Articulation and Transfer

Whereas, Recent legislative actions including AB 1460 (Weber, 2020),[1]  AB 928 (Berman, 2021),[2]  and AB 1111 (Berman, 2021)[3]  have changed the landscape of general education, transfer, and articulation in California higher education;

Whereas, Multiple general education patterns have been established to meet requirements for California community college students who are seeking to earn an associate degree, baccalaureate degree, or transfer eligibility;

Whereas, AB 928 (Berman, 2021) [1], the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act of 2021 aims to further streamline and make the transfer process easier for students to navigate but does not address the crucial need for additional spaces for transfer students to the California State University or University of California [2], especially for students to transfer to institutions in or near their community college service area;

As the California Community Colleges system strives to meet the needs of students, one important part of its mission is transfer, as this goal is the one most identified by community college students. In order to address the needs and goals of so many students, community colleges throughout the state must provide resources that can guide students through the process. Transfer should command considerable attention at community colleges for a number of reasons.

Whereas, Resolution 4.01 S18 directed the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges to “develop a paper identifying effective practices around transfer to assist colleges to create and apply uniform and equitable transfer policies and bring the paper to the Fall 2019 Plenary Session for adoption”;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopt and disseminate broadly the paper Effective and Equitable Transfer Practices in the California Community Colleges. [1]

MSC

Whereas, The Articulation System Stimulating Interinstitutional Student Transfer (ASSIST) is the official repository of transfer and articulation agreements between California’s public colleges and universities and supports a comprehensive statewide advising and information system “to facilitate the transfer of California Community College students to either the California State University or University of California systems by providing accurate articulation information”;[1]

Whereas, California Education Code, Title 5 regulations, local policies and procedures, and restrictions placed on colleges by the California State University (CSU), the University of California (UC), independent institutions, and out-of-state institutions result in a wide variety of transfer practices and standards around the state leading to confusion among colleges as well as the exclusion and inequitable treatment of transfer-bound students across the system; and

Whereas, At the September meeting, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors adopted the system-wide goals outlined in the California Community Colleges (CCC) Vision for Success, including a goal which states “Increase by 35 percent the number of CCC students systemwide transferring annually to a UC or CSU;”

Whereas, The Associate Degrees for Transfer have created significant opportunities for California community college students to transfer into the California State University (CSU) system;

The 2010 document has been revised to include the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Mathematics that were adopted by the California Legislature shortly after publication and release of the original version. A section on Mathematical practices has been added (see Part 3 on page 6), and Appendix B was rewritten to map the CCSS to the expectations of ICAS.

Whereas, Assembly Bill 440 (Beall), in an attempt to remove perceived barriers to transfer for community college students, recently proposed legislation that would remove local autonomy for degrees by placing degree requirements into statute and could effectively lead to legislative curriculum dictates;

Whereas, Placing any degree requirements in statute is in direct contradiction to Education Code §70902(b)(7), which clearly puts responsibility for curriculum and academic standards under the joint responsibility of the local board and the academic senates of a district;