Students transferring to a California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) campus have the option of completing the California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC) pattern to meet lower-division general education requirements. It is strongly recommended that students complete the Cal-GETC pattern prior to transfer, if possible.
Courses used for Cal-GETC certification must be completed with a minimum grade of "C" ("C-" is not acceptable), or "P" if completed on a "Pass/No Pass" basis.
Upon transfer to a CSU campus, students must take nine semester units of upper-division general education courses.
Upper-division general education requirements vary between UC campuses.
Students may use certain Advanced Placement (AP) examinations with scores of 3 or higher to meet areas of Cal-GETC. Certain International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations with scores of 5 or higher may be used to meet areas of Cal-GETC.
Non-California Community College coursework must be accredited through an approved accrediting organization (formerly known as Regional Accreditors).
International coursework cannot be used to meet Cal-GETC requirements unless it is accredited through an approved accrediting organization (formerly known as Regional Accreditors).
The following are approved accreditors:
- Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Western Association of Schools and Colleges
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
- New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
- WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
Although other international courses may be accepted by four-year universities, evaluation of such courses is determined independently by each transfer institution.
California Community College Cal-GETC courses are approved annually for each upcoming academic year. If a course is taken before it is approved or after it is removed, it cannot be used to satisfy Cal-GETC. The Cal-GETC course lists for all California Community Colleges are available at www.assist.org.
Students must request that a Cal-GETC Certification be sent to the transfer institution along with the final Sierra College transcript.
Students pursuing majors with extensive lower-division unit requirements, including, but not limited to Engineering, are advised to focus on completing the pre-major requirements while meeting minimum admission requirements.
See a counselor for more information about Cal-GETC.
