ERIC Review: An Examination of Non-Liberal-Arts Course Transferability in California.

Course catalogs and class schedules were examined from all 26 community colleges in California to determine the extent of non-liberal-arts course transferability by subject area to the California State University and to the University of California. When results were compared with a similar 1991 study, the data indicated that all of the subject areas, and particularly agriculture, experienced an increase in transferability to the California State University. In contrast, for the University of California, most of the subject areas remained stable with small increases or decreases in transferability. The author recommends periodic replication of this study to detect and confirm trends in course transferability.

The nonliberal arts trace their existence to the end of the 1800s. During this time, courses related to careers became common as universities were held responsible for training new entrants for the professions (Palmer, 1999). Prior to the expansion of the nonliberal arts, apprenticeships and other methods of on-the-job training served as the means through which a person gained the skills necessary to enter a profession.

Due to a variety of factors, the nonliberal arts have flourished in recent years (Cohen & Ignash, 1994). Cohen and Ignash (1994) found that a high percentage of non-liberal-arts courses transfer to four-year institutions. By itself, this factor may be responsible for illuminating the "validity" of courses outside of the liberal arts. A second cause is the increased prestige of the non-liberal-arts courses, which has resulted from the growing number of technical fields that require longer and more specialized schooling. In the 1994-95 academic year, approximately 57% of the associate degrees awarded were in fields outside of the arts and sciences (Snyder, Hoffman, & Geddes as cited in Palmer, 1999). According to Palmer (1999), the nonliberal arts accounted for slightly less than 50% of the total community college curriculum in studies conducted in 1991 and 1998. Consequently, the nonliberal arts should not be seen as a diversion from the baccalaureate degree (Cohen & Ignash, 1994).

Universities award credit for nearly all science, social science, and humanities courses taken at community colleges. However, the rest of the curricula--technical, trade, and vocational courses--do not transfer as readily. The general purpose of this research is to add to the existing knowledge of transfer and articulation policies by specifically focusing on course transferability in the nonliberal arts. This is important because many students who enter community colleges begin their studies in occupational or technical programs and later decide to transfer. In this vein, this study concentrates on the three systems of higher education in the state of California--the California Community Colleges, the California State University (CSU) System, and the University of California (UC) System--and coalesces around the issue of transfer.

For the purpose of this research, transfer describes the movement of a student from a community college to a four-year institution. In addition, transferability encompasses courses that are taken at a two-year college and accepted for credit at a four-year institution. Articulation refers to the "totality of services for students transferring throughout higher education, and transfer depicts the formulas developed to exchange credits, courses, and curriculums" (Kintzer as cited in Tobolowsky, 1998, p. 1).

Background from the Literature

From the beginning, American community colleges have promulgated transfer as one of their fundamental purposes in higher education. Cohen and Brawer (1996a, 1996b), based on an eight-year study of transfer rates, found national community college transfer rates hovering around 22%. Hence, effective methods of increasing the transfer rates of community college students have remained a topic of concern for those interested in higher education.

According to Grubb (1991), a large number of community college students aspire to a baccalaureate degree. Almost half of all first-time freshman begin their studies at a two-year college (Creech, 1995). They have numerous reasons: to save on tuition costs and living expenses, to stay working at their current job, to remain in their local communities, and to work their way eventually into a four-year institution and obtain a baccalaureate.

Grubb (1991) also notes that one of the principal concerns of community colleges and policy makers is the strengthening of the transfer function. The extent to which courses transfer from a community college to a four-year institution continues to resonate as one of the most prevalent curricular issues in higher education. Many students who begin their journey toward the baccalaureate at a community college must weave their way through a tangled web to make the transition to a four-year institution. They must ensure that the courses they have taken at the community college are acceptable for credit at the four-year institution, or they will need to take a similar course, often more than one, just to meet the requirements for graduation at the four-year college or university (Creech, 1995).

To avoid penalizing students who begin their education at a community college, state systems of higher education frequently have articulation policies in place between the community colleges and four-year institutions. This is done in an effort to maintain course equivalencies throughout the students' educational progress. Although articulation agreements may ease the transfer process, Cohen and Brawer (1996a) remark that four-year institutions continue to dominate this process. These institutions dictate what they will accept for transfer, and when they alter their graduation requirements, community colleges must respond in their own curricula.

In a study conducted by Glass and Bunn (1998), it was found that over half (56.8%) of the respondents felt the loss of credit was a problem when asked to describe barriers or obstacles to transfer. Moreover, they found that 63.4% of the students in the study had to complete more than 72 credit hours at the senior institution after transferring. In the hopes of addressing such concerns, many programs have been developed to improve the articulation between two- and four-year institutions.

Cohen and Brawer (1996b) conducted a study and found that some community colleges with high transfer rates used a common course numbering system with the local four-year institutions. In addition, articulation agreements emerged as one of the most important policies affecting transfer. As part of the study, respondents were asked what would enhance their chances of transferring to a four-year institution. Overwhelmingly, students at the low transfer rate colleges offered the following suggestion: mitigate the reluctance of four-year institutions to accept community college courses for transfer.

In addition, Cuseo (1998) proposes that institutions recognize and remove "artificial barriers" in order to improve successful transfer, specifically curricular barriers and nonadherence to articulation agreements by the four-year colleges or universities. Curricular barriers, such as confusion regarding the transferability of courses from community colleges to four-year institutions, are due to community colleges' diverse missions, which often necessitate that these colleges offer myriad courses to serve their students. Problems arise when many of these courses do not transfer to four-year institutions because the courses are vocational, technical, or continuing education, or for personal enrichment. Moreover, curricular rigidity, a difficulty perpetuated by four-year institutions, occurs when an institution refuses to accept transfer courses other than those that are nearly identical to its own. Likewise, curricular changes made by four-year institutions can lead to problems when these changes are not communicated to the two-year institutions and when these changes are made without considering future implications for incoming transfer students.

To enhance the transferability of individual courses, Cuseo (1998) has also found that the development of articulation agreements can best be accomplished through the collaboration of community colleges and four-year institutions. Often this is a more effective means than involving state higher education authorities. Cuseo (1998) also offers an alternative to the traditional articulation agreement. He would like to see more institutions adopt transfer admission agreements (TAGS) or transfer admission programs (TAPS). These contracts stipulate that if a transferring student completes a defined general-education course program with an acceptable GPA at the two-year college, then that student will be automatically matriculated into the four-year institution as an upper-division student. Furthermore, all of the general education courses taken at the two-year college will transfer in a "block" to the four-year college or university.

Transfer in California

In 1907, California's two-year colleges were established by a legislative act that granted high schools permission to offer postgraduate courses, but it was not until 1921 that an act allowed the establishment of separate junior college districts (Cohen, 1999a). Since early in the century, the transfer of students from community colleges to four-year institutions has been a predominant aspect of the state's system of higher education, and the difficulty of student transfer was recognized repeatedly throughout history (Cohen, 1999b). Historically, matters of articulation and transfer between two- and four-year colleges in California were seen as an institutional concern rather than a concern of the state (Bender, 1994). In 1960, however, the California Master Plan Survey Team indicated a need to tighten transfer procedures to both the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC) from the two-year colleges. At the time, the team thought that this procedure should be undertaken through a coordinating agency (Master Plan Survey Team, 1960).

The 1960 California Master Plan was the most influential education document ever to be published at the state level, and eventually it became a plan to which other states looked when organizing their systems of higher education (Cohen & Brawer, 1996a). This document was created in an effort to bring order to the state's system of public higher education. The 1960 California Master Plan for Higher Education named transfer from community colleges to baccalaureate institutions as an integral component in providing educational opportunity to the state's citizens (California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office & California Community Colleges Transfer Center Directors' Association, 1997). Today, we continue to witness many of the changes that emerged following implementation of the Master Plan. For instance, the top 12% of high school students are admitted to the University of California, the top 33% to the state colleges, and the rest are admitted to the community colleges. Further, each institutional sector offers specific degrees. Baccalaureate and master's degrees are offered from both the University of California and state colleges, whereas the doctorate can only be awarded by the University of California. In addition, community colleges are the only institutions able to award the associate's degree. Accordingly, student admission practices--as prescribed under the Master Plan--solidified the hierarchical nature of California's system of higher education. Many have argued that the California Master Plan is inequitable in its philosophy, but others contend that it brought order to the state's educational system.

The California Postsecondary Education Commission, a body instrumental in focusing public, legislative, and institutional attention on transfer and articulation, has played an important role by promoting the transfer function among the public segments and independent institutions of California (Bender, 1994). Consequently, the California Community Colleges and University of California have established a mutual goal to increase the enrollment of transfers from 10,900 in the 1995-96 academic year to 14,500 or more by 2005-06--an increase of approximately 33% (California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, 1999a). The California Community Colleges work cooperatively with the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities to ensure that students who intend to transfer from the community colleges have access to the necessary coursework and are provided with the services they need to successfully make the transition to the baccalaureate granting institutions (California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, 1999c). Moreover, the Chancellor's Office has established two-way communication between the colleges and the Chancellor's Office in an effort to assist the colleges in the areas of transfer and articulation.

One way in which California attempts to enhance student transfer is through the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC). The IGETC outlines general education--and hence liberal arts--requirements. It is a means by which students can transfer from a community college to a CSU or UC institution without the need to take additional lower-division general education courses following transfer. Of course, completing the IGETC is not a requirement of transfer, nor is it the only way a student can fulfill the lower-division general education requirements. In addition, the California State University offers a list of general education course requirements that can be used as a guide for students who are interested in transferring to a CSU (Glendale Community College, 1998-99a).

Another way to enhance student transfer is the Articulation System Stimulating Interinstitutional Student Transfer (ASSIST), which provides information to students about transfer admission requirements and course recognition and comparability (Bender, 1994). In May 1997, Project ASSIST was established as the official repository of articulation and transfer information for the state of California (California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, 1999c). Still another way that California attempts to establish major articulation agreements is through the California Articulation Number System, a system of common course identifiers that are assigned to similar (articulated) courses across various segments of the curriculum (California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, 1999a).

The California Community Colleges transferred 59,574 students to the state's public universities during the 1995-96 academic year (California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, 1999b). In addition, about 20,000 students transfer to California private four-year and out-of-state institutions annually. Transfers to UC increased from 7,712 to 10,886 or 41% between the 1987-88 and 1.995-96 academic years, with slight declines during the last three years. During that same period, transfers to CSU fluctuated, ending 8.9% higher with an increase from 44,673 to 48, 688. Each year, approximately one-half of CSU and one-fourth of UC bachelor degree recipients are transfers from California Community Colleges. In the 1993-94 academic year, 30,228 or 54.6% of transfer students received a bachelor's degree from CSU, and during the same period, 8,758 or 28.4% received a bachelor's degree from UC. During the period between 1992 and 1995, the number of transfers increased for all historically underrepresented ethnic groups.

Objective

For this study, the state of California was chosen because of its carefully delineated tripartite structure of public postsecondary education. Course transferability in California is fairly straightforward: community college catalogues must list which courses transfer to either the UC or the CSU (Cohen & Ignash, 1994). In other states, however, difficulty exists when trying to determine whether credits will be accepted, how credit will be awarded by the four-year restitutions, or both; this determination often requires more than just the perusal of course catalogs and schedules of classes. Although it is known which general education courses transfer from a California community college to the CSU or the UC, little has been written about the transferability of the state's non-liberal-arts courses. This study was designed to move beyond previous research and to further the understanding of California's transfer curriculum, specifically the transferability of California non-liberal-arts courses. This research involved examining the percentages of courses that transferred to the state's public four-year institutions and fell into non-liberal-arts categories in 1998, and comparing the results with a similar study conducted in 1991.

Methodology

Sample

All 26 community colleges in California were selected from the 164 colleges that participated in the Center for the Study of Community Colleges' 1998 Curriculum Project (Schuyler, 1999).

Procedure

Both course catalogs and class schedules were obtained from each college in the sample. For most of the community colleges in the sample, course transferability was indicated in the colleges' class schedule next to each course listing. Subsequently, each class offering was coded according to the 1998 Curriculum Project coding scheme, which included 36 liberal-arts and 26 non-liberal-arts subjects. The class schedules were examined and the courses offered in each category were tallied.

Results and Discussion

Based on an analysis of 26 colleges, it was found that very different patterns of transferability exist in the nonliberal arts in California between the UC and the CSU. Table 1 indicates a marked variance between the two systems. Without exception, more of California's community college courses in the nonliberal arts transfer to the CSU than to the UC. One reason for this difference is that the CSU is less selective than the UC in admitting students, and this often translates into the CSU offering more non-liberal-arts courses to accommodate the interests of their students. In addition, the CSU offers many degrees in non-liberal-arts subjects whereas the UC primarily focuses on baccalaureate degrees in the liberal arts. Within the UC System, the only courses that transferred in high numbers were in the area of Personal Skills and Avocations (74.1%), an area composed of recreation-physical education, study skills-guidance, and the ambiguous category of "other." The transferability of physical education courses tends to be largely responsible for the high percentage in this subject area.

Table 1 Transferability of Non-Liberal-Arts Courses from 26 California Community Colleges by Subject Area and University System in 1998

Transfer Subject Area             CSU    UC

Agriculture                      88.4    5.2
Business and Office              73.3   28.9
Marketing and Distribution       86.5    0
Health                           67.7   24.1
Technical Education              71.0    4.8
Engineering and Technology       74.3    2.1
Trade and Industry               57.7    3.3
Personal Skills and Avocations   84.4   74.1
Education                        82.4    9.1
Criminal Justice                 72.7   14.2
Other                            83.3    2.2
Internships and Practicums       68.6    1.1

Overall Transferability          72.6   26.7

Note. Values represent percentages of course offerings in each subject area that were transferable.

Source: Center for the Study of Community Colleges, 1998 Curriculum Project

Table 2 compares the 1991 study of the transferability of non-liberal-arts courses in California with the 1998 study. For the 1991 study, Cohen and Ignash (1994) used 30 colleges for the analysis and encountered similar patterns of transferability in the nonliberal arts. The most notable change in transferability occurred in the subject area of Agriculture. Within the CSU system, there was an increase of 37.1%, but there was a decrease of 75.2% in the UC system. For the UC system, the decrease of 100% in the area of Marketing and Distribution is only an aberration; in 1991 only 1.6% of these courses were accepted for transfer, and in 1998 no courses were transferable to the UC system.

Table 2 Comparing the Transferability of Non-Liberal-Arts Courses from California Community Colleges by Subject Area and University System, 1991 and 1998

                                        CSU

                                               Relative
                                                  %
Transfer Subject Area            1991   1998    Change

Agriculture                      64.5   88.4     37.1
Business and Office              61.0   73.3     20.2
Marketing and Distribution       70.3   86.5     23.0
Health                           54.3   67.7     24.7
Engineering and Technology       62.6   74.3     18.7
Trade and Industry               35.7   57.7     61.6
Personal Skills and Avocations   88.0   84.4     -4.1
Education                        70.6   82.4     16.7

Overall Transferability          61.7   72.6     17.7

                                        UC

                                               Relative
                                                  %
Transfer Subject Area            1991   1998    Change

Agriculture                      21.0    5.2     -75.2
Business and Office              23.0   28.9      25.7
Marketing and Distribution        1.6    0      -100.0
Health                           16.3   24.1      47.9
Engineering and Technology        5.7    2.1     -63.2
Trade and Industry                3.7    3.3     -10.8
Personal Skills and Avocations   76.7   74.1      -3.4
Education                         5.6    9.1      62.5

Overall Transferability          28.9   26.7      -7.6

Note. Values represent percentages of course offerings in each subject area that were transferable (based on 30 colleges in 1991 and 26 colleges in 1998). Subject areas that were not tracked in the 1991 study were eliminated from this table.

Source: Center for the Study of Community Colleges, 1991 amd 1998 Curriculum Projects

In 1998, 72.6% of the non-liberal-arts courses transferred to the CSU System and 26.7% transferred to the UC System from California's community colleges. In 1991, a difference between the two systems existed with 61.7% of the non-liberal-am courses transferring to the CSU System and 28.9% transferring to the UC System; however, the extent of the difference was not as pronounced as it was in 1998. For the CSU System and the UC System, an increase of 17.7% and a decrease of 7.6%, respectively, were found in the transferability of non-liberal-arts courses when comparing the 1991 and 1998 studies.

Interestingly, for the UC System, most of the subject areas remained stable from 1991 to 1998, and only small increases or decreases were observed. In the CSU System, however, the percentage changes for the different subject areas were more pronounced between 1991 and 1998. With the exception of Personal Skills and Avocations, all of the subject areas experienced an increase in transferability in the nonliberal arts.

Conclusion

Based on the figures from 1991 and 1998, the gap has widened between the California State University System and the University of California System regarding the transferability of non-liberal-arts courses. The growing differences between the two systems were reflected in all subject areas except Personal Skills and Avocations. For some of these areas, namely Business and Office, Marketing and Distribution, and Engineering and Technology, the California State University System overwhelmingly accepts more of these courses for transfer than does the University of California System because the former has more baccalaureate degree-granting programs in business and technology.

With only two years of data to compare the transferability of California's non-liberal-arts courses, it is difficult to view these changes as trends. A replication of this study in the next five to ten years would help to determine if these differences between the two California postsecondary systems will continue or even increase.

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Jenny Castruita Striplin is a doctoral student in the Division of Higher Education and Organizational Change, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, at the University of California, Los Angeles. [e-mail]