ARTICULATION OVERVIEW

Articulation Overview

August 2003, Prepared by Lori Mukogawa,
Articulation Office

I. Definition of Articulation

The process of developing a formal, written and published agreement that identifies courses (or sequences of courses) on a "sending" campus that are comparable to, or acceptable in lieu of, specific course requirements at a "receiving" campus. Successful completion of an articulated course assures the student and the faculty that the student has taken the appropriate course, received the necessary instruction and preparation, and that similar outcomes can be assured, enabling progression to the next level of instruction at the receiving institution.

II. Benefits of Articulation

For students:

• Eases transition from one educational institution to another
• Eliminates coursework duplication
• Reduces educational expenses
• Clarifies the relationship between career and educational goals
• Encourages educational goal setting and the development of plans to achieve those goals

For El Camino College:

• Improves recruitment and retention of students
• Enhances intersegmental communication and partnering
• Provides faculty and counselors with information on higher education transfer opportunities
• Provides the college and university faculties with information on community college programs
• Establishes integrated programs that encourage articulation with the community college and university professional disciplines

III. Difference Between Articulated and Transferable

A course that is transferable is not necessarily articulated. An El Camino course that is referred to as articulated means that the course has been determined to be comparable in content to a course offered at another institution. A course-to-course agreement is one type of articulation agreement that identifies articulated courses.

If a course is transferable, the educational institution will accept a course offered at El Camino College for unit credit. The University of California Transfer Course Agreement and California State University Baccalaureate List identify El Camino College courses that transfer to the UC and CSU systems for unit credit.

IV. Roles and Responsibilities of an Articulation Officer

The process of faculty review leading to the articulation of courses between institutions is coordinated, facilitated, and published by the Articulation Officer on each campus. This function requires the ability to analyze, comprehend, and explain the nature of articulation issues to the respective parties, diffuse conflict, and negotiate and implement resolutions. Specifically, the Articulation Officer:

V. Classification of Course Articulation Agreements

Course articulation is developed between "sending" and "receiving" institutions. In California this occurs mainly between the two-year independent and community colleges and the three segments of higher education that grant the baccalaureate degree: the California State University (CSU) campuses, the University of California (UC) campuses, and the independent colleges and universities.

Course articulation agreements are classified into several discrete areas:

A. Courses Accepted for Baccalaureate Credit

B. Transfer Course Agreement (TCA)

C. General Education Breadth Agreements

D. Course- to- Course Agreements

E. Lower Division Major Preparation Agreements

A. Courses Accepted for Baccalaureate Credit:

This articulation agreement identifies courses that are baccalaureate level and therefore acceptable by a receiving institution to fulfill either unit requirements for admission and/or baccalaureate elective credit. These agreements do not indicate which of these courses are acceptable for satisfying General Education-Breadth requirements or Major Preparation requirements at a receiving four- year institution.

In the UC System, the Office of the President (UCOP) initiates this agreement. This is referred to as the Transfer Course Agreement (TCA) for community colleges for all UC campuses.

For the campuses in the CSU System, Executive Order 167 authorizes California community colleges to identify courses that are baccalaureate level and appropriate for transfer to the CSU. This articulation agreement is commonly known as the Baccalaureate List or the "Bacc" List.

There are no system-wide transferable course agreements or baccalaureate lists within the independent segment, although some individual college agreements do exist. Some may use or honor the CSU Baccalaureate List or the UCOP TCA list as a guideline for determining transfer credit.

B. Transfer Course Agreement:

This agreement identifies the general transferability of community college courses to the University of California. Courses approved for transfer unit credit count as credit toward a university degree on any of the campuses. The UC Office of the President is responsible for producing this list called the "Transfer Course Agreement (TCA)."

C. General Education Breadth Agreements:

General Education- Breadth agreements consist of those courses that a student can complete at a sending institution to satisfy General Education Breadth requirements at a receiving institution.

Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)

The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) is a General Education program which California community college transfer students can use to fulfill lower-division general education requirements in either the CSU or UC system without the need, after transfer, to take additional lower division general education requirements. All courses proposed for IGETC must be transferable to both the CSU and the UC (as listed on the UC Transfer Course Agreement). Course outlines, which list representative texts, must be submitted for all proposed additions to IGETC lists.

The California State University System

Executive Orders 595 and 405 establish the framework within which community colleges offer coursework that meets lower division CSU General Education-Breadth requirements for the baccalaureate degree. Responsibility for review and approval of community college courses used for this purpose rests with the CSU Chancellor's Office. The community colleges have been empowered by the CSU to certify completion of CSU General Education- Breadth requirements (Executive Order 595), and may credit coursework completed at other institutions ("pass-along certification"). The evaluation of work completed at other institutions and its appropriate inclusion in the certification process is essential to the transfer process and greatly enhances student success.

D. Course- To- Course Agreements:

Course- to- Course agreements identify a particular course at a sending institution that is comparable to, or acceptable in lieu of, a corresponding course at a receiving institution. It is also common to articulate "clusters" or "blocks" of courses. As with General Education- Breadth Agreements, Course- to- Course Agreements are developed from the basic pool of transferable courses accepted for baccalaureate credit. After review, the four-year institution accepts, denies, or proposes a modification to the proposed course(s). When accepted or appropriately modified, the course(s) are added to the Course-to-Course Articulation Agreement.

E. Lower Division Major Preparation Agreements:

Lower Division Major Preparation Agreements specify those courses at a sending institution that fulfill lower division requirements for a specific major at a receiving institution. Catalog descriptions, course outlines, and baccalaureate lists are used in the development of these articulation agreements. In addition, special requirements relating to major preparation such as pre- major requirements, supplementary admission requirements for selected majors, and information pertinent to impacted majors may be included. As with General Education Breadth and Course- to- Course Agreements, Lower Division Major Preparation Agreements are usually developed from the list of courses accepted for baccalaureate credit.

VI. Glossary of Articulation Terms

Articulation: The process of developing a formal, written agreement that identifies courses or a sequence of courses at one educational institution that are comparable to, or acceptable in lieu of, specific courses at another educational institution.

Articulation System Stimulating Interinstitutional Student Transfer (ASSIST): This is the official statewide repository of statewide articulation information for California Community Colleges, California State University, and University of California. The site displays Transfer Course Agreements, Baccalaureate lists, General Education lists, Course-to-Course Agreements, and Major- to-Major Agreements.

Baccalaureate List: This is a list of courses that each California community college has approved to be transferable for general lower division credit to California State University campuses per Executive Order 167.

Course-to-Course Articulation: These are agreements that are developed by two institutions specifying comparable courses for a specific department.

Lower Division Major Preparation Agreements: These are agreements that are developed by two institutions that contain lower division course preparation for a specific major.

Transferable: A course offered at one educational institution that transfers to another for unit credit is considered transferable.

University of California Transfer Course Agreement (TCA): The TCA identifies courses at a community college that are transferable to the University of California.

Reference: California Articulation Polices and Procedures Handbook, 2001