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Articulation System

ASSIST is an online system that helps California students find out which courses they can transfer to a California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) campus from a California Community College (CCC). Assist shows how course credits earned at a CCC can be applied to a CSU or UC campus. It also helps students understand how their courses can meet general education, elective, and major requirements at their destination school.

01

The Problem

Their website had become outdated, burdened by numerous incremental updates over the years, leaving its primary users feeling confused. When students and parents are uncertain and unable to navigate a clear educational path, it creates additional challenges for counselors and, in the worst cases, can result in students pursuing the wrong direction, wasting valuable time and money that cannot be recovered.

Articulation officers face significant challenges with the ASSIST admin tool due to its complex interface, time-consuming processes, and lack of flexibility. Updating and managing articulation agreements is cumbersome, with limited options for bulk changes and delays in publishing updates to the public-facing platform. Technical glitches, insufficient training resources, and slow technical support exacerbate these issues, while a lack of collaboration tools makes coordinating with partner institutions difficult. These inefficiencies can lead to errors or outdated information, negatively impacting students and advisors who rely on accurate transfer data. Improved usability, streamlined processes, better training, and real-time updates are critical for addressing these challenges.

02

The Users

The public-facing site is primarily designed for students and parents who are navigating the transition from a California Community College to a California State school or University. It provides essential information on the general education requirements needed for a successful transfer, as well as access to courses that may count toward their chosen major.

More specific the users include:

Community College Students: To plan transfer pathways to UCs and CSUs, fulfill general education, and complete major prerequisites.
High School Students and Parents: To explore community college options and prepare for future transfers.
Counselors and Advisors: To guide students in course selection and transfer requirements.
University Advisors and Admissions Staff: To verify course equivalencies and assist transfer students.
Faculty and Administrators: To align curricula with transfer standards and maintain articulation agreements.
Returning Students or Lifelong Learners: To restart education or transfer prior coursework.
Policy Makers and Researchers: To analyze and improve California’s transfer system.
Nonprofits or Educational Organizations: To assist clients pursuing higher education pathways.

On the administrative side, Articulation Officers play a crucial role in fostering connections between Community Colleges and CSU/UC campuses. This full-time position is held by several officers at each college, who gather data on how each community college class transfers for credit within the system. This complex and dynamic information is updated annually and is integrated from the backend articulation admin tool into the public website.

The Solutions

This project was extensive, involving a significant redesign of two systems for different user groups. Our top priority was to revamp the public site to minimize confusion and inquiries from students. I collaborated with students and the client to identify pain points and their objectives for using the site. These discussions were essential in shaping our redesign goals and guided our decisions throughout the process, resulting in a fresh, clear flow, a vibrant color palette, and well-defined outcomes for students.

The more substantial effort focused on the Admin tool. The research and definition phase spanned several months as we navigated complex requirements and gathered diverse perspectives from various Articulation Officers, each with strong opinions. We spent months iterating on wireframes and prototypes, working closely with users to create a long-overdue, comprehensive redesign of the system. This project truly exemplified our commitment to user feedback and ultimately achieved great success.

The Impact

Public Site

The revamped public site, with its vibrant colors and fresh design, captured the attention of existing users, while the new clear and concise navigation significantly minimized user confusion and the need for follow-ups. Students and parents found it much easier to engage with complex content, effectively utilizing the self-service system as intended.

Admin Tool
With the completion of the Admin tool, Articulation officers could dedicate more time to their primary role of curating course articulations between institutions, rather than spending excessive time inputting data into the system. The need for "hacks" was eliminated, as each task now had a straightforward method for completion. They gained the ability to make tailored decisions regarding content structure to address the unique needs of each institution, all while ensuring a consistent presentation of data for students.

01

The Problem

Complexities of Transfer Requirements

General Education (GE) Requirements
- CSU GE Breadth and IGETC: Students often need to complete either the CSU General Education Breadth or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) for UCs and CSUs. Choosing the correct path depends on:
  - The student’s target university system (UC or CSU).
  - Whether their major recommends or requires a specific pattern (e.g., STEM majors may have modified IGETC requirements).
- Confusion About Overlap: Some courses fulfill multiple requirements, but identifying these overlaps (double-counting) requires careful planning.
Major-Specific Prerequisites
- Campus Variability: Each UC and CSU campus has different prerequisites for the same major. For example:
  - UC Berkeley may require advanced math for a business major, while CSU Long Beach might emphasize communication and introductory business courses.
- Limited Guidance: Without a clear understanding of these differences, students risk taking courses that don't count toward their target program.
GPA Requirements
- Competitive Majors: High-demand majors like computer science, biology, or nursing often require GPAs well above the minimum transfer requirements.
- System-wide Minimums: UC transfer applicants must have at least a 2.4 GPA (2.8 for international students), but this is just the baseline. Specific campuses or majors may expect GPAs of 3.5 or higher.
Unit Caps
- Upper Division Units: UCs typically require transfer students to have completed 60 semester units (or 90 quarter units) of transferable coursework, but going significantly beyond this can sometimes hurt students’ eligibility.
- Lower Division Courses: Students must ensure they're taking transferable lower-division courses that align with their target major's prerequisites.

Keeping Up with Changing Criteria

Impacted Programs: Many UC and CSU campuses have "impacted" majors, meaning they have more applicants than available spots. These majors may introduce stricter GPA thresholds or additional course requirements.
Annual Adjustments: Criteria can change due to increased competition or shifts in university priorities. For example:
- A psychology program might suddenly require an introductory statistics course that wasn't mandatory the previous year.

Articulation Agreements

Role of ASSIST.org: This is the primary tool to check which courses at a junior college transfer to specific UCs and CSUs. While useful, ASSIST can be challenging to navigate:
- Confusing Terminology: Terms like “articulated courses,” “breadth,” or “elective credit” might be unfamiliar to new students.
- Inconsistencies Across Majors: A course that transfers for one major at a UC campus might not count for another major or at a different UC.
Limited Course Availability: Even if a course is listed as articulated on ASSIST, it might not be offered regularly at the student’s junior college, leading to delays.

Common Pitfalls

Misaligned Course Choices
- Students may take non-transferable or non-articulated courses due to misunderstandings or lack of counseling.
Overloading
- Trying to fulfill both general education and major prerequisites simultaneously can lead to burnout, especially if students work or have family responsibilities.
Deadlines
- Transfer students must apply to UCs and CSUs nearly a year in advance (typically by November for fall admission). Missing these deadlines can set them back by a year.

Articulation Admin Tool

Articulation officers, who manage course articulation agreements between California Community Colleges (CCCs), Universities of California (UCs), and California State Universities (CSUs), have expressed several issues with the ASSIST admin tool. These challenges primarily stem from its complexity, user interface, and operational limitations. Here are the common issues:

Complexity of the Interface
- Unintuitive Design: The admin tool has been criticized for being difficult to navigate, especially for new users or those not highly tech-savvy.
- Steep Learning Curve: Articulation officers often require extensive training to use the tool effectively.

Data Entry and Management Challenges
- Time-Consuming Processes: Entering, updating, and verifying articulation agreements is cumbersome and labor-intensive.
- Duplicate Efforts: Officers sometimes need to re-enter data that was already available in older systems, leading to inefficiencies.
- Bulk Updates: The lack of efficient tools for bulk updates makes managing changes across multiple agreements tedious.

Delays in System Updates
- Lag in Publishing Changes: Updates made to articulation agreements are not always reflected in a timely manner on the public-facing ASSIST platform.
- Technical Glitches: System bugs can result in incorrect or incomplete data being displayed, causing confusion for students and counselors.

Lack of Customization
- Limited Reporting Features: The tool doesn’t offer flexible reporting options, making it harder for articulation officers to analyze or present data to stakeholders.
- One-Size-Fits-All Approach: The tool does not adequately accommodate the unique needs of different institutions or programs.

Communication and Collaboration Issues
- Difficulty Coordinating with Partner Institutions: The tool does not facilitate smooth communication between community colleges, UCs, and CSUs regarding updates or changes to agreements.

02

The Users

ASSIST.org is a valuable tool designed for a variety of users involved in California's higher education system. Its primary purpose is to simplify the transfer process by providing information about how courses at California Community Colleges (CCCs) transfer to the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems. Here are the key user groups:

1. Students

Community College Students:
The largest group of users, these students use ASSIST to:
- Identify which community college courses satisfy general education (GE) requirements for transfer.
- Determine how specific courses meet major prerequisites for their intended UC or CSU campus.
- Explore course articulation agreements between their community college and target universities.
High School Students Planning for Community College:
- Some high school students and their families use ASSIST to plan their pathway from a community college to a UC or CSU. This helps them choose a community college that aligns well with their desired transfer university.
Current UC/CSU Students:
Students who wish to take summer or concurrent courses at a community college (to save money or meet requirements) may use ASSIST to ensure the courses they take will transfer back to their UC or CSU.

2. Counselors and Advisors

Community College Counselors:
They use ASSIST to guide students in selecting courses that align with transfer requirements, GE patterns, and major preparation for specific UCs or CSUs.
High School Counselors:
High school counselors may introduce ASSIST to students as a planning resource when discussing post-secondary options.
University Advisors:
- Advisors at UCs and CSUs may refer to ASSIST when advising students transferring from a CCC or evaluating transfer coursework.

3. Parents and Guardians

Parents use ASSIST to support their child’s academic planning, especially if the family is unfamiliar with the transfer process or if they are helping a student compare different community colleges' course offerings.

4. Faculty and Administrators

Community College Faculty:
- Faculty members may use ASSIST to understand how their courses articulate with UC and CSU programs, helping them design or revise curriculum to meet transfer standards.
University Admissions and Articulation Offices:
- These professionals use ASSIST to ensure course equivalencies are updated and accurate, as well as to evaluate applications from transfer students.

5. Lifelong Learners or Returning Students

Adults returning to college after a break often use ASSIST to understand how their previous coursework applies to current transfer requirements or how to start fresh.

6. Researchers and Policy Makers

Educational researchers and policymakers may use ASSIST data to analyze trends in transfer pathways and develop policies to improve the transfer process across California's higher education system.

7. Employers or Organizations Supporting Education

Organizations like educational nonprofits or workforce training programs may use ASSIST to guide clients or participants who are pursuing higher education through the community college system.

How They Use It

Course Equivalency Searches: Compare course transferability between institutions.
General Education Planning: Verify which courses meet CSU GE or IGETC requirements.
Major Preparation: Identify prerequisites required for specific majors at different campuses.
Articulation Agreements: Understand formal agreements between institutions for course equivalency.

The Solution

The more substantial effort focused on the Admin tool. The research and definition phase spanned several months as we navigated complex requirements and gathered diverse perspectives from various Articulation Officers, each with strong opinions. We spent months iterating on wireframes and prototypes, working closely with users to create a long-overdue, comprehensive redesign of the system. This project truly exemplified our commitment to user feedback and ultimately achieved great success.

The Impact

For Students

Clear Transfer Pathways:
- ASSIST now provides clear and precise articulation agreements, helping students determine how community college courses align with requirements at UCs and CSUs.
Saving Valuable Time and Money:
- Ensuring students have the info they need to take transferable courses that fulfill requirements, reducing the risk of wasted units and unnecessary coursework, helping them graduate sooner.
Customized Major Preparation:
- Students can identify major-specific prerequisites for their desired UC or CSU campus, ensuring they’re on track for competitive programs.
General Education Clarity:
- Much more clearly helping students navigate IGETC or CSU GE Breadth, simplifying decisions about which general education pattern to follow based on transfer goals.
Supports Informed Decision-Making:
- By showing campus-specific requirements, students can strategically select colleges or majors based on compatibility with their completed coursework.
Improves Transfer Success:
- By taking the right courses, students can boost their chances of admission to their desired campus, especially through programs like TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee).

For Counselors and Advisors

Reliable Resource for Guidance:
- Simplification of academic planning by providing up-to-date information about course transferability and articulation agreements.
Improved Efficiency:
- Counselors can quickly reference ASSIST when helping students choose courses, reducing the time spent on manual research.
Increased Accuracy:
- Ensures that the guidance given aligns with current university requirements, minimizing errors in advising.

For Parents and Guardians

Confidence in Planning:
- Parents can use ASSIST to understand the transfer process and support their child’s academic planning.
Transparency:
- Offers a clear view of what’s required for students to achieve their academic and career goals.

Overall

Centralized Information: A single platform for articulation agreements across California.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies complex transfer processes, especially for first-generation students.
Updated Data: Keeps up with changing transfer requirements, ensuring accuracy.
Enhanced Access: Free and accessible to anyone with internet access, reducing barriers to information.