General Education (GE) Council/GT Pathways/Transfer Agreements

Faculty-to-Faculty conferences occur each fall and spring semesters. These conferences are coordinated and organized by CDHE staff and GE Council.

• Conference Schedule

What is GT Pathways?

GT Pathways, or Guaranteed Transfer Pathways, is Colorado's statewide general education transfer initiative. Created by statute in 2001, GT Pathways is a 31-credit general education core in 6 different content areas. Institutions develop courses that align with content and competencies frameworks and student learning outcomes. These courses are guaranteed to transfer to fulfill general education requirements at other institutions, provided the grade earned in the course is not lower than a C- and the course is not duplicative of another course the student has taken to fulfill requirements in a given category.

• Content Criteria for Statewide Guaranteed Transfer GT Pathways Curriculum
• Competencies for Statewide Guaranteed Transfer GT Pathways Curriculum
• Content Criteria and Competencies with Student Learning Outcomes Matrix
• PowerPoint Presentation
• CDHE Announcement re New GT Pathways Process
• GT Pathways Approved Courses

How do I know if my course meets GT Pathways standards? 

We encourage institutional faculty to use the GT Pathways Course Review Checklist to ensure the proposed course is aligned with required content criteria and competencies. GE Council members will use this checklist and its corresponding rubric to review the sample syllabus for each new proposed GT Pathways course to determine if the course should be referred to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) for final approval. 

Review/Approval Process (Updated December 2025)

The GE Council acts as an advisory body to the CCHE and helps maintain the integrity of the GT Pathways course matrix. The Council's voting body is made up of one representative from each of Colorado's 31 public colleges and universities. Their role is to review proposed GT Pathways courses and ensure they align with statewide content and competency standards. 

Recent changes: 

• Until November 2025, GE Council members evaluated and approved courses.
• Department staff clarified that final approval authority rests with CCHE. 

To meet CCHE's agenda timeline, Department staff have introduced two key updates: 

• Submission Deadline: All new course proposals must be submitted to CDHE at least two weeks before scheduled GE Council meetings.
• Voting Process: After each meeting, voting will occur electronically. Representatives have up to five (5) business days to cast votes, allowing time for campus consultations while ensuring timely delivery to CCHE. 

Approval Threshold: Courses receiving at least two-thirds (66.7%) affirmative votes will move forward to CCHE for final approval and inclusion in the GT Pathways course matrix. 

Step-by-Step Workflow

1. Pre-Submission: Institutional representatives need to confirm the nominated course meets GT Pathways content and competencies with student learning outcomes for the proposed category and has gone through the institutional approval process before being presented to CDHE staff for consideration. The Colorado Community College Systems (CCCS) GE Council representative is responsible for submitting GT Pathways course submission on behalf of all CCCS campuses, Aims Community College, and Colorado Mountain College.
2. Submission: Email the following materials to CDHE (christina.carrillo@dhe.state.co.us) no later than two weeks before the monthly GE Council meeting:
   1. Completed Submission/Verification Form with Provost/CAO or their designee's signature (if submitting more than one course for the same GT Pathways content area, please use one form)
   2. Sample syllabus for each new course. Sample syllabus must demonstrate how the course meets the content and competencies of the proposed GT Pathways content area.
3. GE Council Review: CDHE staff will distribute meeting agendas and corresponding meeting materials, including completed submission/verification forms and sample syllabi for new GT Pathways courses, for GE council review one week prior to monthly meetings. GE Council members will discuss course proposals during monthly meetings.
4. GE Council Voting: GE Council members will be provided with a link to vote on each month's agenda. Voting closes five (5) business days after each month's meeting. Courses that receive two-thirds or 66.7% of the affirmative vote will be moved forward to the CCHE for final approval.
5. CCHE Student Success & Workforce Alignment Standing Committee Review: Courses that are moved forward to the Commission for final approval will first be reviewed by the CCHE Student Success & Workforce Alignment Standing Committee. This committee is comprised of 6-9 Commissioners and Advisors. This committee will discuss and recommend whether agenda items are moved to the full CCHE Business meeting for Consent, Action, or Discussion.
6. CCHE Business Meeting Approval: Courses approved by the SS&WA standing committee that are moved forward to the CCHE Business Meeting agenda as a consent item will likely have no discussion during this approval.
7. Notification: CDHE will communicate outcomes and updates to GT Pathways course lists upon conclusion of the CCHE Business meeting within 24 business hours. 

For additional information, please review the process for submitting GT Pathways course proposals.

Submission/Verification Forms

• Change Notification Form
• Arts & Humanities - GT-AH1 - Arts & Expression
• Arts & Humanities - GT-AH2 - Literature & Humanities
• Arts & Humanities - GT-AH3 - Ways of Thinking
• Arts & Humanities - GT-AH4 - World Languages
• History - GT-HI1
• Mathematics - GT-MA1
• Natural & Physical Sciences - GT-SC1 - Course with Required Laboratory
• Natural & Physical Sciences - GT-SC2 - Lecture Course without Required Laboratory
• Social & Behavioral Sciences - GT-SS1 - Economic or Political Systems
• Social & Behavioral Sciences - GT-SS2 - Geography
• Social & Behavioral Sciences - GT-SS3 - Human Behavior, Culture, or Social Frameworks
• Written Communication - GT-CO1 - Beginning Writing Course
• Written Communication - GT-CO2 - Intermediate Writing Course
• Written Communication - GT-CO3 - Advanced Writing Course

What are Statewide Transfer Articulation Agreements (STAAs)?

Statewide Transfer Articulation Agreements (STAAs) are defined in statute as agreements "among all of the state institutions of higher education for the transfer of an associate of arts of an associate of science degree" in "common degree programs" [§23-1-108(7)(g)(III) C.R.S.]. STAAs provide structure for students to complete a 60-credit associate degree "with designation" in a specific academic discipline, with guaranteed transfer (upon admission) and application of the full 60-credit degree toward bachelor's degree requirements, and with no more than 60 additional credits required to complete the bachelor's. 

STAAs were developed by two-year and four-year discipline-specific faculty starting in 2011. 

What is the process to develop or propose a new STAA? 

GE Council members act as their respective institutions' liaisons to assist the Department in the creation, adoption, and revision of STAAs. Interested faculty should contact their institution's GE Council representative for information about how to develop or propose a new STAA. 

What is the revision process for STAAs?

GE Council members are responsible for assisting the Department in reviewing and revising STAAs no less frequently than every five years. This includes facilitating meetings for discipline-specific faculty to negotiate revisions to their agreement; recruiting discipline-specific faculty to participate in revision negotiations; and facilitating institutional adoption of revisions to STAAs. 

These reviews help to ensure that the agreements remain current with change in disciplines and professions, are easy to understand by students and families, and are free of roadblocks to completion based on student, advisor, and faculty experience. 

The STAA revision process will resume in fall 2025.

Transfer Agreements and Institutional Transfer Guides

Protocol Regarding Statewide Transfer Articulation Agreements for Bachelor's Degrees in the State of Colorado (2/13/2012)

Flow Chart - Protocol Regarding Statewide Transfer Articulation Agreements for Bachelor's Degrees in the State of Colorado (2/13/2012)

Status Matrix for Statewide Transfer Articulation Agreements (as of 9/16/2014)

• Colorado Revised Statutes: The most recently updated version at LexisNexis is linked here. It is always better to go directly to the statute rather than the bill that created or amended it.
• §23-1-108(7), Colorado Revised Statute
  • Defines “Statewide Degree Transfer Agreement” as an agreement among all state institutions of higher education for the transfer of an AA or AS degree and applies to common degree programs;
  • Stipulates that under these agreements, receiving institutions shall accept in transfer all credit hours of acceptable courses in an AA or AS degree; if admitted, students will be enrolled with junior status; the receiving institution may not require any additional credits of lower-division GT Pathways courses (except for those necessary for preparation in the degree program and which are published and do not extend the time to degree beyond that required for native students); credits earned within 10 years of transfer shall apply; the GPA required of transfer students shall be no higher than that required of native students; and
  • Requires at least fourteen of these agreements by July 1, 2016 (H.B. 10-1208).
• §23-1-108.5(1-6), Colorado Revised Statute
  • Authorizes GE Council and a statewide articulation matrix system of common course numbering (GT Pathways general education core) (H.B. 01-1298 “The Berry Bill”).
• §23-1-125(1-5), Colorado Revised Statute
  • Defines-Student Bill of Rights, Degree Requirements, Implementation of Core Courses, Competency Testing, Credit for Prior Learning, and Nonpublic Institution of Higher Education Participation in GT Pathways (H.B. 01-1263 “The King Bill” and S.B. 10-108).
• §23-60-211(1-2) and §23-71-123(3), Colorado Revised Statute
  • Allows Colorado Community College System and Junior Colleges to offer degrees with designation for statewide transfer/articulation agreements (S.B. 10-088).
• Statewide Transfer and GT Pathways Policy and Student Complaint Policy