Resources
Below is a partial list of resources of particular interest to faculty developing and reviewing lower division curriculum.
C-ID FAQs for Course Reviewers
- What do I do if I can't access the course outline of record (COR) for a course that I have been assigned to review?
- I can’t find a required objective in the objective’s section of the course outline, but it is listed in the course content. What do I do?
- In my queue, there are three different course outlines submitted separately from College XYZ to receive the same C-ID designation. Is that okay?
- Can colleges submit more than one course outline per descriptor submission?
- Does a 5-quarter unit course meet the 4-semester unit C-ID descriptor requirement?
- Can a college submit a course for a descriptor from another discipline (e.g., an Early Childhood Education course for C-ID EDUC 200)?
- What do I do when I’m assigned two courses that are cross-listed?
- I can’t find the SLOs in the outline. Do I give the submission a not approved?
- I can’t tell if all the required prerequisites are on the course outline – what do I do?
- There’s a resubmitted course in my queue - what do I do?
- The course’s prerequisite is higher than what the descriptor is calling for - can I approve the prerequisite section?
- What kind of feedback/comments should I give for the review?
- I think the COR has too much “other” content to sufficiently cover the descriptor’s requirements. What do I do?
1. If you cannot access the COR, please contact us at c-idsupport@asccc.org. We will retrieve the outline from the college. Do not give the COR a not approved determination based on an inaccessible COR.
2. Keep in mind that the organization of some course outlines may differ from how the descriptor is organized. An objective in the descriptor, for example, may be reflected in the content of the course outline (or vice versa). Your expertise as a discipline faculty member is relied upon – do not hesitate to make judgment calls as appropriate. If/when you find yourself making an assumption, please make note of that assumption so as to help the Primary Reviewer make any reconciliation that is needed once the reviews are complete.
3. Yes. Colleges can choose to submit multiple courses separately for C-ID designation. For example, this happens frequently with MUS 180, as colleges can have multiple ensemble courses that are comparable to the same C-ID descriptor. If, however, you find that the CORs are identical, please do not re-review the duplicate outline and contact us at c-idsupport@asccc.org. If a course is cross-listed, the COR should only be reviewed once.
4. Yes. College’s can use a combination of their courses to receive a C-ID designation. You would typically see this for colleges that are in the quarter system, where two of their quarter courses may be needed to receive the semester-based C-ID designation. This can also occur with sequential or related courses; the submission of two CORs can be used to obtain a C-ID designation without requiring local curriculum alignment to the descriptors. When more than one COR is submitted for a descriptor, you will see two links beneath the course name where you would click to access the evaluation form. If one or all the links are not working, please contact us at c-idsupport@asccc.org to let us know of the inaccessible COR.
5. Yes. For the purposes of reviewing courses, you may use the standard application of one additional unit for the quarter than the semester, rather than a strictly mathematical unit conversion. For example, 4 quarter units are equivalent to 3 semester units for C-ID.
6. Yes. Colleges can choose to submit a course for any descriptor, as long as they determine that the COR is consistent with the descriptor’s requirements. C-ID does not require that a COR be housed under a particular discipline in order to gain approval for the descriptor.
7. If you find that you have CORs that are identical and submitted for the same descriptor, please do not re-review the duplicate outline and contact us at c-idsupport@asccc.org. If a course is cross-listed, the COR should only be reviewed once.
8. SLOs are not a required component of any C-ID descriptor and should generally not be referred to in your comments as you make your review – except to make it clear that the provided SLOs were considered during the review process (if appropriate). For the purposes of review, any SLOs present on the COR can be considered during the review process, but whether or not a college includes SLOs on a COR is a local determination. Remember, the COR does not have to include the same number of objectives listed in the descriptor, or the exact language. However, holistically, the COR must address the requirements of the descriptor objectives. Although all C-ID descriptors are written using objectives, CORs may contain objectives, SLOs, or a combination of both.
9. When a course outline requires a prerequisite to the prerequisite, an "embedded" prerequisite, AOs can note embedded prerequisite under the additional comment section beneath the section for "prerequisite/co-requisite". For example, an AO submitting for an ECE course against C-ID ECE 210 (which has four prerequisites) can indicate why they only have three prerequisites listed, as their fourth has an embedded prerequisite. They can indicate this embedded prerequisite to you, the reviewers, by using the additional comment section. If you are unclear as to whether or not the prerequisite is present, make this clear in your review so that the Primary is aware and can either do the research necessary to verify the prerequisites presence, or seek assistance to do so.
10. When a resubmitted course is returned to your queue, you must review the sections that were provided a "no" on the previous review. Keep in mind that only section(s) marked "no" by the Primary Reviewer are returned to you (it may not be the same sections you noted). You’ll review those sections, and provide either a "yes" or "no" answer. If the section can be marked "yes", make sure you delete the previous comments in the textbox. If the section will remain a "no", please provide updated comments addressing the revised course outline.
11. Prerequisites or corequisites in addition to or at a higher level than those required by a descriptor are acceptable (you can approve). As a reminder, descriptor advisories are strong recommendations only and should never be the basis for indicating that the COR's prerequisites are not consistent with the descriptor.
12. Below are examples of the types of constructive sentences you can use to provide actionable feedback to the college:
- There are several key elements missing that are listed in the C-ID descriptor, including (list)
- The outline is not consistent with the C-ID descriptor. The following topics must be included (list)
- The following required topics need to be included in the course outline (list)
- 30 hours of fieldwork are required. Course content must include (list)
- Required topics that are omitted from the Course Content include (list)
Please remember to keep your comments professional. As the Primary Reviewer may pass along your comments, we want to ensure that the tone of the comments is constructive.
13. Presently, C-ID policy states that the course outline need only cover what the descriptor states and there is not a limitation set on including additional content. However, if during your review, you recognize that there is "too much other" in the course outline, so much so that you begin to question if sufficient coverage of the descriptor requirements is possible, then you can note that in your review determination and the primary reviewer will provide the final determination keeping in mind the comment on "too much other". In the event that you are reviewing 2 CORs for a single descriptor, it should be kept in mind that there may be a considerable and justified amount of "other" content.
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FAQs for Articulation Officers
- What is the role of articulation officers in C-ID, and how are AOs participating in the C-ID descriptor development?
- Is participation in C-ID mandatory?
- Can anyone provide input during the development of the C-ID descriptors?
- Who will determine which feedback will be incorporated into the descriptors? Who will make the final decision on the course descriptor?
- Do you have a schedule of deadlines for descriptor reviews by discipline area? Do faculty have adequate notice and sufficient time to provide input?
- Presently, Articulation Officers need to make modifications to courses in both ASSIST and C-ID. Will that still be the case when courses are submitted to C-ID through ASSIST NG?
- Can I change information on my COR submission after I completed submitting?
- Our college updated a COR that is still waiting for review. Should I submit a new submission for the COR or wait until the original COR receives a determination?
- How do I submit multiple courses in combination for a C-ID descriptor?
- How do I submit multiple courses for a C-ID descriptor when the courses are not required in combination?
- How do I submit a cross-listed (“same-as”) course to C-ID?
- Does a Course Outline of Record (COR) expire once approved for C-ID?
- When should a CCC resubmit a COR for a course that was previously approved for C-ID?
- How do I submit variable unit CORs to C-ID?
- Why do some courses that have received a C-ID designation not appear on the Courses page of the C-ID website?
- Where can I provide more information for reviewers regarding the COR’s prerequisites or corequisites?
- Why can't I submit for certain Studio Arts descriptors?
1. As members of the C-ID Advisory Committee, the intersegmental articulation officers play a critical advisory role as well as a critical role in the C-ID implementation process. Articulation officers have served and continue to serve an important role in the Discipline Input Groups (DIGs) meetings as well as serving on the original meetings of the Faculty Discipline Review Groups (FDRGs).
As established, C-ID will not function fully without the support and involvement of all articulation officers. CCC articulation officers serve as the primary conduit between this system and their local discipline faculty, with whom they will discuss the C-ID system and its implications for their program, determine appropriate courses for submission, and facilitate the submission of courses at their college. CSU articulation officers serve as the receivers of the C-ID descriptors and, similarly to their CCC counterparts, work with discipline faculty on their own campus to determine the articulation of the C-ID with comparable courses in their departments. Articulation Officers, both at the CCC and four-year campuses, also participate in the descriptor and TMC vetting process, they assist C-ID with identifying faculty from their respective campus to serve as members of the Faculty Discipline Review Groups (FDRGs) or as Course Outline Review Evaluators (COREs); and they assist their own discipline faculty as they modify courses to align with the C-ID descriptors.
2. Participation is voluntary, but as a result of the development of the TMC for the new associate degrees for transfer and to the current Complete College America grant which will finalize the descriptors for all the TMCs, it soon will become more important than ever for all CCCs to participate by submitting their CORs for C-ID approval.
3. Discipline faculty, articulation officers, and counselors can sign up for any discipline listserv on the C-ID website to receive notification of descriptor postings in order to provide comments on the draft descriptors.
4. As noted earlier, these determinations will be made by the intersegmental FDRG.
5. The C-ID website lists the disciplines that are working on descriptors and/or on a TMC. Draft descriptors have generally been posted for at least a one month period, sometimes longer, depending on the time of the academic year. If it is determined that not enough comments have been submitted, draft descriptors have been re-posted for a period of time to assure enough statewide intersegmental comments. All faculty and articulation officers who have signed up for the discipline listservs are notified immediately after the draft descriptors are posted.
6. No. AOs will only have to update the information in ASSIST NG and ASSIST NG will transfer the update to C-ID.
7. Yes. You can change the institution course prefix and number, title, units (increase only), and effective date after you have completed submitting your COR by clicking on the “edit” link found by clicking on “view” in the View column of your submitted courses list. Once there, you can change the information listed above.
8. The answer to this question will vary. Please contact us at c-idsupport@asccc.org so we can best advise you on how to proceed with submitting the new COR.
9. For multiple COR submissions (for example, a lecture + lab), you will proceed with the regular submission, and then click the “Add Course” button at the bottom of the page so that both CORs are linked to one submission.
10. You must submit each course separately all the way through the process. Similarly to cross-listed CORs, you will get a “multiple course alert” after you submit the regular course. You will simply indicate you already submitted a regular course and give the reason why you now seek an additional C-ID designation for a course, e.g., it’s an honors course or your college has different courses that align with one C-ID descriptor. The steps are then the same as a new submission.
11. You would submit a cross-listed course as if you were doing a brand new submission to C-ID. We are currently working on a technological enhancement that would allow cross-listed courses to be linked together in C-ID. For now, please submit cross-listed courses separately for the C-ID designation. Alternatively, you can wait until one submission of the COR has been approved and then alert us after submitting the cross-listed course so that we can fast-track the approval.
12. CORs that receive a C-ID designation (approval) do not expire. CORs must be resubmitted when a significant local change (course content; course objectives/SLOs; Prerequisites(s); Corequisite(s); a unit change is made or if the C-ID descriptor is modified by the FDRG and resubmission is required. Colleges will be given sufficient time to resubmit their courses if needed.
Expiration dates apply only to resubmission periods. Expiration dates fall on two dates - February 1 and September 1. Courses conditionally approved between Feb. 2 and Sept. 1 will have an expiration date of Sept. 1 the following year, and courses that receive a conditional approval between Sept. 2 and Feb. 1 have an expiration date of Feb. 1 the following year.
13. CORs must be resubmitted when a significant local change (course content; course objectives/SLOs; Prerequisites(s); Corequisite(s); a unit change is made or if the C-ID descriptor is modified by the FDRG and resubmission is required. Colleges will be given sufficient time to resubmit their courses if needed. Expiration dates apply only to resubmission periods. Note: When resubmitting a course outline due to a significant change, use the “Submit New Course” option.
14. If the COR has variable units, and the lowest unit amount is less than the descriptor requires, your course will not be approved. If the lowest variable unit amount meets the minimum descriptor units then you may submit your course to C-ID by entering the minimum unit amount.
15. Courses that have received a C-ID designation but have effective dates in the future will not appear on the Courses page of the C-ID website until the effective date has been reached. Approved submissions which contain more than one COR (for example a sequence course like Math 900S or potentially a lecture/lab combination like GEOG 115), will not appear on the Courses page of the C-ID website until the effective date for all CORs has been reached.
16. When you submit courses to C-ID there is a prerequisite/co-requisite comment box which must be completed if you are submitting a COR with one or more prerequisites or corequisites. If the COR does not clearly indicate the title of the prerequisite or co-requisite, please include the title with the course designation and number. Reviewers may not be able to tell that your Math 10 fulfills the requirements of a particular descriptor if they cannot clearly identify the course. Additionally, if a prerequisite required by the C-ID descriptor is not explicitly identified on the COR but it is required, please provide an explanation. For example, if you are submitting a COR with a prerequisite course which required the prerequisite indicated on the descriptor, please provide this information (prerequisite embedded in a prerequisite). If you are submitting more than one course to meet the requirements of a descriptor, and the order in which the courses are taken may influence meeting prerequisite or co-requisite descriptor requirements, please indicate the order in which courses must be taken.
17. In Spring 2016 the Studio Arts FDRG revised the manner in which certain descriptors are included in the Studio Arts TMC by allowing for Articulation Agreement by Major (AAM) for the following descriptors: ARTS 220, ARTS 230, ARTS 240, ARTS 260, ARTS 280, ARTS 281, and ARTS 282. Colleges that already received C-ID approval can continue to use the descriptors on their ADT degree, while allowing for AAM on the TMC for those without C-ID approval. As a result of this revision C-ID no longer accepts submissions for the descriptors.
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C-ID FAQs for Faculty
- What exactly is C-ID?
- Hasn't this kind of information been available in ASSIST?
- Doesn't this system duplicate the work already done in CSU's LDTP and UC's Transfer Preparation Paths?
- Aren't the C-ID numbers similar to the TCSU numbers developed for LDTP?
- Will C-ID "grandfather " previously approved CSU LDTP courses?
- How is this system similar to or different from CAN?
- What's the role of CSU and UC faculty in C-ID?
- What is the source of funding for C-ID?
- What motivations are there for ongoing support for C-ID---both by the segments of higher education as well as the faculty?
- What happens to existing articulation in light of C-ID?
- Can all three segments use these C-ID numbers?
- What response have you had from the independent colleges/universities?
1. The Course Identification Numbering system, or C-ID, is a mechanism for identifying comparable courses and facilitating articulation that provides an independent number assigned to community college courses that are commonly transferred to universities. C-ID also has a benefit for students who attend multiple community colleges. The number is assigned based on a course "descriptor” which was developed by intersegmental discipline faculty. Once descriptors are developed, colleges are asked to submit their course outlines of record (COR), and CORs that match the descriptor will be granted the C-ID number and will carry the associated articulation. In the early implementation phase, the focus has been on the development of descriptors and granting of C-ID numbers. As the system becomes more visible at colleges and as the numbers are listed in college catalogs, C-ID designations will convey to viewers that faculty have determined that the courses with C-ID numbers have met the standards of content, rigor and comparability. C-ID embraces the intersegmental collaboration and partnership seen in previous efforts such as IMPAC and furthers the spirit of other faculty-driven initiatives. In short, C-ID is a method for facilitating articulation. It is simultaneously a system of providing a common number to comparable courses and is an answer to many challenges facing postsecondary transfer efforts.
With the new mandate for associate degrees for transfer (AA-T and AS-T degrees) that began in 2011, C-ID took on an additional and critical role: to provide descriptors and numbers for all of the courses in the Transfer Model Curricula (TMC)
2. ASSIST was designed to be a repository of articulated transferable courses, but it has not contained the basis for awarding articulation and does not measure the degree to which courses are truly comparable. Determining comparability requires a system of descriptors against which courses can be measured, as is done in C-ID ASSIST continues to fill a unique and impartial recording function. In contrast, C-ID's faculty-based processes determine comparability of current and future courses. It is projected that beginning Fall 2012. ASSIST will also display C-ID numbers.
3. No, it builds upon and complements previous work and goes far beyond those efforts. The CSU Lower Division Transfer Pattern project (LDTP) and its numbering system (called TSCU numbers) began by proposing major preparation packages, and they sought articulation to address this by creating descriptors for the courses. The C-ID discipline groups begin their development of C-ID descriptors by looking at and using, where appropriate, the LDTP descriptors. In addition to reviewing LDTP descriptors, each C-ID discipline group reviews the UC transfer major preparation paths. So, C-ID builds on both the CSU and UC strategies as it identifies common features of courses.
4. There is a great deal of overlap of course content in the two systems, but the process for development of descriptors and the purpose of each numbering system are different, as outlined above.
5. Yes, courses approved under LDTP will be granted a C-ID number IF the FDRG determines that the TCSU is sufficiently similar to the C-ID descriptor in content. Courses granted the TCSU number prior to 2007 will NOT be grandfathered; instead, those CORs must be submitted through the C-ID course approval process for consideration.
6. It is similar to CAN in that visible supra-numbers are being assigned to approved courses. It is
different in that C-ID designations are only assigned to CCC courses and the assignment is made
based on comparability to a robust descriptor, as opposed to being based on the presence of articulation.
7. Because C-ID is founded on the principle of intersegmental collaboration, the intersegmental participation of faculty is essential. Legislative mandates for "common course numbering” apply only to the CCCs and CSU and the associate degrees for transfer were only mandated to those segments; however, the UC faculty have shown interest and have thus far had some involvement in C-ID. The work being done to develop course descriptors and review course outlines (CORs) for C-ID numbers is primarily done by CCC and CSU faculty, and the appointment of faculty to the discipline groups (called Faculty Discipline Review Groups or FDRGs) is done by the Academic Senates of the CCC and the CSU. There is a desire to continue to increase the participation by UC. Given the implementation of the associate degrees for transfer and the public demands for more college completion, it is expected that the demand for and interest in C-ID will continue to expand.
8. Beginning in 2009 the funding has been from a grant in the CCC Chancellor's Office, with a plan to extend the funding for at least five years. In the autumn of 2011, the State of California was awarded a grant from Complete College America, to support the work at the CCC and CSU to expand the associate degrees for transfer and the C-ID system that is the foundation for the statewide response to the mandate. The grant is for 18 months.
9. As explained above, colleges and universities are being pressured by the Legislature, by public opinion, by the workplace, and by a research agenda that argues for increasing student attainment. A part of this agenda includes a need for strengthening and streamlining student transfer. In California, with its independent tripartite system of postsecondary public education and with its unusually large number of public and private institutions, transfer is more complicated than in some states. A system like C-ID is an ideal solution to simplify and clarify for educators, students and parents course comparability. So, the most obvious motivation is that it benefits students. There have been multiple legislative mandates calling for "common course numbering” and C-ID is the answer.
For the UC, C-ID can:
- serve to "identify other---possibly unrelated---majors where the common preparation applies, and describe any additional criteria that students must achieve ” (SB 652);
- assist in identifying additional transfer paths;
- provide the UC Academic Senate with the mechanism to notify CCCs "when an articulation request is denied, and . . . provide information that will enable the community colleges to achieve course comparability with UC.” (SB 652);
- provide necessary "annual reviews” of its lower division transfer paths because C-ID is an on-going project, conducted primarily electronically and maintained on a publicly available website;
- ensure that the proposed articulation links between uctransfer.org and ASSIST also reflect fully described C-ID approved courses.
For the CSU, C-ID can:
- provide assurances that courses in TMC-aligned associate degrees for transfer are comparable to the C-ID descriptors;
- provide an ongoing descriptor-based mechanism that can assist campuses in rapidly identifying locally determined and, where applicable, statewide major requirements that meet a descriptor that CSU faculty will have had a part in defining;
- define and publish a descriptor and ensure it is reviewed and revised regularly, to simplify articulation;
- satisfy the requirement of SB 1415 and the CSU-CCC MOU stipulating that a numbering system be created jointly with the CCCs and published by both systems.
For the CCCs, C-ID can:
- provide the infrastructure for the development of associate degrees for transfer, mandated in SB 1440;
- provide a one-to-many articulation mechanism that may offer CCCs articulation options not previously possible;
- offer students and faculty the published C-ID descriptors, matrices of participating institutions and comparable courses to assist them in planning their academic paths;
- continue with a common and easily decipherable numbering system while expanding the original intent of CAN, now more inclusive of postsecondary institutions and particular in its application to courses and programs offered at community colleges.
For the independent colleges and universities, C-ID can:
- provide an ongoing descriptor-based mechanism that can assist independent colleges/universities in rapidly identifying CCC courses that are comparable to their courses, thus potentially expanding their CCC articulation pool;
- facilitate a speedy acceptance of CCC courses if any course with a C-ID number is accepted in lieu of a university course, as many independent institutions agreed to under the previous CAN system;
- provide evidence of enhanced lower division course preparation when students have completed an AA-T or AS-T degree at a CCC prior to transferring to an independent college/university.
10. C-ID does not affect existing articulation. It provides an additional mechanism for articulation.
11. Yes, and there are benefits to doing so, politically and practically. Multiple prior bills calling for "common course numbering” are addressed with the C-ID numbering system. Today, legislators uninformed about C-ID are still calling for common course numbering. We can now inform them that we have a solution. When C-ID supra numbers are used in college catalogs that would satisfy the many legislative demands for "common” numbers across the state. Finally, having C-ID descriptors for the courses in the TMC makes the associate degrees for transfer even more attractive to UC and private universities.
12. Some of the independent institutions have responded to the request to articulate with C-ID descriptors. We look forward to more independent colleges/universities articulating C-ID descriptors and/or accepting of C-ID descriptors in lieu of their courses. In addition, there may be interest from the independents in accepting TMC- aligned associate degrees for transfer.