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How to Use Assist

The ASSIST database is for California Community College transfer credits. For other options, including out of state, see Advising.

What can I take at a community college to satisfy a GE requirement at Cal Poly?

Click on one of the three Cal Poly Catalog groups below to locate the specific guidelines that apply to you.

I am following the 2019-2020 or earlier Cal Poly Catalog

  1. Make sure you choose the academic year in which you are taking or took the course.
  2. Select the community college from the “Institution” drop down menu.
  3. Under Transferable Courses, select: CSU GE-Breadth Certification Courses, then click the View Transferability Lists button.
  4. On the dropdown menu “View Transferable Courses by:” select CSU GE-Breadth Area.
  5. Select the GE Area you need (see chart below), then click View Course List.
  6. Exclude courses that have a date in the “Date Removed” column.
  7. You must also check the articulation of the class to be sure that you are not repeating a class you already have credit for (example: Microeconomics), OR taking a class that is a lower level than you have credit for (example: foreign language). See “What can I take at a community college to satisfy a Major/Support course at Cal Poly?” for how to verify this.

Transfer of GE to Cal Poly
GE on Assist Cal Poly GE Area
A1—Oral Communication A2—Oral Communication
A2—Written Communication A1—Expository Writing
A3—Critical Thinking A3—Reasoning, Argumentation, and Writing
B1—Physical Science B3—Physical Science
B2—Life Science B2—Life Science
B3—Laboratory Activity B4—Laboratory Activity
B4—Mathematics B1—Math / Statistics
C1—Arts C3—Fine and Performing Arts
C2—Humanities
*NOTE: No more than 8 units total of foreign language acquisition courses can count in Area C.
C1—Literature
C2—Philosophy
*NOTE: Any C2 (on Assist) will fulfill either C1 or C2 (at Cal Poly), if you are not repeating course content.
D0—Sociology and Criminology
D1—Anthropology and Sociology*
D2—Economics
D3—Ethnic Studies
D4—Gender Studies
D5—Geography
D6—History
D7—Interdisciplinary Social or
Behavioral Science
D8—Political Science, Government, and Legal Institutions
D9—Psychology
D2—Political Economy
D3—Comparative Social Institutions
*D1—Anthropology and Sociology will NOT fulfill D1 at Cal Poly
**NOTE: Any D0-D9 (on Assist) will fulfill either Cal Poly’s D2 or D3—NOT D1—if you are not repeating course content.
E—Lifelong Understanding and Self-Development

D4—Self Development (Cal Poly Catalogs prior to 2019-2020)

E—Self Development (2019-2020 Cal Poly Catalog)

 

The information outlined above can also be found on the PDF of How to Use Assist.

I was admitted to Cal Poly prior to summer 2020, but I am moving to the 2020-2021 Cal Poly Catalog

  1. Make sure you choose the academic year in which you are taking or took the course.
  2. Select the community college from the “Institution” drop down menu.
  3. Under Transferable Courses, select: CSU GE-Breadth Certification Courses, then click the View Transferability Lists button.
  4. On the dropdown menu “View Transferable Courses by:” select CSU GE-Breadth Area.
  5. Select the GE Area you need (see chart below), then click View Course List.
  6. Exclude courses that have a date in the “Date Removed” column.
  7. You must also check the articulation of the class to be sure that you are not repeating a class you already have credit for (example: Microeconomics), OR taking a class that is a lower level than you have credit for (example: foreign language). See “What can I take at a community college to satisfy a Major/Support course at Cal Poly?” for how to verify this.
  8. On the 2020-21 catalog, C1, C2, and the lower-division C elective must come from three different subject prefixes. If you want to complete any transfer and/or Cal Poly coursework in summer 2020 or in any quarter after, you will be held to the subject prefix requirements only in your remaining coursework in Lower-Division Area C. In other words, the tracking of prefix requirements in Lower-Division Area C does not begin until summer 2020; prefixes in courses taken prior to summer 2020 are ignored and not used in prefix tracking. To ensure you’re not duplicating prefixes in any remaining lower-division Area C coursework, use the Prefix Mapping Chart below to determine what subject prefix Cal Poly will consider your transfer course to be.**
  9. For students on the Standard GE template on the 2020-21 catalog, the two courses in Area D2 must come from two different subject prefixes. If you want to complete any transfer and/or Cal Poly coursework in summer 2020 or in any quarter after, you will be held to the subject prefix requirements only in your remaining coursework in Lower-Division Area D. In other words, the tracking of prefix requirements in Lower-Division Area D does not begin until summer 2020; prefixes in courses taken prior to summer 2020 are ignored and not used in prefix tracking. To ensure you’re not duplicating prefixes in any remaining D2 coursework, use the Prefix Mapping Chart below to determine what subject prefix Cal Poly will consider your transfer course to be.*** Students on the High Unit GE template (CENG, ARCE, and BRAE) are not required to have two different prefixes in Area D.

 


Transfer of GE to Cal Poly
GE on Assist cal poly ge area
A1 - Oral Communication A1 - Oral Communication
A2 - Written Communication A2 - Written Communication
A3 - Critical Thinking A3 - Critical Thinking
B1 - Physical Science B1 - Physical Science
B2 - Life Science B2 - Life Science
B3 - Laboratory Activity B3 - Laboratory Activity
B4 - Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning B4 - Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning
C1 - Arts C1 - Arts
C2 - Humanities C2 - Humanities

C1 - Arts

C2 - Humanities

Lower-division C elective

**NOTE: An additional C1 or C2 (on Assist) from a different prefix will fulfill Cal Poly's lower-division C elective, if you are not repeating course content.

NOTE: Anthropology and Archeology* will NOT fulfill D1 at Cal Poly D1 - American Institutions

D0 - Sociology and Criminology

D1 - Anthropology and Archeology*

D2 - Economics

D3 - Ethnic Studies

D4 - Gender Studies

D5 - Geography

D6 - History

D7 - Interdisciplinary Social or Behavioral Science

D8 - Political Science, Government, and Legal Institutions

D9 - Psychology

D2 - Social Sciences

***NOTE: Any D0-D9 (on Assist) will fulfill Cal Poly's D2—NOT D1—if you are not repeating course content or duplicating prefixes (Standard Template). Students on the High Unit Template may take a second D2 (any D0 - D9 on Assist) to satisfy the Area D elective.

E - Lifelong Learning and Self-Development E - Lifelong Learning and Self-Development

 

Prefix Mapping Chart

(The Prefix that your GE will Transfer in as, Once Evaluated at Cal Poly)

Cal Poly requires three different subject prefixes in lower-division Area C, and, for students on the Standard GE template, two different subject prefixes in D2. This is true for any combination of AP, transfer, and Cal Poly coursework.

Because other schools may use different prefixes than Cal Poly’s, the chart below will help you figure out how to appropriately select courses at California Community Colleges without duplicating prefixes.

Use the full Prefix title in Assist to ensure proper mapping. For example, HUMA might refer to Human Development or to Humanities, but when you search in Assist by Prefix, it will list “HUMA Human Development” as the full title, and “HUMI Humanities.”

If a course is cross-listed at the transfer school, Cal Poly will transfer the course in using whatever prefix appears on your transcript.

Prefix requirements apply only within a single GE area (C or D).

PREFIX MAPPING CHART (PDF) opens in new window

I am a new first-year student admitted summer 2020, or any quarter following summer 2020

  1. Make sure you choose the academic year in which you are taking or took the course.
  2. Select the community college from the “Institution” drop-down menu.
  3. Under Transferable Courses, select: CSU GE-Breadth Certification Courses, then click the View Transferability Lists button.
  4. On the drop-down menu “View Transferable Courses by:” select CSU GE-Breadth Area.
  5. Select the GE Area you need (see chart below), then click View Course List.
  6. Exclude courses that have a date in the “Date Removed” column.
  7. You must also check the articulation of the class to be sure that you are not repeating a class you already have credit for (example: Microeconomics), OR taking a class that is a lower level than you have credit for (example: foreign language). See “What can I take at a community college to satisfy a Major/Support course at Cal Poly?” for how to verify this.
  8. On the 2020-21 catalog, C1, C2, and the lower-division C elective must come from three different subject prefixes. To ensure you’re not duplicating prefixes when selecting courses for any of these three areas, use the Prefix Mapping Chart below to determine what subject prefix Cal Poly will consider your transfer course to be.**
  9. For students on the Standard GE template on the 2020-21 catalog, the two courses in Area D2 must come from two different subject prefixes. To ensure you’re not duplicating prefixes when selecting courses for D2, use the Prefix Mapping Chart below to determine what subject prefix Cal Poly will consider your transfer course to be.*** Students on the High Unit GE template (CENG, ARCE, and BRAE) are not required to have two different prefixes in Area D.

 


Transfer of GE to Cal Poly
GE on assist cal poly ge area
A1 - Oral Communication A1 - Oral Communication
A2 - Written Communication A2 - Written Communication
A3 - Critical Thinking A3 - Critical Thinking
B1 - Physical Science B1 - Physical Science
B2 - Life Science B2 - Life Science
B3 - Laboratory Activity B3 - Laboratory Activity
B4 - Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning B4 - Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning
C1 - Arts C1 - Arts
C2 - Humanities C2 - Humanities

C1 - Arts

C2 - Humanities

Lower-division C elective

**NOTE: An additional C1 or C2 (on Assist) from a different prefix will fulfill Cal Poly's lower-division C elective, if you are not repeating course content.

NOTE: Anthropology and Archeology* will NOT fulfill D1 at Cal Poly D1 - American Institutions

D0 - Sociology and Criminology

D1 - Anthropology and Archeology*

D2 - Economics

D3 - Ethnic Studies

D4 - Gender Studies

D5 - Geography

D6 - History

D7 - Interdisciplinary Social or Behavioral Science

D8 - Political Science, Government, and Legal Institutions

D9 - Psychology

D2 - Social Sciences

***NOTE: Any D0-D9 (on Assist) will fulfill Cal Poly's D2—NOT D1—if you are not repeating course content or duplicating prefixes (Standard Template). Students on the High Unit Template may take a second D2 (any D0 - D9 on Assist) to satisfy the Area D elective.

E - Lifelong Learning and Self-Development E - Lifelong Learning and Self-Development

 

Prefix Mapping Chart

(THE PREFIX THAT YOUR GE WILL TRANSFER IN AS, ONCE EVALUATED AT CAL POLY)

Cal Poly requires three different subject prefixes in lower-division Area C, and, for students on the standard GE template, two different subject prefixes in D2. This is true for any combination of AP, transfer, and Cal Poly coursework.

Because other schools may use different prefixes than Cal Poly’s, the chart below will help you figure out how to appropriately select courses at California Community Colleges without duplicating prefixes.

Use the full Prefix title in Assist to ensure proper mapping. For example, HUMA might refer to Human Development or to Humanities, but when you search in Assist by Prefix, it will list “HUMA Human Development” as the full title, and “HUMI Humanities.”

If a course is cross-listed at the transfer school, Cal Poly will transfer the course in using whatever prefix appears on your transcript.

Prefix requirements apply only within a single GE area (C or D).

PREFIX MAPPING CHART (PDF)

 


What can I take at a community college to satisfy a Major/Support course at Cal Poly?

  1. Make sure you choose the academic year in which you are taking or took the course.
  2. Select the community college from the "Institution" drop-down menu.
  3. Select Cal Poly, SLO from the "Agreements with Other Institutions" drop-down menu, then click View Agreements.
  4. On the drop-down menu "View Agreements by:" select "Department" or "Prefix" then click View Agreement.
  5. REMINDER: if you repeat a class you already took at Cal Poly, or you have credit for with AP, you cannot earn units twice or be eligible for grade forgiveness

What can I take at a community college to satisfy GE Area D1 at Cal Poly?

We don't recommend taking D1 courses off campus. At Cal Poly, we require only one course and most community colleges require two to three courses to fulfill this requirement.
However, if you want to see the options on ASSIST:

  1. Make sure you have the correct academic year
  2. Select the California Community College from the drop down menu.
  3. Select: CSU US History, Constitution, and American Ideals Courses
  4. Be sure to read all of the information on the page and contact Evaluations with questions.

What can I take at a community college to satisfy free electives?

The class must be CSU transferable.

  1. Make sure you choose the academic year in which you are taking or took the course.
  2. Select the community college from the "Institution" drop-down menu.
  3. Under Transferable Courses, select: CSU Transferable Courses, then click the View Transferability Lists button.
  4. On the drop-down menu "View Transferable Courses by:" select "Department" or "Prefix."

If the class appears on the list, it is CSU transferable. If the class does not appear on the list, it is NOT transferable and cannot be used for free electives. You must also check the articulation of the class to be sure you are not repeating a class you already have credit for.


I took the class(es) at a community college. What are my ?

Order an official copy of your transcript from the community college and have it mailed to the address below. After we receive your transcript, the units and GPA will be calculated on your Poly Profile, and the credit will show on your DPR. Approximate processing time is 1-2 quarters.

Cal Poly
Transcript Processing
MC 1001
1 Grand Avenue
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407


Still have questions? Contact Evaluations:

Evaluations Unit
evaluations@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-2396
Fax: 805-756-7237

 

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