Frequently Asked Questions
What is Articulation?
Simply stated, articulation deals with how courses transfer from one
college to another. Specifically, articulation is the process of establishing
which courses offered at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) are
comparable to, or acceptable in lieu of, courses offered at four year
colleges and universities. The purpose of articulation is to facilitate
the successful transfer of students from the community colleges to
the baccalaureate colleges and universities.
What is an Articulation Agreement?
Each college has its own program requirements. These requirements
vary with the student's intended major. An articulation agreement
is an agreement, usually with a four-year institution, that specifies
which CCSF classes may be transferred to meet elective credit, general
education, or major requirements.
What are Types of Articulation Agreements?
• Elective Credit Agreements
These agreements indicate which courses will transfer for university
credit, at a minimum. Courses that are approved for elective credit
do not necessarily count toward general education or a major at
the university. CCSF courses that transfer for elective credit to
California State University or University of California (also know
as the UC Transfer Course Agreement – UC TCA) are identified
in the CCSF
catalog at the end of the course descriptions, or on
the ASSIST
web site.
• Course-to-Course Agreements
The purpose of a Course-to-Course agreement is to determine if a
specific course taken at one college will satisfy a requirement
at another college. For instance, if a community college course
is approved as “comparable” to a university course,
it may fulfill the same general education and major preparation
requirements that the university course does.
• General Education
The University of California (UC) and California State University
(CSU) General Education Breadth agreements identify those courses
that a student can complete at CCSF to satisfy the lower division
general education requirements at the transfer campus.
• Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum
(IGETC) is a general education program which community college students
can use to satisfy lower-division general education requirements
at the CSU or many colleges in the UC system without the need to
take additional lower division general education requirements after
transfer. (This option is generally not advisable for students pursuing
high-unit majors, such as Engineering and many sciences.)
• CSU General Education-Breadth pattern identifies
courses that students may take to fulfill the
lower division General Ed requirements for the CSU campuses.
• Campus-Specific General Education.
Students may opt to follow the general education pattern specific
to a university campus. Articulation agreements also exist between
CCSF courses and general education requirements at UC campuses and
private colleges and universities.
• Major Preparation
Major Preparation agreements specify courses that meet the lower
division major requirements for a four-year college or university.
• California Articulation Number (CAN) System
California Articulation Number is the common number used to designate
lower division courses required for major preparation at many universities.
In the CCSF
catalog, several courses are identified with a CAN
code, either at the end of the course description or in the Transfer
Information section. For example, English 1A is identified as CAN
ENGL 2. This means that all California college campuses participating
in the CAN system will accept CCSF’s English 1A course in
lieu of the English course on their campus that has been qualified
as CAN ENGL 2.
How can I learn more about Articulation Agreements?
CCSF maintains written articulation or course transfer agreements
with many colleges and universities. These agreements are approved
by the transfer college faculty and specify how courses will be
accepted at the transfer institution. Students who wish to transfer
need to become familiar with articulation agreements found on the
many websites listed below (note: transfer students are strongly
advised to speak with a CCSF counselor and visit the Transfer
Center):
• ASSIST
ASSIST (Articulation System Stimulating Interinstitutional Student
Transfer) is the official repository of transfer information for
California's public college and universities. ASSIST maintains current
articulation agreements that identify which courses can be applied
for elective, general education and major preparation credit when
a student transfers from a California Community College to a CSU
or UC campus. The ASSIST
web site offers easy access to a single database.
• CSU
General Ed Worksheet
Of the 48 total semester units needed to complete the CSU General
Education-Breadth requirements, 39 lower division units can be completed
at CCSF. The remaining 9 units must be completed in upper-division
coursework at the CSU campus. CCSF courses that have been approved
for meeting the lower division general education requirements for
all California State University campuses can be found on ASSIST.
This information has also been summarized on the CSU
General Ed Worksheet.
•
IGETC Worksheet
Transfer students can follow the IGETC curriculum to satisfy lower-division
general education requirements at the CSU or many colleges in the
UC system (generally not advised for Engineering or high-unit science
majors). CCSF courses that have been approved for IGETC can be found
on ASSIST. This information has also been summarized on the
IGETC Worksheet.
•
Private or Out-of-State College Articulation
Information on how CCSF courses transfer to private or out-of-state
colleges and universities can be found on the Other
Colleges page of the articulation website. The Articulation
with CCSF link connects to articulation agreements with private
institutions in California, as well as public and private colleges
outside of California. |
