Articulation

Prospective undergraduate students to Chico State who are interested in bringing in courses from other institutions or credit by external examination (e.g., AP Exam), should refer to the Chico State Admissions webpage for more information and reach out to transfer advisors for individualized support.

Undergraduate students are encouraged to use ASSIST to see how specific California Community College courses articulate to Chico State courses. ASSIST offers the most current and accurate transfer information for students.

Current students seeking information about how their articulated coursework applies toward degree requirements should use the University Advising page to connect with their academic department, college advisor, or Graduation Advising specialist for guidance.

Faculty-Led Process

Chico State faculty are the primary decision‑makers in determining course articulation. Faculty review curriculum, assess course content, and approve or deny articulation agreements based on academic standards within their discipline. Their determinations ensure that incoming courses align with Chico State’s learning outcomes, rigor, and instructional goals.

Guiding Considerations

• Evaluate course content and learning outcomes to determine academic comparability.
• Confirm that articulated courses provide preparation equivalent to the appropriate Chico State course or requirement.
• Recognize that articulation decisions influence student placement and progression within degree pathways.
• Partner with the Articulation team, which implements approved decisions in ASSIST, TES, and PeopleSoft.
• Participate in periodic review of articulation agreements in response to statewide legislation such as: AB 928 (Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act), AB 1111 (Common Course Numbering), and SB 1440 (Associate Degree for Transfer).

The Department Chair will receive an email notification when an articulation request requires review. Requests may arrive via:

• A TES workflow request
• An email with a PDF course outline from articulation@csuchico.edu
• A request forwarded through the Statewide Articulation Officer

Department Chairs (and/or their designees*) should examine all available course documentation, including:

• Course outlines or syllabi
• Unit values and contact hours
• Prerequisites and sequencing
• Learning outcomes and assessment methods
• Additional contextual information provided by the sending institution

*Delegation of Review

Department Chairs may delegate the review to qualified faculty or a curriculum committee with subject matter expertise. However:

• All final articulation decisions must be formally authorized and communicated by the Department Chair.
• Chairs may choose to make decisions independently or consult with colleagues, depending on departmental practice.

Evaluate whether the incoming course provides preparation comparable to the corresponding Chico State course or requirement. Consider alignment with:

• Discipline‑specific standards
• Learning outcomes
• Instructional methods
• Depth, breadth, and rigor of content

After completing the review, the Department Chair should send the decision to the Articulation team for processing and implementation.

The Articulation team actively monitors updates to ASSIST and reviews California Community College (CCC) catalog changes to identify curriculum modifications that may affect existing articulation agreements. Articulations may require re-review due to:

• Curriculum updates at Chico State or partner institutions
• Statewide policy changes
• Requests from community colleges or the CSU system

The Articulation Officer and articulation team welcome collaboration with departments to support curriculum goals, strengthen transfer pathways, and enhance student success.

Departments are encouraged to reach out when they notice patterns such as:

• Frequent course substitutions for transfer students.
• Transfer students lacking key prerequisites, resulting in delays to upper division coursework.
• Repeated appearance of non‑articulated courses from specific feeder institutions.
• Upcoming curricular changes at Chico State or partner colleges that may affect course alignment.

Please submit articulation requests with attached course outlines and supporting documentation to articulation@csuchico.edu. Requests for articulation should be made to the Articulation Officer. Materials should be provided in PDF format and must include the institution name, course prefix and number, and proposed Chico State equivalency. The Articulation team will respond as promptly as possible.

• Recorded in TES (workflow documentation)
• Published in ASSIST and TES (when applicable)
• Transfer credit rules are built and updated
• Requesting institution is notified by email of the approval

• Recorded in TES (workflow documentation)
• Published in ASSIST (when applicable)
• Requesting institution is informed and, when appropriate, provided with a brief explanation

• The Articulation Officer will contact the community college to request clarification or additional supporting materials to complete the review

• ASSIST – California’s official statewide articulation system. https://assist.org/ 
• How to Use ASSIST.org: https://resource.assist.org/ 
• Test Credit: https://catalog.csuchico.edu/academic-standards-policies/course-credit-policies/#creditbyexternalexamtext 
• Transfer Credit: https://catalog.csuchico.edu/academic-standards-policies/course-credit-policies/#transfercredittext
• TES – Transfer Evaluation System for CSU Fully Online and non-California institutions. https://tes.collegesource.com/ 
• C-ID – Statewide Course Identification Numbering System. https://c-idsystem.org/courses/ 
• CCN - Common Course Numbering Project (AB 1111). https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/Chancellors-Office/Divisions/Educational-Services-and-Support/course-outline-of-records-submission 
• TMC / ADT (SB 1440) – Associate Degree for Transfer alignment. https://c-idsystem.org/transfer-efforts/ 
• PeopleSoft – Student Information System for Transfer and test credit rule management.
• Archived Broward College agreements

Common Course Numbering (CCN) is a statewide system being implemented across all California Community Colleges to ensure that comparable courses share the same course number, title, and description, regardless of which college offers them. Mandated by AB 1111, this system is designed to help students more easily identify equivalent courses (e.g., STAT C1000) as they move between community colleges or prepare to transfer to a university. The goal of CCN is to streamline transfer, reduce excess units, and make academic planning clearer and more consistent for students throughout the state.

C‑ID is a statewide system that identifies comparable courses across California Community Colleges. A course approved for a C‑ID (e.g., COMM 110) means it has been reviewed and determined to match the content of courses with the same C‑ID designation at other participating colleges. This helps ensure consistency and supports transfer preparation.

A Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC) is a statewide set of lower-division major preparation courses (typically at least 18 semester units) designed to prepare California Community College students to transfer into a similar major within the CSU system. TMCs create clear, consistent pathways from community colleges to CSU campuses.

TMCs are created collaboratively by discipline faculty from both CCC and CSU. They are built using C‑ID course descriptors, which establish common course standards across institutions to ensure alignment in major preparation. TMCs form the foundation of an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT).

An Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) is a degree earned at a California Community College that guarantees admission to the CSU system and provides a clear, streamlined pathway for transfer into a similar major at a CSU campus. There are two types of ADTs:

• Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA‑T)
• Associate in Science for Transfer (AS‑T)

Each CSU campus conducts an internal faculty review to determine whether an ADT/TMC aligns with one of its campus majors. If a major is designated as similar, students who transfer with that ADT qualify for the 60‑unit degree completion guarantee at that CSU campus. If a major is not deemed similar, the 60‑unit guarantee does not apply, though students may still transfer and receive credit toward the degree. Similarity decisions are made by Chico State faculty to ensure academic alignment and program integrity.