ARIZONA TRANSFER ARTICULATION COMMITTEE

COMMON COURSE SUBCOMMITTEE

IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES FOR COMMON COURSES

SUBCOMMITTEE CHARGE ASSUMPTIONS

The subcommittee assumed that:

 its charge was to develop implementation procedures based on the "Common Course Set" definitions provided by the Academic Program Articulation Steering Committee (APASC).

 the subcommittee would not make changes the definitions provided by APASC.

 the subcommittee could raise issues that APASC might address.

REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES

The subcommittee drafted the following for initial review by the Arizona Transfer Articulation Committee (ATAC) and subsequent review by APASC, if necessary. APASC review would only be required if it changed the definitions of common courses or created issues that must be addressed at APASC.

FIRST DRAFT OF IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES

Common Course Procedural Definitions

  1. A common course must be the appropriate preparation for the university major/degree.
  2. A common course may be a required course, a prerequisite course, or an elective course.
  3. The common course, accompanied by the appropriate Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC) and second language (if required), should allow the transfer student to graduate in 56 university credits after transferring given a 120 credit degree program.
  4. Common courses are required for Special Requirement (SR) pathway majors/degrees are recommended for General Requirement (GR) majors/degrees and may apply to TGXR pathway majors/degrees.
  5. A common course must be a transferable course to all universities as defined in the Course Equivalency Guide (CEG).

Common Course Categories

Core Common Courses

A "Core Common Course" is a required or prerequisite course shared by major/degree at a majority of the universities.

Applicable Common Courses
An "Applicable Common Course" is an elective recommended as the best preparation for the major/degree requirements. An example of an applicable common course is the community college's "Newspaper Writing" courses that has no direct equivalent at the universities but are acceptable courses for the universities' journalism degrees.

Applicable Common Courses are identified in the "Common Course Matrix" with the Course Equivalency Guide equivalencies in the university columns and the community college course prefix and number in the community college columns.

Common Course Identification and Approval Assumptions:

1. Core common courses are university courses identified and approved by the university lead faculty members of an Articulation Task Force (ATF).

2. Applicable Common Courses are courses accepted by the university lead faculty members of an ATF. Community college members at an Articulation Task Force (ATF) typically identify the applicable common courses. In order to be listed as a common course, the applicable common course must be recommended by the ATF and approved by the university lead faculty members. Each community college course in the community college course columns must be approved independently or must be based on the current equivalency in the CEG. This agreement must be documented in the ATF Chair Report.

3. The effective term of a common course is dependent upon the source of the change.

a. Core and applicable common courses identified or changed by university representatives at an ATF are effective beginning with the next fall semester. For example, a common course identified at the Fall 2000 ATF meeting is effective in Fall 2001. A common course change made at the Spring 2001 ATF meeting is effective in Fall 2001. March 1 of each year is the deadline for defining common courses to be effective for the following Fall semester.

b. Community college courses equivalent to the university common courses may be effective with term the equivalency is established in the CEG. For example, Community College X's course has a change in equivalency making it equivalent to the universities common course. The effective date of the CEG equivalency is Spring 2001. The common course equivalency effective semester for the community college course is Spring 2001. The rules of the CEG apply to determining the effective date.

c. Core or applicable common courses approved by an ATF are valid until changed.

4. It is the responsibility of the community college ATAC facilitator to track a community college common course equivalency due to a change in equivalency. The community college ATAC facilitator must notify the CAS Transfer Analyst when a common course is established. The CAS transfer analyst will verify the equivalency to all universities prior to entering into the ATFs common course set.

5. A community college course may be listed as an equivalency to a core common course based on its "Course Equivalency Guide" (CEG) equivalency during the academic term the course is requested to be a common course. Based on its equivalency, different sets of procedures may be followed:

a. Direct Equivalency to All Arizona Public Universities Core Common Courses

If the community college course is currently listed in CAS as an equivalent to each target university common course, it is automatically entered into the "Common Course Matrix" that appears in Arizona Transfer Articulation Support Systems (ATASS) without additional equivalency review. Note: the community college course equivalencies to each university common course must already be established in the Course Applicability System CEG. An automatic change cannot be made based on a tentative CEG equivalency change made at an ATF meeting.

b. Less Than Direct Equivalency to One or More of the Arizona Public Universities' Core Common Course

If the community college course is not equivalent to each target university common course, additional review is required. For example,

University Core Common Course ASU NAU UA

Introduction to Sociology SOC 100 SOC 101 SOC 100

Community College X's course, Introduction to Sociology, has the following equivalency in the published CEG.

Community College X

SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology SOC 100 SOC 101 DEC(SOC)

Even if Community College X's SOC 101 is a direct equivalent to the two of three university common courses, it is not automatically a common course equivalency and listed in the matrix. Community College X's SOC 101 must be reviewed by the UA and accepted by the UA as a common course. The UA could require the course to be re-evaluated using a CEG evaluation form or the UA may agree to review the course as a common course without a change in equivalency. In the latter case, a "common course evaluation form" is required.

A common course evaluation form is utilized to validate the common course at the university department level. It is same process as utilized for a tentative equivalency generated at an ATF. The common course equivalency form must be submitted to each university to which the community college course is not a direct equivalent to the university common course.

6. A course without direct equivalents may be accepted as a common course if the university(ies) agree the course is an Applicable Common Course. For example,

Community College X's HIS 195 History of the Yaqui Nation can be a common course if approved by ATF and validated using the common course evaluation form as long as the course is at least an E (elective) credit at all universities. For example, HIS 195 could be a common course with the following equivalencies.

Community College X ASU NAU UA

HIS 195 E E E

Or

HIS 195 E E DEC (HIST)

Core Common Course Identification and Approval Procedures:

  1. "Core Common Course" Approval Procedures
  1. University lead faculty approve core common courses at the ATF meeting.
  2. The core common course is identified in the ATF Chair Report sent to the CAS Transfer Analyst.
  3. The CAS Transfer Analyst enters the core common course into the "Common Course Matrix" for the degree.
  1. Acceptance of a community college course as a core common course with "direct equivalency"
  1. At the ATF meeting, the ATAC facilitator for the ATF will announce the community college courses with direct equivalency, as defined with the current CEG.
  2. If the community college course is a direct equivalent to the "Core Common Course, " the community college course is reported in the ATF Chair Report sent to the Articulation Facilitator.
  3. The Articulation Facilitator sends the report to the CAS Transfer Analyst.
  4. The CAS Transfer Analyst will confirm the direct equivalency.
  5. The CAS Transfer Analyst records the equivalency in appropriate community college column of the "Common Course Matrix."
  1. Acceptance of a community college course as a core common course with "less than direct equivalency"

a. At the ATF meeting

(1) The community college lead faculty member may request an equivalency to the "core common course" using a common course evaluation form.

(2) The form requires signature from the appropriate university lead faculty. The signing of the form at the ATF provides only a tentative status.

(3) The ATAC facilitator collects the signed forms.

(4) The ATAC facilitator must validate that the course is transferable to all three universities. If it is not, the tentative common course evaluation form is returned to community college faculty member.

(5) The ATAC facilitator submits the tentative common course evaluation form to the respective ATAC university facilitator.

b. After the ATF meeting

Each community college ATAC representative may submit a common course evaluation form to each university ATAC representative and request an evaluation of the course as equivalent to the "core common course."

Applicable Common Course Identification and Approval Procedures:

  1. "Applicable Common Course" Approval Procedures
  1. University lead faculty approve applicable common courses at the ATF meeting. For example, the university lead faculty may approve as an applicable common course a generic named course called "Newspaper Production."
  2. The applicable common course is defined in the ATF Chair Report sent to the Articulation Facilitator.
  3. The Articulation Facilitator sends it to the CAS Transfer Analyst.
  1. The CAS Transfer Analyst enters the applicable common course into the "Common Course Matrix" for the degree.
  1. Acceptance of a community college course as an applicable common course
  1. At the ATF meeting
  1. The community college lead faculty member may request an equivalency to the "applicable common course" using a common course evaluation form.
  2. The form requires signature from the appropriate university lead faculty.
  3. Once signed, the form is provided to the Arizona Transfer Articulation Committee (ATAC) facilitator. The signing of the form at the ATF provides only a tentative status.
  1. After the ATF meeting

Each community college ATAC representative may submit a common course evaluation form to each university ATAC representative and request an evaluation of the course as equivalent to the "applicable common course."

Applicable and Core Common Course Evaluation Form Processing:

  1. The university ATAC representative receives the common course evaluation form. Thirty (30) days is provided from the date of receipt to the date of notification.
  2. The common course evaluation form is routed to a departmental evaluator.
  3. Upon evaluation, the university ATAC representative notifies the community college representative of the evaluation results.
  4. The CAS Transfer Analyst records the university evaluation for the appropriate community college.
  5. When the common course evaluation forms from all universities are recorded, the appropriate community college ATAC facilitator will notify the appropriate community college ATAC representatives, all university ATAC representatives, and the ATF list serve that the results that:
  1. the community college course is equivalent to the common course if all universities accepted the course. The course is entered into the common course matrix in ATASS.
  2. the community college course is not equivalent to the common course if one or more of the universities did not accept the course. A rationale for non-acceptance must be provided and the community college may resubmit the course after appropriate curricular action.

FUTURE SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING ISSUES

  1. Majors/degrees not associated with an ATF are an issue.
  2. Minimum required common course credits and maximum allowable number of common course credits

a. Need ABOR Report