Articulation

While the concept of articulation can be hard to understand, it is a very important tool to aid you in your transfer to a four-year school. A course that is articulated is comparable to or acceptable in lieu of a specific course (or sequence of courses) requirement with another school. Articulation is a formal written agreement between Mendocino College and the accepting institution. For example ENG 200 at Mendocino College is accepted in lieu of English R1A at UC Berkeley. Articulation demonstrates the willingness of educators in all segments (UC, CSU, Community Colleges, and Independents/Privates) to work together to help students reach their goals with a minimum of barriers. One of the most important principles of articulation is that no student should be required by an institution to repeat the same course content for which credit was received at another.

Types of Articulation Agreements:

• Course-to-Course Agreements- The purpose of a course-to-course agreement is to determine if a specific course taken at one college will satisfy a requirement at another.
• General Education - The University of California and California State University General Education Breadth agreements indicate those courses that a student can complete at Mendocino College to satisfy the general education requirements at the transfer campus. Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) is a general education program which community college students can use to satisfy lower-division general education requirements at any CSU or UC campus. CSU General Education agreements meet the lower division GE requirements for the CSU campuses.
• Major Preparation - The Major Preparation agreements specify the lower division courses required for the major at the transfer school.
• Transfer Course Agreement (TCA)- A listing of courses which are approved by the University of California Office of the President and are accepted by the University of California system.
• California Articulation Number (CAN) System- A common number used to designate lower division courses required for major preparation at most universities. In the Mendocino College Catalog and in the Schedule of Classes, many courses are identified with a CAN. For example, ENG 200 is identified as CAN ENGL 2 at the end of the course description. This means that all campuses in California participating in the CAN system will accept our ENG 200 in lieu of the specific English course on their campus that has been identified as CAN ENGL 2. Each campus retains and uses its own course number and title. For more information on the CAN system, please click here.

How can I learn more about Articulation Agreements?

Mendocino College maintains written articulation or course agreements with many transfer colleges and universities. These agreements are approved by the faculty and specify how courses will be accepted by the transfer institution. Counselors, the Articulation Officer or the Transfer Center can provide articulation agreement information or visit www.assist.org.

A student working closely with a counselor should be able to complete the lower division, or first two years, of a bachelor degree program at Mendocino College and transfer at the junior level. If any student experiences difficulty with the transfer of course from Mendocino College, he/she should call the Articulation Officer for assistance at (707) 468-3226.

How to read Articulation Agreements on ASSIST

Created: May 09, 2006 @ 10:51 AM
Last Modified: May 15, 2008 @ 09:15 AM