Many terms and acronyms exist with regard to C-ID and articulation, and are listed below for your reference. Becoming familiar with these terms can be helpful in your work with C-ID.
AAM: Articulation Agreement by Major. Describes the lower division preparation in a major at a California State University.
AICCU: Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.
AOE: Area of Emphasis. Area of Emphasis is a TMC that is interdisciplinary and intended to serve a number of majors at the CSU.
ADT: Associate Degree for Transfer. The ADT is a degree that awards students with an Associate Degree from the California community college, and prepares for special benefits upon transfer to CSU.
AA/AS: Associate in Arts/Associate in Science.
AA-T/AS-T: Associate in Arts for Transfer/Associate in Science for Transfer.
ASSIST: Articulation System Stimulating Intersegmental Student Transfer.
ASCCC: Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. The ASCCC is a non- profit organization created to promote and advance the public community college education in California. The ASCCC works with the grantee of the C-ID RFA on implementing the C-ID system.
Articulation: As defined by the 2009 CIAC handbook: “Articulation refers specifically to course articulation: the process of developing a formal, written agreement that identifies courses (or sequences of courses) on a ‘sending’ campus that are comparable to, or acceptable in lieu of, specific course requirements at a ‘receiving’ campus. The CIAC handbook can be found at
AO: Articulation Officer. The process of faculty review leading to the articulation of courses between institutions is coordinated and facilitated by the articulation officer on each campus. The campus articulation officer has a vital, professional-level role that requires an extensive academic knowledge base, highly developed communication skills, and the ability to facilitate and coordinate every aspect of the complex and detailed articulation process on the campus.
CAN: California Articulation Number System (a project that is no longer active or utilized since 2005, but has informed the work of C-ID)
CCC: California Community College.
CCCCO: California Community College Chancellor’s Office.
CCCMC: California Community College Model Curriculum. Developed by a faculty discipline review group (FDRG) comprised of only CCC faculty, the CCCMC may be developed for certificates and/or degrees in the California community colleges.
CIAC: California Intersegmental Articulation Council. A professional organization of California college and university articulation personnel that meets regularly.
C-ID: Course Identification Numbering System. The supranumbering system designed to ease the transfer and articulation burden on the California community college system.
C-ID Course Descriptor: A description of a lower-division course commonly offered, developed by a team of intersegmental discipline faculty. See both the approved and draft C- ID course descriptors.
C-ID Designation and Identifier: The alphabetical identifier (example: ENG) and numerical identifier (example: 100) for each course descriptor (ENG 100).
CIP: Classification of Instructional Programs.
COR: “Course Outline of Record” The official course outline that is submitted by a CCC Articulation Officer to the C-ID website for review and potential assignment of C-ID designation.
CORE: Course Outline of Record Evaluator, consisting of full-time discipline faculty with curriculum experience from all higher education segments in California appointed by their segment academic senate to review courses.
COT: Chancellor’s Office Template. The COT is the template used by California community colleges to design degrees aligned to the Associate Degree for Transfer.
CSU: California State University.
CSUCO: California State University Chancellor’s Office.
CSU GE Breadth: According to CSU Mentor: “As part of the general education requirements for a bachelor’s degree, all CSU students must meet the minimum of 48 semester units of general education breadth requirement. The general education
requirement includes 39 semester units of lower-division (GE-Breadth) and at least nine units of upper-division courses, completed after transferring to the CSU.”
CTE: Career Technical Education.
DIG: Discipline Input Group. A meeting of faculty from all segments formed to initiate the discussion of C-ID course descriptors and a Transfer Model Curriculum. All faculty are welcome to attend and provide feedback.
DSN: Deputy Sector Navigator. Part of the Doing What Matters Initiative, DSNs belongs to a network of Deputy Sector Navigators within the same sector that is led and coordinated by the Sector Navigator (SN). The Chancellor’s Office communicates to the Deputy Sector Navigators through the Sector Navigators.
DWM: Doing What Matters. Doing What Matters for jobs and the economy is a four- pronged framework to respond to the call of our nation, state, and regions to close the skills gap. The DWM framework is working in partnership with C-ID to create descriptors and model curriculum for CTE disciplines.
FDRG: Faculty Discipline Review Group. The FDRG consists of full-time discipline faculty with curriculum experience from all higher education segments in California appointed by their segment academic senate. This group is responsible for developing C-ID course descriptors and Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC) or Model Curriculum (ISMC or CCCMC).
GE: General Education – A required pattern of courses covering a breadth of subjects thought to be useful for all college students regardless of major.
GECC: CSU GE Certification Course List by Area.
ICFW: Intersegmental Curriculum Faculty Workgroup. Faculty oversight committee that accepts and finalizes proposed transfer model curriculum (TMC) for a discipline. The committee is comprised of CCC and CSU faculty members.
ICW: Intersegmental Curriculum Workgroup. The ICW is the oversight committee responsible for the implementation of the SB 1440 mandate. The committee is comprised of CCC and CSU faculty, ASCCC, CCCCO, CSUCO, and CIAC representatives.
IGETC: Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum. A GE curriculum, comprised of specific courses at all 113 California community colleges, whose approval placement in IGETC is published on the ASSIST website. Students who complete the IGETC pattern of coursework are exempt from additional, lower-division general education requirements at the majority of public California universities.
IMPAC: Intersegmental Major Preparation Articulated Curriculum (a project that is no longer active or utilized, but has informed the work of C-ID)
ISMC: Intersegmental Model Curriculum. Developed by a faculty discipline review group (FDRG) comprised of CCC and CSU faculty, the ISMC may be developed for degrees in the California college system. Developed ISMCs may provide statewide benefits upon transfer to students who have completed an ISMC-aligned degree.
LDTP: CSU’s Lower Division Transfer Pattern Project. C-ID has worked in collaboration with LDTP and has incorporated several LDTP descriptors into C-ID. LDTP is no longer active, but has greatly informed and assisted the work of C-ID. [BAD LINK]
MC: Model Curriculum. A model curriculum provides a framework for the development of certificates or degrees that have some level of consistency.
OSCAR: Online Services for Curriculum and Articulation Review. OSCAR is a repository for California Community College course outline information to streamline CSU and UC review and update cycles. [BAD LINK]
PR: Primary Reviewer. The PR serves as the lead for existing disciplines undergoing the course review process.
SB 1440: Senate Bill 1440. Also referred to as the STAR Act. [BAD LINK]
SB 440: Senate Bill 440.
SN: Sector Navigator. Part of the Doing What Matters Initiative, SNs assist the community college system – its various advisories, consortia, and network — in connecting with industry associations and major employers and tracking industry trends that have workforce development implications.
STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. TOP Code: Taxonomy of Programs Code.
TMC: Transfer Model Curriculum. A Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC) describes the major component of a CCC associate degree. Each TMC consists of a minimum of 18 semester units that is intended to describe coursework that prepares a student for transfer into a CSU major (or majors) and consists of courses that comprise the major component of a CCC degree.
UC: University of California.
UCOP: University of California Office of the President.
UC TCA: UC Transfer Course Agreement. The UC TCA are the baseline for establishing transferability of community college courses to UC. Courses approved for UC TCA count as advanced standing elective credit toward an undergraduate degree at any UC campus, and may also be submitted for campus-specific articulation for IGETC.
UC Transfer Preparation Paths: This UC initiative identifies common lower division major preparation essential for transfer and outlines additional campus-specific requirements or conditions for admissions.