4 Tips for Stress-Free Transfer

Planning your transfer doesn't have to be a headache.  Follow these four tips for better planning and worry-free transfer!

1.  Meet with your advisor early and often.

Academic advisors at the community college and university are your key to a smooth transfer.  Plan to meet with your advisor regularly to ensure you are on track to meet degree requirements.

Resources:

• Advisor Search

2.  Pay attention to deadlines.

Keep in mind the various deadlines for financial aid applications, university admission, community college graduation, etc.  Find these important dates and mark them on your calendar.

Resources:

• ASU Academic Calendar

• NAU Academic Calendar

• UA Academic Calendar

3.  Make decisions early.

Save time by deciding on (and sticking with) a plan of study early on in your college career.  Choosing your community college and university majors as soon as possible will help you avoid taking unnecessary courses.  You can also save time by deciding on your transfer university early and taking advantage of transfer pathways.  Unsure about what to study? Your community college advisor can help you with career advisement to align your studies with career fields that interest you.

Resources:

• Major Guides

• Bachelor's Degree Search

• AGEC

4.  Choose courses wisely.

In addition to using the Course Equivalency Guide on AZTransfer.com to make sure your community college courses are transferable to the university, here are a few other points to consider before enrolling:

• Find out what the prerequisites are for university courses and work them in to your associate’s degree plan.
• Start and finish lower-division math and science courses early on in your community college career.
• Learn about the bachelor’s degree you plan to earn and ensure your transfer coursework will fulfill the requirements of that degree.

Resources:

• Major Guides

• Bachelor's Degree Search

• AGEC

Class of 2014: Are You Transfer Ready?

Graduation is fast approaching for high school seniors throughout Arizona.  As you make plans for life after high school, it is important to consider all options and have a variety of possibilities for what's next.  One popular choice for students is to begin at a local community college and then transfer on to Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, or the University of Arizona to earn a bachelor's degree.

Using AZTransfer, you can plan a smooth and seamless university transfer experience in Arizona.  You may have friends and family who, in the past, took courses that didn't transfer.  This doesn't have to happen to you! With AZTransfer, you can make every credit count and avoid the frustration of finding out a community college course you took won't apply at the university.

Class of 2014, be transfer ready by following these four simple tips:

1. Plan community college coursework to ensure it is transferrable.  Using the Course Equivalency Guide while choosing community college courses, you can be certain the classes you plan to take will also earn credit at the university when you're ready to transfer.
2. Determine any transferrable credit already earned.  Many high school students have already earned college credit through Dual Enrollment courses and exams for credit such as AP, IB, or CLEP exams.  Check the Dual Enrollment page to find out how your courses transfer, and search the Exam Equivalency Guide to learn if your exam scores can translate into college credit.
3. Focus on Arizona General Education Curriculum courses.  AGEC courses are the foundation of any degree.  When you complete the 35-37 credits of AGEC courses they transfer as a block to the university and guarantee your admission.  It's the best place to start for any community college student and is especially important for transfer students.  
4. Visit your community college advisor early and often.  AZTransfer has great tools to get you started and support your educational planning, but it is critical to visit with your community college advisor to ask questions and receive guidance that is specific to your education.

Still need help getting started? Check out our Step-By-Step Guide, High School Student Portal, and FAQ & Help Section.

Congratulations, Class of 2014, and good luck!

All About the Course Equivalency Guide

What is the Course Equivalency Guide?
The Course Equivalency Guide (CEG) shows how courses taken at one school transfer to another school. Typically, the "source" school is an Arizona community college and the "target" school is an Arizona university (ASU, NAU, or UA).

How do I use the CEG Quick Search?

1. From the CEG home page, enter the prefix and number of the course. To see all courses for a subject, leave the course number blank.
2. Choose the community college where the course is offered.
3. Choose the university you want to transfer to, or choose "show all universities" to see how your course transfers to all three universities.

What do the icons in the CEG mean?
The various icons in the CEG designate different types of courses. 

 - Arizona General Education Course
 - Shared Unique Number Course
 - Dual Enrollment Course
 - Course that is eligible for credit by exam


How will my course transfer?

Direct equivalent. The source course is accepted as substantially equivalent to the target school's course. The term "equivalent" does not mean that the source course is identical to the target course, but that the course is regarded as fulfilling the same requirement(s) as the target course. Courses accepted as direct equivalents by one department may be accepted as a departmental elective or elective by another department. Community college courses that are direct equivalents to university upper-division courses transfer as equivalent, but with lower-division credit. These courses will not need to be repeated, but will not count toward the required number of upper-division credits.

Departmental Elective Credit. Courses accepted as departmental elective credit (DEC) will not count as a specific course at a target school but may count as overall credits in your academic program. For example, a course listed as "ENG Departmental Elective" may be counted as elective credit in English. University programs may not allow, or may limit, the number of elective credits in the departmental area. Courses accepted as DEC by one department may be accepted as elective credit by other departments.

Elective Credit. Courses designated as elective credit (E) do not have a direct course equivalency at the target school and may not count within any particular department or major but may count as a general elective.

Non-Transferable. A non transferable course will not be accepted for credit at the target school.


Reading the CEG - Examples

One-to-one equivalencies. This is a source course with direct course equivalencies at each university.

Future equivalencies. An equivalency that has been established for a future term.

Changing equivalencies. This happens when a source course is modified, resulting in a change of equivalency. 

End-dated equivalencies. These are courses being deleted or ended at the source school. In this example, it is indicated by the statement "valid through" and that there is no future equivalency.

Blank cells. In some cases there are blank cells because course evaluation may be pending. 

Course title not available. This may appear because the source course is no longer taught but has not yet been deleted from the CEG, or the source course data may need to be updated by the source school.


What limitations should I know about?

Generally, the following types of courses are not intended for transfer and may not appear in the CEG. Please see an advisor for specific information.

• Remedial / Developmental courses or courses numbered below 100
• Arizona Government University courses
• Cooperative education
• Experimental courses
• Post-baccalaureate courses
• Contractual training for business, industry, and government

University to university equivalencies for ASU, NAU, and UA may not include all courses offered by each of the universities. As courses are evaluated for university to university transfer they will be included in the CEG.