Associate Degree for Transfer Degrees: AA-T and AS-T

Program and Course Approval Handbook

California Community Colleges

Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADT) were developed in response to Senate Bill 1440 (Padilla,

2010) and subsequent revisions to Education Code § 66746(a) that required community

colleges to develop and offer “associate degrees for transfer” which fulfill the lower division

component of a baccalaureate major at a California State University. These degrees allow

students to fulfill lower division major requirements at a community college and guarantee

transfer with junior status to the CSU system. Students who complete an ADT and transfer to

a similar major at a CSU are guaranteed a pathway to finish their baccalaureate degrees in 60

semester or 90 quarter units. These degrees require students to meet both of the following

requirements:

(

1) Completion of 60 semester units or 90 quarter units that are eligible for

transfer to th

e California State University, including both of the following:

(A) The Intersegmental GE Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or the California State

University GE-Breadth Requirements (CSU GE-Breadth).

(B) A minimum of 18 semester units or 27 quarter units in a major or area of

emphasis, as determined by the community college district.

(2) Obtainment of a minimum grade point average of 2.0.

ADTs include both Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer

(AS-T) degrees. The law authorizing these degrees also requires that students must earn a

“C” or better in all courses required for the major or area of emphasis. A “P” (Pass) grade is

also an acceptable grade for courses in the major if the course is taken on a Pass/No Pass

basis. Education Code § 66746(b) prohibits a community college district from imposing

any additional course requirements for a student to be eligible for the associate degree for

transfer, and subdivision (e) prohibits allowing remedial non-collegiate level coursework to

be counted toward the units required for the associate degree for transfer (AA-T or AS-T).

Title 5, § 55002(b) describes such courses as “nondegree-applicable credit courses.”

The designators for the Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and the Associate in

Science for Transfer (AS-T) degrees have been established by the ASCCC and are

reserved only for associate degrees that meet all requirements of SB 1440 and

Education Code § 66746. The term “transfer degree” is likewise restricted to ADTs.

Program and Course Approval Handbook

California Community Colleges

Degree Standards

The following standards apply to the development and approval of the Associate Degree

for Transfer:

•

60 semester units or 90 quarter units,

•

Minimum 18 semester or 27 quarter units in major or area of emphasis,

•

Must use CSU GE-Breadth or IGETC,

•

May include transferable electives to reach 60 semester units or 90 quarter units,

•

No local graduation requirements not specified or permitted in the statute,

•

Must align with structure of TMC, and

•

Constituent courses must have either C-ID or articulation/transfer status with CSU as

specified on the TMC and the Chancellor’s Oice Template.

Minimum Units

The minimum number of units for the ADT is 60 semester or 90 quarter units that are CSU

transferable. Students awarded this degree must complete at least 12 semester or 18 quarter

units in residence.

Major or Area of Emphasis: Transfer Model Curriculum

An inter-segmentally developed Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC) defines the major or area

of emphasis for all ADT degrees. In the implementation process for SB 1440 and Education

Code § 66746 the ASCCC, in collaboration with the Academic Senate of the California State

University, has developed a Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC) for certain majors that have

been identified for students who transfer from a California community college to CSU.

According to Title 5, § 55063 and Education Code § 66746 the associate degree must include a

major or area of emphasis consisting of a minimum of 18 semester or 27 quarter units.

TMCs were developed as a means of facilitating a statewide response to the mandate that

all community colleges oer “associate degrees for transfer.” Dra TMCs are developed by

intersegmental faculty (California community colleges and CSU, primarily) in the discipline

and then made available for vetting at C-ID (www.c-id.net). Once a template for a TMC is

finalized, community college faculty may then develop degrees that align with the TMC.

The designators for these aligned TMC degrees are Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and

Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T).

When an associate degree for transfer is approved by the California Community Colleges

Program and Course Approval Handbook

California Community Colleges

Chancellor’s Oice, the California State University Chancellor’s Oice will be notified so that

the approved associate degree may be included in the CSU Mentor transfer application and

in other publications. This data is used to identify eligible students who apply to the CSU for

admission as described in Education Code § 66747.

Education Code § 66746 requires that community colleges create an ADT when they oer a

degree in the same discipline (i.e., under the same TOP Code) as an existing transfer model

curriculum (TMC) within 18 months of the approval of the TMC.

A TMC is considered to have final approval when the template is posted by the Chancellor’s

Oice. The approved templates are located on the Chancellor’s Oice Educational Services

and Support Division webpage under Templates for Transfer Model Curriculum.

Furthermore, similar agreements between UC and the California community colleges that

depend on an approved transfer pathway template for development and approval of the

degree shall be submitted using the same program goal and process as ADTs.

General Education

Education Code § 66746(a)(1)(A) requires that students complete the Intersegmental General

Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or the California State University General Education–

Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth) Requirements. Additional GE requirements are not permitted.

Courses used to meet the major requirement may also be used to meet the GE requirement if

those courses have been approved for IGETC or CSU GE-Breadth.

Most ADTs require full completion of IGETC or CSU GE-Breadth. However, certain ADTs are

instead based on the completion of IGETC for STEM or CSU GE-Breadth for STEM. The IGETC

for STEM and CSU GE-Breadth for STEM options permit students to follow the IGETC or CSU

GE-Breadth curriculum but delay one Arts or Humanities course and one Social or Behavioral

Science course until aer transfer.

Electives

ADTs may include additional transferable electives, if necessary, to bring the total degree-

applicable units to 60 semester units or 90 quarter units.

Prohibited Practices

Education Code § 66746(b) states “community college district shall not impose any

requirements in addition to the requirements of this section, including any local college or

district requirements ….” Local college or district requirements that are prohibited include

additional graduation requirements, such as additional GE requirements or a residency

requirement that exceeds the minimum set by Title 5.

While the current program submission and approval process requires colleges to design ADTs

that do not exceed 60 semester or 90 quarter units, a community college may confer the ADT

to students who exceed the minimum units required for the degree

Program and Course Approval Handbook

California Community Colleges

Criteria for Approval

ADTs must meet the following criteria for approval:

• Submission includes all required documentation:

○ Program Narrative,

○ Completed Chancellor’s Office Template,

○ C-ID or ASSIST Articulation Information, as required by the TMC, and

• Degree meets all standards as listed above. Verification of meeting these standards

is conducted through review of required documentation.

• Degree is submitted with program goal of “Transfer.”

Program Narrative

Only the Program Goals and Objectives and Catalog Description items are required for the

Narrative. The catalog description must reflect the following:

•

Completion of 60 semester units or 90 quarter units of degree-applicable courses,

•

Minimum overall grade point average of 2.0,

•

Minimum grade of “C” (or “P”) for each course in the major, and

•

Completion of IGETC and/or CSU GE-Breadth.

Submission of a COR is required for each course specified in the major. All ADT degrees are

submitted with “Transfer” as the program goal.

Chancellor’s Oice Templates for Approved Transfer Model Curriculum

The Chancellor’s Oice develops a template for each approved TMC. The templates are

located on the Chancellor’s Oice Educational Services and Support Division webpage

under Templates for Approved Transfer Model Curriculum. All submissions must include a

completed, current template.

Course Identification Numbering System or ASSIST Articulation Documentation

The template specifies all of the courses that may be included in the ADT and the

documentation required for each course when the degree is submitted for approval. Typically,

all required core courses are identified by a Course Identification Numbering System (C-ID)

descriptor, which sets the minimum standards for what should be included the COR. When a

C-ID descriptor is listed on the template, C-ID articulation is required for the course(s) to be

included in that section of the template. Additional information on C-ID descriptors and C-ID

articulation is located on C-ID (www.c-id.net). However, courses pending C-ID approval over

45 days may be included in the degree if the program application demonstrates evidence

Program and Course Approval Handbook

California Community Colleges

that those courses have been submitted to and are under review in the C-ID System. Thus,

for evidence, please submit a screenshot from the C-ID website that includes the date of

submission, course name, and college.

Courses on the template that do not need an approved C-ID descriptor require dierent

documentation to justify the inclusion of the course. These include:

•

Articulation Agreement by Major (AAM) demonstrating lower division preparation at

one CSU campus,

•

CSU Baccalaureate Level Course List by Department (BCT) showing the courses are

CSU transferable, and

•

CSU GE-Breadth Certification Course List by Area (GECC) identifying the transfer GE

area(s) for which the course was approved.

Documentation for the above can be located on the articulation website ASSIST (www.assist.

org) for inclusion in the application.

Double Counting Procedures for General Education

The TMC template also requires the IGETC and CSU GE-Breadth status of each course and

how the units may be double counted, i.e., how the units can be used to fulfill both major

preparation and transfer GE requirements. The general guidelines for double counting are:

The maximum number of “double counted” units is limited to the number of units assigned to

each GE Area.

Example:

A college’s Calculus course is 5 units. The maximum number of units allowed for

CSU GE-B Area B4 and IGETC Area 2 is 3 units. Thus, only 3 of the 5 units of the

calculus course can be double counted for the CSU GE Area B4 or IGETC Area 2.

Courses can only be double counted in one GE Area.

Example:

The Early Childhood Education Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC) identifies C-ID

CDEV100 as applicable to CSU GE Area D and Area E. However, the “double

counted” units can only apply to either CSU GE Area D or E, but not both. (The

course maximum for either CSU-GE Area D or E is 3.)