General Education Transfer Credit Alignment Policy

This policy is only applicable to Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Southern Connecticut State University, Western Connecticut State University, and Charter Oak State College. 

Each CSCU institution will complete a form demonstrating how courses will transfer. The documents can be viewed below:

• Central Connecticut State University
• Eastern Connecticut State University
• Southern Connecticut State University
• Western Connecticut State University
• Charter Oak State College

Courses will be treated the same as if you had started at the receiving institution. That means if a student at the receiving institution needs a particular course or a specific grade, than a transfer student will need that course or grade as well. 

Most of the courses within Arts and Humanities category at CT State will fall under the CSCU General Education Transfer Credit Alignment Policy, with the exception of Elementary I World Languages and ESL level 4 & 5 courses. While these courses remain in the category for the purposes of fulfilling a degree requirement at CT State, these courses will not suffice for credit in the general education of all CSU 4-year institutions. Therefore, we recommend that each course be clearly indicated as such and GPAs advise students accordingly.

Foreign Language
At this time, any Elementary I foreign language course (i.e. ARAB 1011, CHNS 1011, FREN 1011, GERM 1011, ITAL 1011, LATN 1011, POLH 1011, RUSN 1011, or SPAN 1011) will not transfer as a typical Arts and Humanities General Education course. These courses are typically associated with a prerequisite to fulfill a Foreign Language requirement for a Bachelor’s Degree. Most students who are attending a CSCU four-year institution, unless applicable for a waiver, must complete a foreign language course above the Elementary I level,  typically designated by course numbering of 1012 or higher at CT State.

Math requirements are typically dictated by specific program requirements and would be difficult to guarantee without knowing a student’s intended major. Therefore, we recommend that this category be completed with the guidance of a student’s Guided Pathway Advisor or Faculty Advisor.

Unless specified by the receiving institution’s academic program:  

• Students who have completed one four-credit lab science course and one three-credit non lab course or two four-credit lab science courses, will have met the science general education requirements at the receiving institution  
• Students who have completed one three credit science will be required to take one four-credit lab science course at the receiving institution  
• Students who have one four-credit lab science course will be required to take one three-credit non lab course or one four-credit lab science course at the receiving institution  
• It is strongly suggested and will be advised that students take courses from different academic disciplines, but a student will not be asked to take additional courses if they have not done so 

A committee of Faculty from all six CSCU institutions will meet regularly to oversee compliance and address any concerns with this policy. Questions can be directed to CSCU-TransferCouncil@ct.edu  

The overall intent of the CSCU General Education Transfer Credit Alignment Policy is to provide transparency and direct application of CT State general education courses to CSCU four year institution general education requirements. To do so, their was an effort to avoid course to course articulation and, based on student learning outcomes, move toward category to category mapping. 

Safe Course Task Force 

• Charged: Spring of 2022, the Safe Course Task Force was charged by CSCU 
  Provost and Senior VP of Academic and Student Affairs 
• Convened April 2022 to March 2023 
• Submitted Recommendation to CSCU Provost March 2023 

Action by CSCU Provost 

• Recommendation submitted to CSCU four-year institution Provosts for initial review and feedback: Sent Monday, October 23 
• Request the submission of “CSCU General Education Transfer Credit Alignment Provost Report” by Friday, November 10, 2023 
• Draft Policy presented to ASA, June 7, 2024
• Draft Policy presented to Board of Regents, June 27, 2024
• Policy approved and finalized, June 27, 2024

More detail and supporting documents can be found in the Staff Report.