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

What is the GE Council?

The GE Council is defined in statute as a cross-institutional "council of higher education representatives" and is convened pursuant to §23-1-108.5 (3) Colorado Revised Statute. The council’s statutory duties include:

Recommend to CCHE a system of common course numbering for GT Pathways;
Recommend to CCHE coursework to include in GT Pathways;
Recommend to CCHE statewide transfer articulation agreements; and
Participate in and collaborate with CDHE on Faculty-to-Faculty Conferences.
Membership
Meeting Schedule

CCHE Resolution of Tribute to the General Education Council

Faculty-to-Faculty Conferences

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

Conference Schedule

GT Pathways

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.

Review/Approval Process

Rostered members of the GE Council are required to submit completed submission and/or change notification forms on behalf of their institutions (or Systems) for courses they would like to have considered for inclusion to the GT Pathways database. Courses must meet the content and competencies criteria for GT Pathways as well as each institution's (or System's) approval process before being presented to CDHE staff for consideration.

All new GT Pathways course submissions must be turned in by noon on the first Monday of each month in order to appear on that month's GE Council agenda. New GT Pathways course submissions must be accompanied by a sample syllabus, demonstrating how the course meets the content and competencies of the proposed GT Pathways content area (e.g., GT-AH3 or GT-SS3).

Submission/Verification Forms

Statewide Transfer Articulation Agreements and Institutional Transfer Guides

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.

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

STAAs were developed by faculty from across the state in 38 different areas, starting in 2011. The

What is the revision process for STAAs?

, and are reviewed and revised as needed every five years by faculty from two- and four-year institutions, convened by CDHE staff and the GE Council. 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.

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)

Related Colorado Statutes and CCHE Policies

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