PROGRESS REPORT
ON
ARTICULATION AND TRANSFER
FOR
ARIZONA PUBLIC
POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
2007

Submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee
By
The Arizona Board of Regents
and
The Arizona Community Colleges
December 14, 2007

Table of Contents
2006-07 Highlights………………………………………………………………………………………………….3
Background………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4
Articulating Postsecondary Academic Programs and Courses………………………………5
Arizona Transfer Articulation Systems…..……………………………………………………………….7
Curriculum and Policy………………………………………………………………………….
Support Systems …………………………………………………………………….…………8
Jointly Identifying and Meeting the State’s Postsecondary Needs……………………..13
Evaluation of Arizona’s Transfer Articulation System …………………………………………14
Appendices:
1. Arizona State-Wide Higher Education Collaborative Relationships.….……..18
2. 2007-08 JCC Membership ………………………………………………………….…….……….20
3. APASC Strategic Plan 2006-09……………………………………………………….….……..21
4. Executive Summary Report by Hezel Associates …………………………..………..23

2

Highlights
•

The percent of students transferring from an Arizona community college to
one of the universities has increased 300% in 6 years: from 12% in 2002 to
36% in 2007. The AGEC satisfies the lower division general education
requirements at all of the universities and is the foundation of the Arizona
transfer model.

•

The results of a study of Arizona’s transfer articulation system by the
consulting firm of Hezel Associates found that transfer students who had
completed the Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC) were more
successful at the three public universities (better retention, better graduation
rates, and fewer credits at graduation) than other transfer students with
comparable credits at transfer. In addition, over a 5-year period, the number
of credits completed for a baccalaureate degree by transfer students dropped
by an average of 12 credits, i.e., the equivalent of one semester. The full
report is available at http://az.transfer.org/cas/admin/index.html.

•

Alignment between courses taken at the community college and university
majors has been improved through continued development of “major guides”
for common majors at the Arizona public universities. These guides allow
students to see the specific courses required for lower-division preparation for
the major at a university that can be completed at the community college.

•

During the January 2006 APASC Retreat, the APASC Goals were aligned with
the JCC Recommendations to ensure appropriate consideration as the plan to
achieve the goals is being implemented.

•

APASC is initiating an outreach to high school students to promote higher
education, including options for community college enrollment and transfer to
baccalaureate granting institutions. A DVD went into production in the
summer of 2007 and is scheduled for delivery to Arizona high schools in the
Fall 2007.

•

Significant improvements to the transfer articulation website (AzCAS) are
underway. These improvements are being funded by the Arizona Board of
Regents through Proposition 301 funds.

•

APASC and the Maricopa Community College District hosted the 4th National
Biennial Conference on Transfer and Articulation in July at the Tempe Mission
Palms. It brought together researchers, administrators, and practitioners from
across the country and Canada, to discuss the transfer process, student
services and the transfer culture. From that conference, initial efforts to
create a national organization specifically focused on transfer students is
underway.

3

2007 Progress Report
ARTICULATION AND TRANSFER FOR
ARIZONA PUBLIC POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
BACKGROUND
In 1996, the Arizona Legislature directed the state’s public community colleges
and universities to cooperate in articulating course transfers and academic
programs, and to collaborate in identifying and meeting the postsecondary
education needs of Arizona citizens. In response to this legislative direction, the
Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) and the State Board of Directors for
Community Colleges of Arizona (SBDCCA) enhanced existing collaborative efforts
and implemented services and procedures.
When the SBDCCA was
disestablished by the state legislature in 2003, the community college
responsibilities were assumed by their district governing boards. The oversight
of the Joint Conference Committee (JCC) consisting of members of both the
public universities and community college districts has ensured cooperation and
collaboration. As required, regular progress reports have been submitted to the
legislature, 1996-2002 from ABOR and SBDCCA and since 2003, from ABOR and
the community colleges through the Arizona Community Colleges Association
(ACCA).
•

Since 1996, the report has outlined progress in implementing a new statewide
transfer model.
The model was designed by the statewide Transfer
Articulation Task Force (TATF) and is now being guided by the JCC with the
aid of the Academic Program Articulation Steering Committee (APASC), a
group of community college and university academic officers. The TATF
designated the JCC and APASC as the groups responsible for overseeing and
implementing the new transfer model.

•

Since 1998, the report to the Legislature has addressed a collaborative
process to identify and meet statewide postsecondary needs. The process
was developed by the statewide Higher Education Study Committee (HESC),
and is being continued by the JCC.

The progress report that follows addresses both postsecondary needs and
articulation. It is submitted to the legislature in response to state statute. The
text of the statute is shown below.
ARS 15-1824. Transfer Articulation; annual report.
The community colleges and universities shall cooperate in operating a statewide articulation and transfer system,
including the process for transfer of lower division general education credits, general elective credits and curriculum
requirements for approved majors to facilitate the transfer of community college students to Arizona public universities
without a loss of credit toward a baccalaureate degree and that the post secondary education needs of students statewide
are met without unnecessary duplication of programs.
B. The Arizona board of regents and the community colleges shall submit an annual report of their progress on both
articulation and meeting statewide postsecondary education needs to the joint legislative budget committee on or before
December 15 and shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state and the director of the Arizona state
library, archives and public records.

4

ARTICULATING POSTSECONDARY ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND COURSES

Overview
Collaborative leadership provided by the Arizona Board of Regents and Arizona
community colleges has enabled the ongoing successful implementation of the
Transfer Model.
The Academic Program Articulation Steering Committee
(APASC) has responsibility for the oversight of the implementation and
evaluation of the model. Regular reports were made to the Joint Conference
Committee.
During this year, there has been continuous improvement and on-going
refinement of the many components of the model. Significant efforts have been
made to ensure that accurate and timely information is available to the various
task forces, committees, and students regarding policies and processes. The
implementation of the model has been facilitated through the efforts of the staff
and the appropriate use of technology.
In an effort to improve accountability, the first comprehensive study of Arizona’s
transfer articulation system, based on the model established in 1996, was
commissioned by APASC and completed in May 2007 by Hezel Associates,
Syracuse, NY.
Strategic Plan Updated
In their January 2007 annual retreat, APASC members updated their strategic
plan to reflect the goals and objectives for 2006-2009. Additionally, the five
APASC Goals were aligned with the six JCC Recommendations. (See Appendix 3).
Joint Conference Committee (JCC)
Six Recommendations for Increased Access to Baccalaureate Degrees.
In 2006-07, the universities and community colleges reported on their progress
in implementing a set of recommendations developed by the JCC during 200506. These six recommendations guide the community colleges and universities
in collaboratively improving affordable access to the baccalaureate degree.
These recommendations have received support and approval by the Arizona
Board of Regents and the Arizona Community College Association. The
Governor’s P-20 Council has endorsed the first four recommendations. They
address increasing the transfer credits from community college programs which
are applicable to certain university degrees, expanding institutional partnerships
and developing alternative funding mechanisms, and creating a pathway for
expanding baccalaureate degrees at the community colleges.
In addition, a workgroup of community college and university members,
appointed by the chair of the JCC, began developing a formal process to
implement Recommendation V: “Develop A Pathway For Baccalaureate Degrees
At Community Colleges”.

5

Evaluation of the Transfer Model
In November 2006, Hezel Associates of Syracuse, New York, was selected,
following a competitive bid process, to conduct a study of the effectiveness of
Arizona’s transfer articulation system, with a focus on the transfer model. This
was the first formal study of transfer articulation in Arizona. The study was
completed in May 2007, with the final report presented to the JCC on May 16.
Overall, Arizona’s transfer system received high marks. Two striking results
reflect the strength of this system:
¾ Students who complete the Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC)
at the community college are significantly more successful when they
transfer to a university than other transfer students (better retention,
better graduation rates, and fewer credits completed at graduation).
AGEC is available at all of the community colleges and meets the lower
division general education requirements at all of the public universities in
Arizona.
¾ In a 5-year period, the average number of credits completed for a
baccalaureate degree by all transfer students dropped by an average of
12 credits, i.e., the equivalent of one semester. This change represents
not only a significant savings to students but a decrease in the time it
takes for students to enter the workforce, and attests to the efforts by a
multitude of individuals at the community colleges and universities to
improve the transfer experience for students.
These findings confirm the strength of Arizona’s transfer model.
For a brief overview of the study, please refer to page 12. For the executive
summary of the Hezel report, Evaluation of Arizona’s Transfer Articulation
System, please see Appendix IV.

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THE ARIZONA TRANSFER MODEL and
THE ARIZONA TRANSFER ARTICULATION SUPPORT SYSTEMS (ATASS)
Curriculum and Policy
A. Continued Process for Planning and Implementing Change
The transfer model was designed to allow for flexibility at the institutional level
and to support the dynamic needs of college and university curriculum.
•
•
•

B.

During the last year, guidelines for transferring back credits from a
university to the community college to AGEC and/or degree completion
were developed and distributed
General consensus was reached in the Physics, Physical Sciences, and
Astronomy ATF (Articulation Task Force) for AP score commonality
among the community colleges, and among the universities.
Two new discipline specific ATF, 1) Women’s Studies and 2) Parks &
Recreation, Tourism & Nonprofit Management, were initiated, bringing to
39 discipline specific ATFs.

Training for Articulation Task Force Chairs

Training for all Articulation Task Force (ATF) Chairs was continued this year. ATF
Chair Training continues to be delivered at the institutional level. This reflects
the strength at participating institutions in local expertise about ATF processes
and goals, and the strong institutional commitment to support of the ATFs.
C.

Arizona General Education Curriculum

Students Completing AGEC Continue to Increase
• The percent of students transferring from an Arizona community college to
one of the universities has increased 300% in 6 years: from 12% in 2002 to
36% in 2007.
• More than 5000 students completed the Arizona General Education
Curriculum (AGEC) during 2006-07, and approximately 20,000 have been
posted by the community colleges in the past six years.
As reported in the Hezel study, students who complete the AGEC at community
colleges are more successful when they transfer to the universities than are
other transfer students.
In addition to satisfying lower-division general
education requirements, completion of the AGEC guarantees admission to any of
Arizona's public universities.
Student Learning Outcomes
In June 2006, representatives of the General Education Articulation Task Force
(GEATF) and faculty representatives from the universities and community
colleges attended the American Association of Colleges and Universities Summer
Institute on General Education.
While each institution is responsible for
identifying and assessing its own student learning outcomes, the group has been

7

working to identify student learning outcomes categories in general education
that are common to all the institutions. The group presented their work to date
at the 4th Biennial Conference on Transfer and Articulation.
D. Promotion of Transfer Model
Sponsorship of the National Transfer Articulation Conference.
APASC and the Maricopa Community College District co-sponsored the 4th
National Biennial Conference on Transfer and Articulation, “Taking Transfer to a
Higher Degree: Systems, Structures, and Support for Student Success”, in July
2007.
In addition to providing a significant opportunity for learning and
professional development, the conference showcased three collaborative
endeavors in Arizona designed to better serve the transfer process and our
shared transfer students. All three programs ranked among the top six (of
eighteen) based on participant evaluations. The programs were:
1. Developing an “Upside Down 2+2” (articulation being done in allied
health fields)
2. Statewide General Education Student Learning Outcomes: A Grassroots
Effort (articulating general education by using outcomes)
3. Statewide Post-Secondary Learning Outcomes (the Languages ATF
reported on their common foreign language competencies.
Reaching Out to Arizona’s High Schools
APASC is initiating an outreach effort to Arizona’s high schools to promote higher
education. A DVD is in production specifically for high school juniors, who are
uncertain about their academic direction and/or future, to introduce them to the
coordinated efforts of the community colleges and universities. Created during
2006-07, the promotional video went into production during the summer of 2007
and should be released to the high schools in late Fall 2007.
E. Collaboration with the Governor’s P-20 Council
A key priority of the P-20 Council has been to establish more rigorous high
school graduation requirements and better content alignment between K-12 and
higher education. The initial focus has been on the alignment of math. Through
the P-20 Council, Arizona joined Achieve, Inc., a national organization that works
with states to develop high school-/higher education content alignment. The P20 Council contacted the Math ATF to identify math faculty from the community
colleges and universities to participate in the Achieve Alignment Institute; the
12-member state team also included representatives from the Arizona Board of
Education, the Arizona Department of Education and K-12 schools.
Support Systems
A. Consistent with the 1996 Transfer Articulation Task Force (TATF)
recommendations, the following components of a statewide approach to
management are in place to support the Arizona Transfer Articulation Support
System (ATASS).

8

1. ATF for Admissions and Records
The Admissions and Records ATF, created last year, met twice during the
last academic year. They participated in the Hezel study by identifying
individuals to survey as well as participating in the survey and in focus
groups. Since this is a relatively new ATF, they requested a presentation
from ASSIST staff to become more familiar with data that are provided
and the reports that can be generated. Additional discussion topics
included how institutions certify AGECs, AGECs “in progress”, and degrees
on transcripts since this process differs from one institution to another; the
implications and implementation of Prop 300 regarding undocumented
alien students; admission criteria to the Honor’s Programs at the three
universities, and SAIS legislation.
2. Organizational Structure
The Business Continuity Plan, created in 2003 and adopted by each
participating institution, assures that procedures and resources are in
place on each campus to ensure continuity of CAS and ATASS services to
the community in the event of an interruption at the central state server
site, or at one or more of the participating colleges or universities.
3. Staffing
Six positions are funded jointly by the legislature, the community colleges
and the universities to support statewide efforts: two CAS technical
analysts; two ASSIST staff; a business analyst; and an articulation
facilitator. The staff has remained stable during this last academic year.
4. Program Articulation
The discipline-specific ATFs continue to review and, in some cases modify,
the decisions regarding pathways, common courses and other degree
requirements. APASC continues to encourage the ATFs to expand their
discussions to include joint curriculum planning.
• The Languages ATF has developed common student learning
outcomes for those disciplines.
• Arizona’s community colleges have provided data about AGEC
courses and requirements to a statewide AGEC database, housed in
CAS, using the CAS technical infrastructure to create and maintain
it.
• Alignment between courses taken at the community college and
university majors has been improved through continued
development of “major guides” for common majors at the Arizona
public universities. These guides allow students to see the specific
courses required for lower-division preparation for the major at that
university that can be completed at the community college.
• A new subcommittee has been appointed to address the transition
from Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees to the Bachelor of
Applied Science (BAS) degrees offered at the state universities. A
major goal of this group is to provide clear information to students
on this option.

9

5. ATF Responsibilities
The Articulation Facilitator is responsible for monitoring the activities and
decisions of the 39 Articulation Task Forces. This upcoming year, as the
ATF Effectiveness Committee continues to meet, input will be requested
from existing ATFs to ensure that their issues are being addressed, some
of which include: dwindling resources to support hosting and/or
participation in meetings; assessing the effectiveness and desirability of
the current configuration of some of the ATFs; dealing with
interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary academic areas; training; etc.
6. Accountability
APASC commissioned the first state-wide evaluation of the transfer model,
specifically, and transfer articulation, in general, during this past academic
year. The study, described elsewhere in this report, was conducted by
Hezel Associates, Syracuse, NY, and will provide key guidance for
improving Arizona’s transfer system.
7. Institutional Participation
APASC conducts an annual analysis of institutional participation in the
discipline-specific Articulation Task Forces and other committees by
monitoring member attendance and reporting back to the chief academic
officers of the institutions when lack of attendance is identified. Last year’s
participation was better than the previous year’s.
8. Advising and Transfer Student Ombudspersons
A key provision of the 1996 transfer model design was improved academic
advising, and one of the priorities for APASC has been to support efforts to
provide timely, accurate and effective advising for transfer students.
•
•
•
•
•

The Advising ATF has continued this effort, providing information for
students at the campus and statewide level.
The number of reported transfer issues has dramatically decreased
over the past few years.
Each community college and university catalog and website include
the relevant transfer policies and procedures.
The Advising ATF held its annual statewide conference in May 2007,
offering sessions in a variety of topics on advising and transfer in
Arizona.
The Hezel study reiterated the importance of academic advising to
the success of transfer students. Based in part on the study’s
recommendations, improving advisor training and communication
will be a focus this coming year, as will working on a “Transfer
Student Rights and Responsibilities” document for students.

B. Computer-Based Systems
The Arizona Transfer Articulation Support Systems (ATASS) budget
appropriation has provided the resources necessary for on-going maintenance
and development of the Course Applicability System (CAS) and the Arizona
State System for Information on Student Transfer (ASSIST).

10

1. Course Applicability System (CAS): The original scope of the CAS project is
fully implemented. There have been upgrades in all of the software
programs that support CAS. The Arizona CAS technical analysts are ready
to implement the new CAS version when it becomes available.
The Course Applicability System (CAS) website currently experiences peak
usage of nearly 4300 unique visitors per week, with a weekly usage
averaging around -4000 unique visitors per week.
2. Arizona State System for Information on Student Transfer (ASSIST)
The ASSIST database currently holds records for nearly 2 million current
and former students. Most institutions have provided up to seven years of
basic enrollment, degree, and course data.
•
•
•
•
•

•

•

ASSIST continues to be utilized by many community college districts to
meet their Carl Perkins III reporting requirements for the federal
government.
ASSIST is also used to process Student Right-to-Know information.
Starting this year, ASSIST data are being used by many community
colleges to comply with the new Dual Enrollment Course reporting
requirements of the state government.
In March of 2007, ASSIST issued the second edition of the ASSIST
Data Documentation Notebook.
Two issues of the electronic newsletter were distributed to the 73
authorized community college and university ASSIST users and
Steering Committee members during the year. The newsletter typically
contains updates on the data model, reminders of data submission due
dates, and tips on using the software.
The capabilities of the ASSIST database were also demonstrated at the
annual spring meeting attended by 25 ASSIST users from around the
universities and community colleges. The focus of the demonstrations
this year was to review preliminary reports that track university firstyear persistence rates, graduation rates, and performance related to
university GPA. This work is a continuation of the efforts to develop
measures related to student success and the effectiveness of the
transfer model.
Considerable effort was devoted this year to working with the
consultants from Hezel Associates in their evaluation of the transfer
model. Approximately 60 data variables were extracted and provided
along with individual data variable definitions. Using these ASSIST
variables, Hezel examined persistence rates, time to graduation, GPAs,
and credits at graduation to report on the academic success of transfer
students under the Arizona Transfer Articulation model.

3. Resources
The state, the universities, and the community college districts jointly fund
the technical and online support services. Initially, the state funded 60
percent of the budget and the universities and community colleges
contributed the remaining 40 percent. As the system has increased in size
and complexity, additional resources have been needed, which the

11

institutions have provided. The universities and community colleges now
fund approximately 70 percent of the transfer system’s total budget and
the state allocation is about 30 percent. Because of the inclusion of both
Dine College and Tohono O’odham Community College, they too, will be
contributing financial resources to the system.
In response to the Hezel study recommendations, The Arizona Board of
Regents has committed $125,000 of one-time funds to APASC for the
upgrade of the transfer articulation web resources. One project will
improve the organization, navigation and “look” of the AzCAS website,
based on recommendations from the Hezel report. Another project will
expand the functionality and is described in # 4 below.
4. Interface Management Systems Contract
APASC in support of its mission to improve the effectiveness of the
transfer model, has entered into a contract with Interface Management
Systems (IMS), funded by ABOR, which will provide students attending
Arizona’s public institutions with the ability to import course work into the
Course Applicability System (CAS), to develop a personal planning guide.
Planning guides are designed to provide students with an unofficial degree
audit, showing how the courses they have completed at Arizona public
post-secondary institutions apply toward their anticipated baccalaureate
degrees. Currently, generating a planning guide requires a student to
hand-enter each course. Students indicated in a recent survey that this
can be a deterrent to using this tool. With the interface provided by IMS,
students will be able to request that their academic records be sent to the
Arizona’s CAS system by simply pushing a few keys.

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JOINTLY IDENTIFYING AND MEETING THE STATE’S
POSTSECONDARY NEEDS
During 2006-07, the Arizona public community colleges and universities have
acted jointly to meet the postsecondary needs of Arizona citizens. Through the
oversight of the Joint Conference Committee of the Universities and Community
Colleges (JCC) and the activities of APASC, there are on-going opportunities for
the community colleges and the universities to work together to plan and
develop academic programs and articulation agreements.
In 2005-06, the JCC embarked on an initiative to address expansion of access to
baccalaureate degrees in Arizona. Building on the infrastructure of Arizona’s
transfer model, the JCC developed six specific recommendations for providing
increased access to affordable baccalaureate degrees through greater
collaboration between the public community colleges and universities. These
recommendations address the following:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.

Increase transfer credits for select programs
Increase the number and scope of community college-university
partnerships
Establish joint funding models
Expand Arizona University System campuses and statewide
programs
Develop a pathway for baccalaureate degrees at community
colleges
Explore the need and create a pathway for a 4-year regional
degree granting college.

These recommendations were endorsed by the Arizona Board of Regents and the
Arizona Community College Association during the spring of 2006; the
Governor’s P-20 Council, has endorsed the first four recommendations. In 200607, the universities and community colleges reported to the JCC on their efforts
to implement these recommendations. In addition, a workgroup of community
college and university members, appointed by the chair of the JCC, began
developing a formal process to implement Recommendation IV.
These
recommendations and the efforts to implement and expand them provide further
evidence of the collaborative efforts of public higher education in Arizona

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EVALUATION OF ARIZONA’S TRANSFER ARTICULATION SYSTEM
Overview
In September 2006, the Academic Program Articulation Steering Committee
(APASC) issued an RFP for a consultant to study the effectiveness of transfer
articulation between Arizona’s public community colleges and universities. The
contract was awarded to Hezel Associates, Syracuse NY, for $85,000 with funds
from the state-wide Arizona Transfer Articulation Support System (ATASS)
budget. Resources for the ATASS budget are provided by the universities, the
community colleges, and the state legislature.
The full report., Evaluation of Arizona’s Transfer Articulation System, is
available at http://az.transfer.org/cas/admin/index.html. The executive
summary will be found in Appendix A of this report.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the effectiveness of a new transfer
model established by a statewide study group in 1996, at the direction of the
state legislature. This is the first study of the system that has been conducted.
Methods Used for the Study
The methods for conducting the study included web-based surveys and focus
groups of key constituents state-wide (students, faculty, academic advisors and
certain staff groups), an extensive analysis of the data provided by ASSIST on
student success, and an analysis of the use of the Arizona Transfer Articulation
Support System website.
Key Findings
Hezel Associates reported the results of the study to the Joint Conference
Committee of the Universities and Community Colleges (JCC) at their May 16,
2007 meeting and submitted the final written report in early June. Key findings
noted are:
•

The Arizona transfer system is functioning well, and while there are areas
that need improvement, large scale changes are not necessary.

•

Overall, stakeholders (students, faculty, staff and advisors) are satisfied
with the system. Between 84%-98% of respondents by group are
somewhat satisfied or better with transfer articulation.

•

Students who complete the Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC)
showed the best results for all points of comparison related to transfer
student success: persistence at a university; grade point average at the
university; time to graduation and credits at graduation with a
baccalaureate degree. The findings confirmed the strength of this
cornerstone of the transfer system.

•

The most striking results shows that over a 5-year period, the number of
credits completed for a baccalaureate degree by transfer students dropped
by an average of 12 credits, i.e., the equivalent of one semester. This

14

change represents not only a significant savings to students but a
decrease in the time it takes students to enter the workforce.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Based on the survey results from open-ended questions and focus group
outcomes, Hezel Associates identified overall strengths and weaknesses of the
transfer system. Ironically, the lists are fairly similar. Over the next few
months, state-wide articulation committees will be using the surveys and focus
groups report to better pinpoint how best to address the weaknesses.
Strengths
•
•
•
•

Ease of transfer and the fact that courses are guaranteed to transfer
Available information resources, such as the course equivalency guide and
the CAS [ATASS] website
Communication and collaboration between the community colleges and
universities
Consistency and ease of use

Weaknesses
•
•
•
•
•

Lack of consistency in information among institutions
Problems with communication (meaning what?)
Too many changes being made by the institutions resulting in out of date
information
Transfer system is too complicated and difficult to use
Lack of awareness among and use by students

Recommendations for Improvement
The report lists nine recommendations for improvement, which are summarized
below and excerpted from the Hezel Report. These recommendations are
included in greater detail in the executive summary of the report, (Attachment A)
which follows.
1. ABOR and the community colleges should sponsor a campaign to
increase student awareness of the components of the Arizona
transfer system…
All students who plan to transfer from an Arizona community college to a
university should be aware of all of the options available to aid in their transfer
experience
2. Advisors should be given additional and on-going training to
ensure that they are fully aware of all components of the system
so they can help students make the best decisions for their
individual situations.
•

Training should be standardized at both the university and community
college levels…

15

•

Academic advising is perhaps the most critical part of the entire
transfer system and process for students. …. good advising seems to
be a critical contributor to student success.

3. University and community college personnel should improve and
increase the volume of communications regarding articulation and
transfer.
•

Universities and community colleges should establish policies and
practices to discuss curricular changes that impact each other.

4. The transfer system and its individual components should be
streamlined to improve clarity, understanding, functionality and
efficiency.
•
•

Respondents expressed confusion regarding the transfer pathway
degrees … and it is clear that too many options exist, even for the
savviest students.
The AGECs also provide too many options and exceptions, and
program-specific transfer articulation partnerships have further
complicated the system.

5. The Arizona transfer website should be redesigned as a portal for
advisors, faculty, staff and especially students.
•

Once the website redesign has been completed, a marketing campaign
should be conducted to publicize the site to students. Two-thirds of
student survey respondents had never visited the site, a figure that is
far too high considering the vast amount of information available to
them through the site.

6. All information and resources, electronic and print, should be
updated in a timely manner to reflect policy or procedural changes.
7. The community colleges and universities should standardize their
administrative processes related to the transfer system, such as
the way in which AGEC and AGEC in progress are designated on
student transcripts.
•

Standardization will result in less confusion among staff and fewer
delays and problems for students.

8. The universities should increase their commitment to transfer
students by creating student-oriented transfer offices or centers
where students can find advisors, orientation programs and onestop/quick-stop answers.
•

Alternatively, the universities could designate a transfer-oriented staff
person in each appropriate office on campus, such as admissions,
academic advising, student affairs, registrars, etc.

16

9. The community college application process should include an early
alert system focusing on “older” students who have stopped out,
or have been out of school for more than ten years.
•

This system will redress ongoing problems associated with archived
student records specific to this group of students

Next Steps
• The Hezel report will be a valuable source of information on transfer
articulation for some time to come. There is a considerable amount of
information that needs additional review and analysis by stakeholders and key
articulation groups.
•

During the next academic year, APASC will take the lead in involving these
groups (discipline-specific faculty groups, academic advisors, admissions and
records staffs, and others) in reviewing the report and in addressing the
recommendations. Outcomes of the review and plans to implement
recommendations will be reported to the JCC.

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APPENDIX 1
ARIZONA STATE-WIDE HIGHER EDUCATION
COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Arizona Board of Regents

Arizona Community Colleges

\/

\/

Joint Conference Committee (JCC)
Academic Program Articulation Steering Committee (APASC)
\/

Academic Program Articulation Steering Committee (APASC)
(Community College and University Chief Academic Officers or designees)
Arizona Transfer Articulation Support
System (ATASS)

ƒ

Course Applicability System (CAS)
(delete this blank line)
Arizona State System for Information on
Student Transfer (ASSIST)
Technical Analysts for CAS and Data
Warehouse
ATASS Business Analyst

ƒ

Articulation Facilitator

ƒ
ƒ
ƒ

Arizona Transfer Articulation
Committee (ATAC)
ƒ
Community College Curriculum
Coordinators
ƒ
University Curriculum Coordinators
Articulation Task Forces (ATFs)
ƒ

Discipline-Specific ATFs

ƒ

General Education ATF

ƒ

Academic Advising ATF and Transfer
Students Ombudspersons (TSOs)

ƒ

Admissions and Records ATF

The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) is the governing board for the state public
universities and is directed in legislative statute to address transfer articulation with the
Arizona community colleges. The Joint Conference Committee (JCC) consists of
members from ABOR as well as universities and community colleges. The JCC oversees
the work of the Academic Program Articulation Steering Committee (APASC), the Arizona
Transfer Articulation Committee (ATAC), the statewide Articulation Task Forces, the
Articulation Facilitator and other ATASS personnel.
The Academic Program Articulation Steering Committee (APASC) consists of
community college and university chief academic officers. APASC oversees the work of
ATASS, the ATAC Committee, and the Articulation Task Forces.
The Arizona Transfer Articulation Support System (ATASS) consists of the
Articulation Facilitator, the Course Applicability System (CAS), the Arizona State System
for Information on Student Transfer (ASSIST), and Technical Analysts for CAS and
ASSIST. Resources for ATASS are provided jointly by the Arizona Legislature, the public
community colleges, and the public universities.
The Arizona Transfer Articulation Committee (ATAC) manages the operational
procedures of transfer articulation between and among Arizona’s public post-secondary
institutions. ATAC meets to resolve issues related to course equivalencies and to
recommend transfer policy changes to APASC.

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ARTICULATION TASK FORCE STRUCTURE
♦ Discipline-Specific Articulation Task Forces (ATFs): There are 39 disciplinespecific ATFs consisting of community college and university faculty. Each
community college or university that offers courses in a given area is eligible
for ATF membership. ATFs meet at least once per year to discuss and
recommend how community college courses transfer to the universities.
The ATFs include:
Administration of Justice Studies, Agriculture, Allied
Health, Anthropology, Art, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Communication,
Computer, Early Childhood Education, Economics, Education, Engineering,
English, Exercise Science-Health and Physical Education-Recreation-and
Wellness, Family and Consumer Sciences, Geography, Geology, History,
Hospitality, Humanities, Interior Design, Journalism and Media Arts,
Languages, Mathematics, Music, Nursing, Parks and Recreation, Tourism &
Nonprofit Management, Philosophy, Physics-Physical Science-and Astronomy,
Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Social Work, Sociology,
Technology, Theatre Arts and Women’s Studies.
♦ Academic Advising Articulation Task Force (AAATF): The AAATF focuses
on advising issues affecting community colleges and universities. Its
membership includes administrators, and faculty and academic advisors. The
Advising ATF provides support for Transfer Student Ombudspersons (TSOs)
who help students with transfer transitions at each community college and
university.
♦ General Education Articulation Task Force (GEATF): The GEATF is
responsible for designing and monitoring the Arizona General Education
Curriculum (AGEC) which is a prescribed core of courses that transfer from
the community colleges to the universities to satisfy general education
requirements.
The GEATF membership includes faculty and academic
administrators from each cc district and the universities.
♦ Admissions and Records Articulation Task Force (A&R ATF): This ATF
was formed in response to a need to develop better communications related
to the recording of student completion of the components of the transfer
model and to insure that policies and their implementation are clear and
consistently applied. Further, this group will be the focal point for issues
regarding the implementation of Prop. 300.

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APPENDIX 2
The Joint Conference Committee (JCC)
•

The JCC was established in 1981 by the Arizona Board of Regents and the
State Board of Directors for Community Colleges of Arizona to provide
oversight of agreements between the community colleges and universities
that enhance the access of students throughout the state to four-year degree
programs. With the disestablishment of the SBDCCA in 2003, the JCC is now
composed of members of the Arizona Board of Regents, a university
president, two community college presidents and two community college
district governing board members.

•

In addition to other JCC duties, the committee oversees implementation of
the recommendations included in the 1996 Report of the Transfer Articulation
Task Force (TATF) and the 1998 Report of the Higher Education Study
Committee (HESC). The JCC resolves disagreements that may arise in
implementing recommendations. The JCC is assisted in its oversight tasks by
the Academic Program Articulation Steering Committee (APASC). The JCC
meets no less than twice each year.

•

The list below identifies the members of the Joint Conference Committee
(JCC) for the year 2007-08
Community College Representatives

Arizona Board of Regents

Dr. Maria Hesse (Co-Chair)
President, Chandler- Gilbert Community
College

Dr. John Haeger
President, NAU (Co-Chair)

Dr. Brenda Even
Trustee, Pima CC District

Christina Palacios
Regent

John Lines
Trustee, Eastern Arizona College

Fred DuVal
Regent

Dr. James Horton
President, Yavapai College

Mary Venezia
Student Regent

Kathy Boyle
Executive Director
Arizona Community College Association

Joel Sideman
Executive Director
Arizona Board of Regents

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APPENDIX 3

Alignment of the APASC Goals with the JCC Recommendations
BACKGROUND
The Academic Program Articulation Steering Committee (APASC) has the following
mission statement: Provide leadership to create and sustain statewide
processes and relationships among higher education institutions in Arizona
to facilitate students’ completion of degrees. APASC reports to the JCC and
aligns its goals with the overarching directions set by the JCC to improve the
effectiveness of their joint efforts toward an effective transfer articulation system.
INFORMATION
At the January 2007 Retreat, APASC members conducted an initial exercise in
aligning the APASC goals with the JCC recommendations and developed
strategies for goal implementation. In most cases, each APASC goal can support,
in some way, more that one JCC recommendation. This document will be
reviewed again at the APASC retreat in January 2008. The alignments are as
follows:
Goal 1: Continuous improvement of the effectiveness of the ATF system.
Aligns with JCC Recommendations I: Increase transfer credits and
II: Increase scope of community college and university partnerships.
Ongoing communication among faculty and administrators who participate in the
discipline specific and non-discipline specific ATFs positively impacts
Recommendations I and II. Bringing faculty, staff and administrators together, at
least once annually, to discuss their programs, changes and concerns provides
an excellent venue to determine if specific university programs can accommodate
and/or encourage an increase in the number of community college course credits
transferred into a university. Additionally, to support an increase in the “number
and scope of community college - university partnerships” participants can
assess specific needs and propose, develop and/or implement partnerships to
meet those needs.
Goal 2: Assess and improve the transfer model.
Aligns with JCC Recommendations I: Increase transfer credits,
II: Increase scope of community college and university partnerships, and
III: Establish joint funding models.
Hezel and Associates are in the process of evaluating the transfer model/system
and their final report will be presented to the JCC in May. A more effective model
might be expanded to: determine if more community college credits can be
applied toward university degrees; investigate potential partnerships; and
recommend if/what joint funding opportunities should be pursued.

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Goal 3: Effective administration of ATASS.
Aligns with Recommendation III: Establish joint funding models.
Because ATASS is jointly funded by the Arizona public community colleges and
universities, and will soon include financial support from Arizona’s two tribal
colleges, it is imperative that the resources devoted to this enterprise are
managed effectively.
Goal 4: Effective communication regarding ATASS to relevant
constituents.
Aligns with all recommendations.
It was generally agreed that all of the JCC recommendations benefit when
constituents, which include but are not limited to: students; faculty; K-12
teachers and administrators; parents/guardians; legislators; college and
university administrators; business communities; etc., are informed about and
familiar with the transfer model/system.
Goal 5: Effective support of ATASS by state-of-the-art technology.
Aligns with all recommendations, potentially.
This goal is ongoing. Employing the latest technology can contribute to all of the
recommendations established by the JCC. State-of-the-art technology can:
enhance communication that has far reaching ramifications integral to the
success of both JCC recommendations and APASC goals; potentially support the
development and implementation of partnerships; incorporate new academic
programs from existing post-secondary institutions as well as those that emerge
from additional (branch) campuses and new institutions.
JCC Recommendations Summary
1. Increase transfer credits for select programs.
2. Increase the number and scope of community college-university
partnerships.
3. Establish joint funding models.
4. Expand Arizona University System campuses and statewide programs.
5. Develop a pathway for baccalaureate degrees at community colleges.
6. Explore the need and create a pathway for a 4-year regional degree
granting college.

22