As a prospective transfer student, it is important to make sure that the community college courses you take are acceptable to the university for transfer credit. Courses you take to satisfy university requirements must be transferable, with the exception of some of the courses you may need to clear deficiencies from high school. The information below provides some background to help you understand what you'll find in ASSIST.

Postsecondary Educational Segments

In California there are three public postsecondary educational segments:

• The nine campuses of the University of California offer undergraduate and graduate programs through the doctoral level
• The 22 main campuses of the California State University offer undergraduate and graduate program through the Master's level
• The 107 California Community Colleges offer vocational education and lower-division  preparation for transfer to four-year institutions

Each university campus determines its own local degree and general education requirements, and is responsible for developing agreements with the community colleges which specify how courses taken at the community college can be applied to specific academic goals at the university. The resulting complexity of intersegmental agreements has prompted the development of statewide articulation policies and procedures that enable and encourage interinstitutional student transfer.

Transfer Considerations

There are several factors to consider when making plans to transfer to a university. Each choice you make will affect your options, and it's crucial that you get input from a counselor before making final decisions. Some things you should consider are:

• The university you plan to attend
• The major or degree-emphasis you plan to pursue
• Any non-course-based requirements
• Whether you plan to complete your lower-division General Education requirements before tranferring
• Any remaining deficiencies from your high school records which need to be cleared

Transfer Agreements

California’s public colleges and universities maintain agreements that identify which courses can be applied for credit when a student transfers. The information in ASSIST is updated when the institutions update their agreements. In fact, ASSIST is recognized by the state of California as the official repository of transfer information for California’s colleges and universities, so you can be certain that the information displayed is current and accurate.

There are three kinds of agreements, as described below. Click on the links below each description to see sample reports. After viewing each sample, use the Back button in your browser to return to this page.