By: Judy Chan, Deputy Director, Data Programs
As part of the Master Plan for Career Education, in 2024 C2C hosted the eTranscript California and Career Passport Task Force. The Task Force brought together leaders across state agencies, education segments, and the private sector to provide recommendations on how to leverage eTranscript California to reduce administrative burdens for students and explore the idea of a Career Passport that would support skills-first hiring. That effort yielded over 80 recommendations. I want to spotlight just one of those recommendations and how it took seed with the University of California’s (UC) recent guidance.
A Task Force with Big Ideas
As explored in the Task Force, one of the challenges students face is understanding how the dual enrollment courses they take can be used to meet A-G requirements, a combination of 15 college preparatory courses required to be eligible for UC and California State University (CSU) freshman college admissions. One of the recommendations that came from the Task Force was to use ASSIST, a tool managed by UC containing articulation agreements for transfers, to clarify whether a college course a student is dually enrolled in maps to A-G eligibility requirements.
Recently, the UC issued guidance that clarifies the intersection of A-G requirements and California General Education Transfer Curriculum (CalGETC) requirements. This new guidance will help students understand whether the dual enrollment courses they take can be used to meet their A-G requirements. It helps students and the counselors supporting them select appropriate courses that pave the way to postsecondary success.
Supporting Students with Dual Enrollment
Dual enrollment programs have been increasing across the nation. As they become more prevalent, students have more opportunities to earn college credit while in high school and reduce their time to earn a college degree. The California Community Colleges’ Vision 2030 and the Master Plan for Career Education support the expansion of dual enrollment and the goal of increasing the number of dual enrolled students earning 12 or more units of college credit by high school graduation.
However, not all dual enrollment is equal, and not all students have equal access to dual enrollment. The UC guidance helps students avoid random acts of dual enrollment that result in disconnected credits that do not count towards requirements and instead have more intentional plans that align with their postsecondary goals. This reduces the burden on students when applying to college, reduces excess/unused credits and can level the playing field for first-generation college students who may have less access to information and resources to help them in their pursuit of higher education.
C2C created space for agencies to come together, explore opportunities, and imagine possibilities for things to work differently for the students of California. Convenings like C2C’s eTranscript California and Career Passport Task Force are important because of their ability to be a driving force for change and cross agency collaboration. It was exciting to see ideas that were seeded from the Task Force come into play. As C2C continues its role in accelerating data innovations with our partners, we hope to share more examples of how collaboration across silos can make a difference for students.