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OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES

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Glossary of Articulation Terms

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Articulation is the term used to refer to an agreement that courses are comparable for purposes of major preparation and the fulfillment of requirements.  Course articulation could not occur without faculty participation.  These articulation agreements indicate that a designated faculty member at the receiving campus (SFSU) has examined the learning objectives, course content, textbooks, and assignments/exercises of the course at a sending campus (usually a California community college).  Articulation agreements enable faculty advisors and students transferring among California’s institutions of higher education to determine which courses are comparable.

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Articulation Officer is the individual who processes the requests for articulation whether the requests originate from the sending institution or SFSU.  The articulation officer works with the department chair and program director in the formal review of course outlines/syllabi.  For additional information, contact University Articulation Officer Bob DeGuzman at deguzman@sfsu.edu/  or 8-7050.

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Articulation System Stimulating Inter-institution Student Transfer (ASSIST) ASSIST is an information system that can be accessed over the World Wide Web. It displays reports of how course credits earned at one California college or university can be applied when transferred to another. ASSIST is the official repository of articulation information for California’s colleges and universities and therefore provides the most accurate and up-to-date information available about student transfer in California.  SFSU courses are displayed either by department or by the major in which they appear. The ASSIST website is located at http://www.assist.org/ or contact Renee Monte, ASSIST Coordinator, SFSU, at rmonte@sfsu.edu or 5-3568. 

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California Articulation Number (CAN) System is a course identification system for many lower division, transferable major preparation courses commonly taught on college campuses.  CAN is based on course articulation.  CAN allows each campus to retain its own course number, prefix and title.  When a course has met the criteria and is qualified to use a CAN designation, it is listed along with the corresponding CAN prefix and number that identifies it as comparable to others with the same CAN prefix and number. The system streamlines the articulation process by eliminating the need of every campus in the state to articulate its courses with every other campus in order to provide needed transfer and articulation information to prospective transfer students. Students and faculty can use the CAN system number to compare courses by cross-referencing the SFSU and other course by their CAN number.  For additional information, please go to CAN website at http://www.can.csus.edu/ or contact Bob DeGuzman at deguzman@sfsu.edu/  or 8-7050.

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Comparable is the term used in most course articulation agreements.  Comparable means “alike” or “similar,” but not necessarily equivalent.  The agreement that two courses are comparable means that one can be taken (or used) “in lieu of” the other.

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A Course Articulation Agreement is the printed and signed document that certifies that a course at one college is comparable to a course at another college.  It is developed between two institutions to accept a specific course that has been completed on the sending campus to meet a specific course requirement on the receiving campus.  The request for articulation is usually accompanied by a copy of the course syllabus/outline.  More information may be requested from the articulation officer if necessary.  In the case of articulation denials, when the course from the sending institution is not adequately comparable to the SFSU course, it is important to specify the reasons for the denial.  The reasons for denial are communicated back to the sending institution so that modifications can be made.  Department chairs, program directors, and college deans are asked to sign the agreement after it has been reviewed by the faculty member and are welcome to make comments as well.  The signed agreement is returned to the articulation officer who forwards the document to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies.

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A Major Preparation Agreement is a printed document that lists the courses needed in preparation for a given major.  It may also include prerequisites and other requirements such as minimum grades that must be attained in order to qualify for admission to or to proceed in the major.  Typically, the major preparation courses are lower division, but may include upper division courses as well.  Major preparation agreements may be developed by using the courses indicated in the SFSU Bulletin, or they may be developed at the department level and then forwarded to the articulation officer for assistance in identifying comparable courses at other colleges.  Especially when major programs and courses change, it is vital to keep the sending institutions informed so that updated and revised courses are available to meet students’ needs when they transfer to SFSU.   The SFSU articulation officer can help. 

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