While transferring gives a student the ability to move from one institution to another or back and forth between institutions, articulation is the technical process through which the student’s coursework moves between or among institutions to ensure all coursework moves in a way that maximally benefits their educational plan and academic progress.
Articulation is the formal process by which one college or university formalizes that a course or sequence of courses from another college or university is “comparable” and can be used in lieuof a course at their own institution to satisfy any number of requirements.
Sometimes the articulation process is straightforward and easily facilitated, because coursestypically required or offered as part of a baccalaureate degree tend to be offered at most, if not all institutions such as:
But not all articulation is straightforward, nor are courses always commonly or similarly offered.
In addition to ensuring that coursework can be accepted at many institutions, articulation strives to ensure that a college’s curriculum itself is designed and recognized as appropriate preparation for California’s many major options, educational goals, and career pathways.
But because one institution’s curriculum is a reflection of California’s regional bounty, and the curriculum is specific to each university system, college or university, nuances must be regularly addressed through the articulation process.
To analyze and respond to the complexities inherent with a college’s own curriculum, let alone the complexities across the curricula of different colleges and universities requires a great deal of cross-curricular expertise, deep analytical skills, and comfort with a high level of detail and complexity. It requires comfort and fluency in critical processes, procedures, and deadlines, a multitude of policy frameworks, and the ability to focus on the most miniscule yet critical detailof a particular course in a given space and time.
California is arguably exceptional because of its vast and varied geography, which gives rise to an unparalleled array of industries, histories, cultures, arts, land features, and communities. Accordingly, California’s regions are home to unique industries, resources, priorities, and values.
This profound diversity is reflected in the curriculum of California’s colleges and universities. Each institution’s curriculum reflects, in part, the geographic and regional wealth that surrounds it, as well as the unique and deep faculty expertise associated with each institution.
As a result, California’s college students can choose from many majors that can lead to a massive number of professions and careers. From wildland forest management and viticulture to oceanography, pre-med, and cinematic arts, there is something for everyone.
If these expectations sound substantial, complicated and labor-intensive, they are. That is why each college and university has a position dedicated to this generalized but deeply consequential work.
California Intersegmental Articulation Council
© All Rights Reserved.