Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation (CCTA)
All degree programs and all Arizona General Education Curriculum certificates offered by MCCCD include a core of required general education courses. The general education core of the program of study for an associate degree or a certificate helps students develop a greater understanding of themselves, of their relationship with others, and of the richly diverse world in which they live. The general education experience provides students with opportunities to explore broad areas of commonly held knowledge and prepares them to contribute to society through personal, social, and professional interactions with others. General education fosters students’ personal development by opening them to new directions, perspectives, and processes, and encourages them to:
- Build self-awareness, self-respect, and self-confidence,
- Recognize and respect the beliefs, traditions, abilities, and customs of all people and all cultures,
- Consider the local, global, and environmental impacts of personal, professional, and social decisions and actions,
- Access, evaluate, analyze, synthesize, and use information wisely,
- Communicate effectively personally, socially, and professionally,
- Think critically, make informed decisions, solve problems, and implement decisions,
- Consider the ethical implications of their choices,
- Value and pursue learning throughout their lives,
- Integrate and connect ideas and events in a historical perspective, and understand the relatedness of the past, the present, and the future,
- Develop a personal sense of aesthetics,
- Use technological resources appropriately and productively,
- Work cooperatively and respectfully with others to serve their communities.
The general education experience at MCCCD comprises disciplines across the curriculum in order to provide the learner with the following essential knowledge and skills:
- Communication
- Arts and Humanities
- Numeracy
- Scientific Inquiry in the Natural and Social Sciences
- Information Literacy
- Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking
- Cultural Diversity
General Education within MCCCD curriculum is responsive to articulation considerations and the transfer needs of its students. The major component of General Education in MCCCD is the Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC), a state-wide certificate that satisfies the lower-division general education requirements of all Arizona public universities and colleges. The AGEC is integrated within all MCCCD transfer programs (AA, AS, ABus, AAEE, AAFA) in a way that allows MCCCD students to progress among Arizona public post-secondary institutions without duplication of time, effort or expense. Completion of the AGEC guarantees MCCCD students admission to any Arizona public baccalaureate-granting institution. AGEC Requirements MCCCD transfer degrees include additional general education requirements beyond the AGEC, which complete the MCCCD general education experience of the student.
The AGEC is designed in three forms in order to support the focus of different MCCCD transfer degrees. The AGEC A is designed to satisfy requirements in many liberal arts majors as well as other majors that articulate with the Associate in Arts (e.g., social sciences, fine arts, humanities). The Associate in Arts in Elementary Education and the Associate of Arts, Fine Arts also incorporate the AGEC A. The AGEC B is designed to satisfy requirements in business majors that articulate with the Associate in Business. The AGEC S is designed to satisfy requirements in majors with more prescriptive mathematics and mathematics-based science requirements and articulates with the Associate in Science.
Current information regarding MCCCD courses with general education designations in the AGEC can be accessed via the following link: https://aztransmac2.asu.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/agecweb.woa
General Education is also integrated into other MCCCD degree programs that are not specifically designed for transfer to an Arizona public university. The Associate in General Studies (AGS), the Associate of Applied Science, and the Associate in Transfer Partnership degrees each contain General Education requirements appropriate to their particular focus of study.
MCCCD District Curriculum Committee approval can sometimes be granted to waive one or two General Education requirements for a particular AAS degree when the program requirements include the knowledge and skills addressed by the General Education requirement(s).Waiving General Education Requirements
The Arizona community colleges and universities participate in a statewide articulation and transfer system, which includes the process for transfer of lower division general education credits, general elective credits, and curriculum requirements for approved majors, and facilitates the transfer of community college students to Arizona public universities. Information related to the statewide transfer system and its curriculum components is available at http://aztransfer.com. AZtransfer.com is an important resource for curriculum development which contains detailed information pertaining to:
- Course Equivalencies
- Articulation Task Forces
- Transfer Policies
- Standardized Exam Scores
Within the parameters of the statewide General Education model, and guided by the best interests of MCCCD students, MCCCD aligns its General Education curriculum with the General Studies curriculum at Arizona State University (ASU). Such an alignment facilitates the transfer of General Education coursework between MCCCD colleges and ASU and clarifies course selection for MCCCD students intending to pursue a degree at ASU. Under this alignment, the identification of MCCCD courses that can satisfy General Education requirements in MCCCD transfer degrees is guided by designations granted by the ASU General Studies Council. However, MCCCD retains the authority to designate, as a District, courses that will satisfy general education requirements in its degrees. Such action is exceptional.
ASU General Studies designations carried by MCCCD courses are established in a variety of ways:
- Direct course equivalency: An MCCCD course that is the direct equivalent of an ASU course carries the same GS/GE designations as the ASU course to which it is equivalent. If ASU adds or deletes a GS designation(s) for such a course, the MCCCD equivalent course gains or loses the designation(s). No action is taken by MCCCD.
If MCCCD modifies a course that has direct course equivalency and a GS/GE designation(s), the MCCCD course is re-evaluated to determine whether the modification affects its equivalency status; it may gain or lose equivalency and GS/GE designation(s). If an MCCCD course loses ASU course equivalency, a request can be made for independent General Studies designation(s).
When a new MCCCD course is created, CCTA submits a request for evaluation for ASU course equivalency at the request of the course initiator. If course equivalency is approved, the course gains the GS/GE designation(s) carried by the ASU equivalent course. - No direct course equivalency: An MCCCD course that is not equivalent to an ASU course may gain GS/GE designations through evaluation by the ASU General Studies Council at the request of an MCCCD instructional council. A request for GS evaluation by ASU can be made when a new course is created or at any time thereafter.
If an MCCCD course with no ASU equivalency that carries a GS/GE designation is modified, it is re-evaluated to determine whether the modification affects the ASU GS designation(s), and may or may not lose the designation(s). - Mandatory review: An MCCCD course that carries one or more GS/GE designations is reviewed every five years by the ASU General Studies Council to ensure that it continues to fulfill ASU General Studies definitions; it may retain or lose one or more designations. A separate mandatory review is conducted for each designation.
Recommendations made by a state-wide Articulation Task Force or by ASU faculty can also result in either a gain or a loss of ASU course equivalency and GS/GE designation(s).
Proposing an MCCCD course for ASU General Studies evaluation follows a specific process and is guided by the MCCCD General Studies Faculty Representative. Detailed information and access to required forms are available at General Studies.
When an MCCCD course gains or loses an ASU general education designation, the change is reflected in all appropriate general education areas of all appropriate MCCCD degrees including the AA, ABus GR, ABus SR, AS, AGS, AAS, as well as the AGEC A, AGEC B, and AGEC S.
The Arizona Course Equivalency Guide (CEG) within the Arizona Course Applicability System (AZCAS) indicates how Arizona public universities will accept courses transferred from Arizona public community college districts.
MCCCD courses can be proposed for MCCCD General Education designations according to the MCCCD General Education Proposal process. Faculty, administrators and curriculum personnel at the initiating college collaborate in the early planning of such proposal. Because courses are approved for general education on a district wide basis, the appropriate instructional council(s) are involved in the earliest stages of proposal development. Instructional councils guide the development of general education proposals and have the authority to approve or disapprove a general education proposal. After instructional council approval, final review and action by the District Curriculum Committee (DCC) and the MCCCD Governing Board completes the processing of MCCCD General Education proposals. Specific information regarding the processing of MCCCD General Education proposals is available in Creating the MCCCD General Education Proposal