Articulation

1. What is Articulation?

The process of developing a formal, written agreement that identifies courses on a "sending" campus (school requesting articulation) that is comparable to, or acceptable in lieu of, specific course requirements at a "receiving" campus (school receiving articulation request). Development of course articulation agreements facilitates transfer for students from one campus to another (i.e. transfer from LAMC to CSUN).

2. What is the role of the Articulation Officer (AO)?

• To coordinate and facilitate the process of faculty review leading to the articulation of courses between 2 institutions (i.e. LAMC and CSUN).
• To manage, update, and disseminate current, accurate, articulation data and information (including agreements and advising forms) to the appropriate departments, staff, students, and campuses.

3. What is the role of Faculty in the Articulation process?

Faculties in each discipline are responsible for ...

• the review of course content,
• the identification of comparable courses, and
• the authorization of acceptance of course articulation.

Once this review, identification, and formal written authorization process has occurred (see attached handout - Articulation Review Form), the AO is responsible for submitting the proposed articulation to the receiving campus. The AO will notify all counselors on campus, as well as the Department Chairs, about newly articulated course(s).

4. What is the process for transferability of a course? How long does it take?

A request must be made on the PNCR / PNOR (for the Curriculum Committee Meetings) for each course in which articulation is requested. Presuming Committee approval ...

• a. If the box is checked for CSU
  • The course is accepted as transferable to the CSU system
  • The AO inputs the course in ASSIST as CSU transferable
    • Courses are only submitted to ASSIST for CSU transferability 1 time per semester
      
• b. If the box is checked for CSU GE-Certification
  • The AO submits the course(s) to the CSU Office of the Chancellor for approval .
    • A course must be listed as CSU transferable on ASSIST prior to submission for CSU GECertification. Courses can only be submitted to the CSU GE-Cert. 1 time per year.
      
• c. If the box is checked for UC
  • The AO submits the course(s) to the UC Office of the President for approval
    • Course can only be submitted to UC 1 time per year.
      
• d. If the box is checked for IGETC
  • The AO submits the course(s) to the UC Office of the President for approval on IGETC
    • A course must be listed on the UC transferable list on ASSIST prior to submission for IGETC. Courses can only be submitted to IGETC 1 time per year.

5. How long does the process for transferability of a course?

Approval of the course(s) beginning with the Curriculum Committee Meeting and ending with IGETC approval, could take a minimum of 1-2 years. The steps listed in the previous question must occur in the order listed (Please see the attached flowchart - Process for Course Transferability). The steps must occur in the order listed.

6. Once a course is transferable, how does the process play itself out? (Simple case scenario)

• A university requests articulation of a course (This information is sent directly to the AO).
• The AO reviews the course and sends the Course Articulation Review Form, along with a copy of the course catalog description and/ or the course outline, to the respective Department Chair for review (It is up to the Department chair to review or distribute the information to relevant Faculty members within the given discipline in their Department).
• The Faculty member reviews the information received, decides equivalence, and returns the Articulation Review Form with written response of acceptance or denial to the AO.
• The AO receives the information, prepares it for mailing, and sends the information to the AO at the receiving institution.
• Counselors and relevant Department Chairs are notified when articulation of the course(s) is accepted.

7. What is CAN?

The California Articulation Number System (CAN) is a course identification system for common core lower-division transferable, major preparation courses. Institutions that already have articulation established between colleges can qualify those courses for CAN designations (i.e. LAMC’s English 101 = CAN ENGL 2). Once a course has a CAN designator any other institution with the same CAN designator can accept it, even if articulation for that course has not officially been established with that institution. To identify if a course is "CANned," please refer to the new catalog, or contact the Articulation Officer.