Articulation

Faculty-Led Process

Cal Poly faculty play the central role in reviewing curriculum, assessing course content, and approving articulation agreements. Articulation decisions are made by faculty within the academic discipline that aligns with the incoming course. They evaluate whether a course from another institution aligns with Cal Poly’s standards, learning outcomes, and instructional goals.

Comparable, Not Identical

Articulated courses are not required to be exact equivalents. In fact, rarely can they be a perfect match. Instead, they must be comparable or acceptable in lieu of Cal Poly courses—typically sharing at least 75% of the core content. Articulation identifies courses at a “sending” institution that are comparable to or acceptable in place of courses at Cal Poly.

Other helpful guiding principles when considering the 75% match and “acceptable”:  

• If the Cal Poly course being reviewed for articulation is a prerequisite for another course, will the student be set up to succeed in the following course? That is, even if a transfer course can’t be considered “equal to” ours, has the student achieved enough of the learning outcomes to progress in the series? 
• As a faculty member, would you be comfortable with the student taking the Cal Poly course (for which articulation is being requested), or would you consider that too much a duplication of course content? If you find that the course proposed for articulation has significant overlap with the identified Cal Poly course would not represent a meaningful advancement in the student's knowledge and skills, then this is a good indicator that the proposed course can be safely articulated. 
• The concept of 75% can be challenging to assess. Some faculty have indicated that they can see 75% overlap, but it’s not “the right 75%.” If the missing content is critical to students’ future success in either a series of classes in that same prefix or in other courses that build on knowledge attained in this class, that would likely be a “no” for articulation.

Focus on Learning Outcomes

Articulated courses are reviewed to ensure students receive equivalent instruction and can continue to the next level without a significant gap in learning. Successful completion of an articulated course means the student has received sufficient instruction and preparation to advance to the next level of coursework at Cal Poly. 

Ensures Academic Readiness 

Successful completion of an articulated course means the student has received sufficient instruction and preparation to advance to the next level of coursework at Cal Poly.

Assurance for Students and Faculty

Approved articulation helps ensure transfer students are well-prepared and appropriately placed in the academic sequence. Effective articulation minimizes unnecessary course repetition and helps transfer students stay on track toward timely degree completion.

Articulation is important, as whilst Cal Poly does not admit as many transfer students as many other CSU campuses, having up-to-date, comprehensive articulations agreements with our 116 community college partners (and CSU & UC's) benefits the campus in many ways, such as

• Provide applicants with as many options as possible in our transfer selection criteria
• Allowing greater opportunities for students wanting to take community college courses during breaks to stay on track with their degree progress
• Providing an avenue for disqualified Cal Poly student's to take courses they require to apply for readmission. 
• Minimize the number of permission numbers issued and course substitution forms completed in lieu of an articulated course being used to meet requirements
• NOTE: Evaluators and Admissions are unable to award specific credit for courses when reviewing transcripts from a California Community College unless an articulation is approved and published in Assist.

STEP 1 | Receive an articulation request

Department Chair or designee will receive an email with a PDF of a course outline from articulation@calpoly.edu or Statewide Articulation Officer.

Requests can appear in one of the following formats: 

1. Direct Course-to-Course Articulation Request 
   A specific course from a California Community College is being proposed for articulation with a specific Cal Poly course.
   1. Example: Community College course PE 101 proposed for articulation with Cal Poly’s KINE 180.  
2. Sequence-to-Course or Sequence-to-Sequence Request 
   A series of courses from a community college is being proposed to match either a single Cal Poly course or a full sequence. This often arises when aligning semester-based courses with Cal Poly’s current quarter-based offerings.
   1. Example: A two-course sequence from a community college (e.g., CHEM 101 + CHEM 102) proposed for articulation with Cal Poly's CHEM 127/128/129 sequence. 
3. Open-Ended Course Evaluation Request (not common method) 
   A community college course is submitted for consideration, without a specified Cal Poly equivalent. Faculty are asked to determine whether the course is comparable to any Cal Poly course in their discipline. This is not the preferred way for community colleges to submit courses.
   1. Example: MATH V22 at a Community College submitted for review to determine if it aligns with any Cal Poly math course. 

NOTE:  When a community college requests articulation for a course that is also a General Education (GE) course at Cal Poly, the Articulation Officer will note this in the request. Please keep in mind that the Department Chair does not need to assess a course for GE; they will simply approve for major credit. However, if the equivalent Cal Poly course is a designated GE for the major or support, this can be taken into account and we will designate in Assist if it does not meet GE.
       1. Example: A community college submits Fundamentals of Drawing (ART 142) for articulation with Cal Poly’s ART 101: The Fundamentals of Drawing, the department may approve it for major credit. If the course is not already an approved GE at the transfer institution, we can list it in ASSIST as “not for GE credit.” If the course does fulfill GE and you approve it for articulation, that approval will be reflected in ASSIST. If the GE

STEP 2 | Understand criteria for articulation 

Articulated courses are considered comparable—not identical—and acceptable in lieu of each other. They must provide sufficient background, instruction, and preparation to allow a student to successfully progress to the next level of coursework at the receiving institution. As a general guideline, at least 75% of course content should align for articulation to be approved. 

Please refer to Key Points for Faculty at the top of this page for more guidance.

STEP 3 | Review request and follow up

Department Chairs are asked to review the course and respond in a timely manner. Reviews can be delegated to faculty or committee with subject matter expertise for course review, but all articulation decisions must be formally authorized and communicated by the department chair or head. 

Some department Chairs make the decision independently and other times they may consult.

Please respond with decision options: 

• Approve as Presented: The proposed course is sufficiently comparable to the Cal Poly course and meets the criteria for articulation.    
• Approve with Conditions: The request may be approved pending minor revisions or clarifications. Please specify the required amendments. 
• Deny – Not Comparable: The course does not meet articulation standards due to significant differences in content, scope, or key components. 
• Other – Recommend Alternative: The proposed course is not a suitable match, but a different Cal Poly course may be more appropriate. Please specify any alternative recommendations. 

Once your email is received from the Articulation Officer, the following actions will take place:

• If approved: The new articulations into ASSIST and the community college will be notified by email.
• If denied: The decision will be documented, and the community college will be informed, along with any explanation when appropriate.
• If additional information is required: The Articulation Officer will follow up with the community college to request clarification and supporting materials.

Reply to email from articulation@calpoly.edu with your decision. If you need more than 10 business days to approve, please notify the Articulation team. 

Timeline

Department Chairs are asked to review the course and respond in a timely manner. We ask that you respond within 10 business days. If you need more time, please notify the Articulation Officer by replying to the email request sent to you. 

• Common requests for more time have been out of the office, needing to consult with a colleague that is out of the office, meet with committee that meets on X date, etc. 
• Timeline is in place to ensure the email does not get ignored or unanswered. 

If articulation is approved, denied, or suggestions provided, the community college and assist.org will be notified within 1-2 business days (unless otherwise specified). 

Resources to help support faculty & staff

Suggestions to consider before exploring articulation:

• Articulation Officer and the Office of the Registrar is eager to partner with faculty to support department goals and student success. Faculty input is especially valuable when transfer-related challenges arise such as:
  •  Frequent course substitutions for  transfer students
  • Transfer students missing key prerequisites for upper division courses
  • Department wanting to increase qualified applicant pool and/or Admissions data showing fewer qualified applicants

If you notice any of these patterns, please connect with the Articulation Officer to explore solutions. Together, we can:

• Gather and review comparable course materials from other institutions
• Request institutional data to inform articulation planning, such as:
  • Top transfer feeder schools for your department 
  • Applicant trends from specific community colleges 
  • Courses frequently appearing on transcripts that lack existing articulation agreements
  • Program-level gaps in transfer credit 
• Request Admissions specific department data on the applicant pool. Faculty can request access to the AD_Reporting tool by contacting admiss-data-mgt@calpoly.edu

Faculty are also encouraged to collaborate directly with their assigned Evaluator as they see fit.

Cal Poly Faculty

OPTION 1: Department Chairs/Heads can look at California Community College course outlines on this website. Then you can email articulation@calpoly.edu with articulations you want to establish. If a link is not listed for a school, you can  request for a specific course from a California Community College by emailing articulation@calpoly.edu. 

• Example: Proposing articulation between Cuesta College's ENGL 202 and Cal Poly's ENGL 145. 
• How to get started: Email the Articulation Officer with the external course outline, your proposed Cal Poly equivalent, and any supporting rationale. 

OPTION 2: Faculty can also initiate an articulation when filling out a Petition for Major or Support Course Substitution Form. 

• When completing a Major/Support Sub., select the "Yes" option in response to the question: "If you 'Do Recommend' for a transfer course, is this a potential articulation for all students?":
• Articulation will follow up once this is finalized. 

OPTION 3: Faculty can review the Course Identification Numbering System (C-ID) options. 

• Faculty can search for C-IDs that could work for their department
  • If a Department Chair finds a C-ID you would like to approve for your department, please send email to Articulation Officer via email (articulation@calpoly.edu) with approval.
  • Faculty may receive an individual articulation request from the Articulation Officer that shows the  California Community College (CCC)  indicated the course is also an approved C-ID. Often the CCC intention for including this information on their individual articulation request to be helpful and bring it to our attention. It can be a positive indicator that they have gone through the C-ID process but it is to your discretion on if you want to bring into your decision.
    • Department Chairs can choose to look into the C-ID and if this is something to department wants to adopt. This is not required - the ask is for the review of the individual articulation.
• C_ID offer Professional development opportunities for faculty to get involved with C-ID

Data-driven articulation efforts help departments prioritize high-impact agreements that support prospective transfer students. 

Cal Poly Staff

Advisors are strongly encouraged to collaborate wtih Department Chairs and to regularly review course substitutions or observed trends. Also, feel free to reach out to the Articulation Officer to discuss data and ideas. 

California Community Colleges (CCC)

Please send your questions with attached course outlines and supporting document to articulation@calpoly.edu. 

Please send in PDF format and indicate your school name and proposed courses. 

Thank you for initiating your request. We will strive to get a response to you as soon as we can.  

Assist.org

ASSIST stands for the Articulation System Stimulating Inter-Institutional Student Transfer, and it is California’s official online tool for transfer and articulation information. It is the most reliable and up-to-date source of articulation and transfer information for students, faculty, and advisors across the state. 

ASSIST provides public reports showing how course credits earned at one California college or university may transfer to another. ASSIST is funded by the California State Legislature and serves as the official repository of articulation agreements between California’s public colleges and universities. ASSIST supports California Community College students transferring to California’s public four-year universities by offering an easy-to-use electronic planning system and delivering accurate, timely, and comprehensive articulation and transfer information. 

TES | Transfer Evaluation System 

TES contains catalog data, such as course descriptions for colleges and universities throughout the United States. Department Chairs have login access. If other Cal Poly  faculty or staff need access, please email articulation@calpoly.edu. 

Cal Poly will start to train and use TES more robustly in winter 2026 . This will become our new workflow for Department Chairs to approve articulations.  

C-ID | Course Identification Numbering System 

C-ID primarily aids students by streamlining the transfer process, reducing the uncertainty about course equivalencies, and minimizing the accumulation of excess credits. Faculty and counselors also benefit, as C-ID provides clear guidelines for course content and expectations, facilitating curriculum development and advising. Additionally, institutions utilize C-ID to establish and maintain articulation agreements, ensuring that their courses align with statewide standards. Search C-ID courses. 

CCN | Common Course Numbering 

Common Course Numbering is a state-mandated initiative from California Legislature AB 1111- requiring all California Community Colleges (CCC) adopt a student-facing common course numbering system for general education and transfer courses with similar content. Read more about Phases I and II of this initiative.

ADT & TMC | Associate Degree for Transfer & Transfer Model Curriculum 

• Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) website. 
• Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC) is a collaboration between the California Community Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU) system. It is designed to streamline the transfer process for students transferring from the CCC to CSU. Maintained by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, this houses the official templates for the Transfer Model Curricula. The community colleges use these templates to create their own version of these degrees, which are called ADTs.