 6 SCH of OPEN ELECTIVES will be left to meet residency requirements at the university. ACD will always provide the most options and inform how many Elective hours are available within a TAG.
If you see the following statements within in a TAG:
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Select 2-4 credit hours of Elective(s) will transfer as UNIV Elective(s)
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Select 5+ credit hours of Electives will transfer as UNIV Electives
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Select a 1 credit hour Elective will transfer as UNIV Elective
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Select a 3 credit hour PSYC* Elective will transfer as UNIV Elective (*Specific SUBJECT Elective)
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This means there are 3 SCH of PSYC academic coursework available to apply for this elective. Only PSYC courses would all be acceptable options for an open PSYC Elective. Be advised the subject will vary amongst TAGs, such as ECON Elective, SOCI Elective, PHIL Elective, MATH Elective, etc.
Whenever there are open Electives listed within a TAG, they must be ACADEMIC courses, NOT WORKFORCE/TECHNICAL courses unless specified. Students should always check with their Certified Advisor to ensure they are selecting correct courses.
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Applicable Transfer Credit Hours
This section summarizes the information in the TAG.
It will inform you how many credit hours a TAG was built to as well as how many credit hours are degree applicable. If there was any coursework that was NOT applicable, the TAG will notate specifically which courses are NOT degree applicable. There will be information on how many transferrable hours are allowed for the university. There will be special notes for either ACD, university or both. Lastly, it will always end with informing students about the following: ACD degree completion, ACD Core Completion and Field of Study completion (if applicable).
Release Date
The Release Date section is the last section on a TAG. The Release Date is the date that the TAG is published live. The importance is that all TAGs go through an intense process to be built and approved by both the university and Alamo Colleges District. Once both sides agreed that the TAG(s) are approved, they are published online. Students are guaranteed protection when following a TAG for 5 years from that date.
Revision Date
The Revision Date section is the last section on some TAGs. The Revision Date is the date that informs that a TAG had a revision made.
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