Cal-GETC Information

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Information is up-to-date as of September 2024 and follows the Cal-GETC version 1.2 and AB928 Guidance

What is Cal-GETC?
The California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC) is the singular transfer general education pathway for California Community College (CCC) students to fulfill lower-division general education requirements for transfer and admission to the CSU and UC systems.

When does Cal-GETC start?
Cal-GETC shall be used for new incoming CR students, dually enrolled high school students, and concurrently enrolled high school students, beginning Fall 2025.

Cal-GETC may not be appropriate for students who:

1. are not transferring and only getting the AA/AS degrees using a Local GE pattern
2. maintained continuous enrollment at CR or another CCC prior to Fall 2025
3. have already completed the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT)
4. met the full GE Certification for CSU GE Breadth or IGETC, whether transcribed on the official CCC transcript or in other forms

Cal-GETC applies to the following:
- Fall 2025 and thereafter if students do not have continuous enrollment (no catalog rights) within the CCC system.
  1. Students from UC, in-state-private and/or out-of-state institutions with no claim to catalog rights.
  2. Students who have catalog rights prior to Fall 2025 may elect to complete Cal-GETC but it is not required.
  3. High school students who took college courses through dual or concurrent enrollment, because catalog rights to transfer institutions are different than CR’s catalog rights.
    http://ccctransfer.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/calgetc-administrative-implementation-guidance-memo-20240214-a11y.pdf

What maintains a student’s catalog rights within the in the CCC system?
Maintaining catalog rights within the CCC system requires continuous attendance in at least one course for at least one regular semester or two regular quarters in each calendar year at any California Community College campus. Please keep in mind, individual community colleges maintain their own local catalog rights. Note: Within this guide, all references to catalog rights are for CCC system catalog rights unless otherwise noted.

What if a CCC student has catalog rights to use CSU GE Breadth or IGETC?
1. For any student who begins at the CCC prior to Fall 2025, please refer to Appendix A at the end of this document.
2. The CSU GE Breadth is still an option for students with continuous enrollment who meet the requirements so long as they don’t stop out/lose catalog rights. There has not been further discussion of when to sunset this transfer general education pattern. It is still yet to be determined.
3. The IGETC pattern is still an option for students with continuous enrollment who meet the requirements so long as they don’t stop out/lose catalog rights. This pattern is similar to Cal-GETC and is highly advised for students who are unsure about the UC/CSU. There has not been further discussion of when to sunset this transfer general education pattern. It is still yet to be determined.

Can CSU-bound transfer students still satisfy American Institution (AI) requirements while at CR?

1. While these requirements are outside Cal-GETC, counselors/advisors will still highly recommend “double counting” through the completion of specific History and Political Science courses toward the CSU American Institution (AI) graduation requirements and social science Cal-GETC areas.
2. Per Cal-GETC standards, CSU campuses have the discretion on whether to allow courses used to satisfy the CSU AI requirements.
3. UC AI requirements are determined by each individual campus, and may be met with high school or college coursework. Students should consult their target UC campus’ catalog for AI graduation requirements.

Can UC-bound transfer students still meet Language Other Than English (LOTE) requirements while at CR?
1. While these requirements are outside Cal-GETC, counselors and advisors will still highly recommend transfer students to complete the LOTE for UC-bound students who do not meet the requirements through Advanced Placement, high school coursework, or others listed in the Cal-GETC standards.
2. Per Cal-GETC standards, UC campuses have the discretion on whether to allow courses used to satisfy GE requirements to also count for UC LOTE.

If a student is unsure if they want an Associate of Arts/Science Degree for Transfer (ADT) or a local Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree, what should they do?
1. Counselor/advisors can assist students in navigating which degree offered at CR is the best pathway to a student’s educational goal. There are many criteria that a counselor or advisor reviews with the student, such as, but not limited to:
  1. Is the ADT accepted (deemed similar) by the institution the student wants to apply and transfer to?
  2. Are there additional pre-requisite requirements not captured in the ADT students must first complete prior to transfer?
  3. Did the student complete CSU/UC units and intends to return to a CSU/UC and earn a baccalaureate degree?
  4. Are there other AA/AS degrees offered at CR that might benefit the student more than an ADT?
2. If completing additional coursework causes undue hardship, increases units, and lengthens the student’s time at CR, the student may be exempted from the Auto-ADT placement and meet statutory exceptions, “The student’s educational pathway is better served by a local associate degree.” The student would be placed on a local degree pathway instead. Refer to Appendix B.

Are all transfer students placed on an ADT degree pathway? How can UC-bound students opt out of the ADT degree pathway?
1. Per AB928, if an ADT pathway exists, transfer-intending students will be placed into it unless they meet the statutory exceptions. Statutory exceptions from auto-ADT placement include:
  1. An ADT pathway does not exist in the chosen major at the college
  2. The student’s educational pathway is better served by a local AA/AS degree.
  3. The student plans to apply to transfer to a UC campus or an independent four-year institution that does not accept the ADT.
  4. If a student is seeking to complete a Career and Technical Education program but auto placed into an ADT that does not reflect their intended program of study, the student can meet with a counselor or advisor to change their listed degree/certificate to one that best fits their academic goals.

How can a counselor or advisor help a student toward their educational goals?
1. Navigating the community college transfer landscape is complex and everchanging; therefore, students should plan to meet with a counselor or advisor early in their time at CR to ensure they are given accurate and up-to-date information based on their educational goals.
2. Counselors and advisors can help students create/update their student educational plans (SEP), assess their educational major/career choices, review admission requirements for impacted campuses, change their majors, review specific transfer program requirements, and make recommendations to other student services/programs, and much more.

If a student has catalog rights to a CSU GE Breadth pattern and takes a course in the Fall of 2025 or Spring of 2026 that previously satisfied CSU GE Area E, would the course still count towards CSU GE Area E?
1. The course would still count so long as the student has maintained catalog rights.
2. A course that fulfills CSU GE Breadth will be retained if the student has maintained continuous enrollment at CR and the course satisfied the GE area at the time it was completed. There has not been further discussion of when to sunset this transfer general education pattern; It is still yet to be determined.
3. If the student stops out or loses catalog rights and does not complete the CSU GE Breadth, the student would be following the Cal-GETC version that is effective at that time.

Given that high school students cannot establish catalog rights to a CSU/UC through completing CCC coursework, if a high school student gets CSU GE/IGETC certified from the community college, does this allow them to utilize the CSUGE/IGETC certification, or do they default to Cal-GETC regardless since they are high school students?

If the student completes the full CSU GE or IGETC pattern prior to graduation from high school, and completes the certification process through an Official Transcript Request, the CSU GE/IGETC certification will prevail over the timing issue. Note: The CSU/UC will evaluate the high school students admitted as first-time freshmen differently when establishing a student’s catalog rights and, in some cases, will have students follow their campus-specific GE pattern. Refer to Appendix A.

If a new incoming student wants to take classes in the Summer of 2025, which pattern would the student follow?
1. A new student taking a course in the Summer of 2025 must follow the 2024-25 CSU or IGETC Breadth as Cal-GETC will not start until Fall 2025. However, under CR's catalog rights rules, a continuing student may elect to change their GE pattern to Cal-GETC beginning Fall 2025.
2. A student will need to meet with a counselor or advisor to officially change the student's program to the reflect the correct GE pattern based on the student's CR catalog year.

Can students request a partial Cal-GETC Certification?
1. Only a full Cal-GETC Certification may be forwarded to the CSU and UC with all areas completed.
2. No partial Cal-GETC Certification will be accepted.
3. At this time, no decision has been made with Cal-GETC for STEM majors.

Will a D grade satisfy any Cal-GETC GE requirements?
1. Courses for Cal-GETC must be passed with a minimum grade of “C,” where a “C” grade is defined as a 2.0 on a 4.0 GPA scale.
2. A “Credit” or “Pass” is acceptable in some GE areas, providing that it is equivalent to a grade of “C” or higher. A college transcript must reflect this policy.

If a student takes a new course for a Cal-GETC Area and wants to use it toward their old CSU GE Breadth or IGETC GE pattern, can the student do that?
1. Students with catalog rights to the CSU GE Breadth or IGETC pattern cannot use new Cal-GETC approved courses to satisfy previous CSU or IGETC requirements.
2. Cal-GETC is only available for students starting in the Fall of 2025 and cannot be used in any form to satisfy GE or program requirements for previous catalog years.

Cal-GETC Unit Value - Courses must have a minimum of 3 semesters or 4 quarter units. Note: Lab courses that accompany lecture courses are an exception.

Can students returning to CR in Fall 2025 after a break and who no longer have catalog rights to IGETC or the CSU GE pattern use previously completed coursework to satisfy Cal-GETC?
1. Until California legislature determines otherwise, if a student completed a GE course that satisfied an IGETC area at the time of completion, it can be used to satisfy the corresponding Cal-GETC area.
2. Whether or not a course satisfied an IGETC area at the time of completion can be verified through assist.org in the “IGETC for UC and CSU” transferability lists here.
3. Returning transfer students not completing Cal-GETC but wishing to use previously completed coursework to satisfy individual campus admission requirements should consult with their target transfer institutions.
4. Individual university campuses may have additional policies allowing students to meet admission requirements through means other than the completion of Cal-GETC.

Appendix A: Cal-GETC, CCC, CSU system Catalog Rights Chart*+

	Enrolled in CCC system Summer 2025 or earlier	Enrolled in CCC system Fall 2025 or later
High school students, including those dually and concurrently enrolled in high school	Advise to follow IGETC before Summer 2025, place on Cal-GETC Fall 2025. Student has no catalog rights to CSU Breadth through CCC enrollment because CSU defines dual enrollment as first-time freshman (see CSU admissions handbook FAQ: http://www.calstate.edu/attend/student-services/Documents/csu-admission-handbook.pdf)	Considered a new student, place on the Cal-GETC pattern
High school graduates, including dually and concurrently enrolled, who enroll in a 4 year university after graduation	Advise to follow IGETC before Summer 2025, place on Cal-GETC Fall 2025. Student has no catalog rights to CSU Breadth through CCC enrollment because CSU defines dual enrollment as first-time freshman (see CSU admissions handbook FAQ: http://www.calstate.edu/attend/student-services/Documents/csu-admission-handbook.pdf)	Considered a new student, place on the Cal-GETC pattern
Continuous CCC student	Student has CCC and CSU catalog rights if attendance in regular terms.	Student has CCC and CSU catalog rights if attendance in regular terms.
Continuous CSU student	Student has CSU and CCC catalog rights if attendance in regular terms.	Student has CSU and CCC catalog rights if attendance in regular terms.
Non-credit student	Has no catalog rights to CCC system. If taking credit courses, advise to follow IGETC before Summer 2025, place on Cal-GETC Fall 2025. Student has no catalog rights to CSU Breadth through CCC enrollment because CSU defines non-credit student as first-time freshman (see CSU admissions handbook FAQ: http://www.calstate.edu/attend/student-services/Documents/csu-admission-handbook.pdf)	Considered a new student, place on the Cal-GETC pattern

Note: The UC has no systemwide catalog rights policy. UC will continue to accept appropriate CCC certifications of IGETC and Cal-GETC for incoming students for the time being.

*See entire Cal-GETC Administrative Implementation Guidance Memo here: http://ccctransfer.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/calgetc-administrative-implementation-guidance-memo-20240214-a11y.pdf

+Catalog rights to CR’s degree requirements may differ from CCC’s Cal-GETC catalog requirements. See CR’s catalog rights here: http://redwoods.elumenapp.com/catalog/2024-2025/standards1#mainContent