How do community college credits transfer?

Can someone explain how credits transfer from a community college to a university in general? Are there certain guidelines or agreements that colleges follow to ensure credits are counted?

When community college students want to transfer to a 4-year university, their credits are usually evaluated in one of two ways: course equivalency and course applicability.

In the course equivalency approach, each course from the community college is examined individually to see if there is a direct equivalent course at the university. For instance, an English 101 course at a community college might be the equivalent of an English 101 course at the university. If there is no exact match, the credit may not transfer, or it might transfer as an elective credit.

In the course applicability approach, the university considers the relevance of a course to the student's desired program of study. So, even if there is no direct equivalent at the university for a specific community college course, the credit might still transfer if the course is applicable to the student's intended degree.

Each university typically has a policy on how it approaches the transfer of credits. Some schools have "articulation agreements" with community colleges, which are formal agreements that define which community college credits will be accepted by the university.

Community college students can often get a preliminary idea of whether their credits will transfer by using tools provided by many universities and community colleges, often found on their websites. These tools, often called "transfer equivalency portals" or "transfer equivalency databases," allow students to plug in their community college courses to see how they might transfer to the university.

However, the actual transfer of credits isn't finalized until their application is fully processed and an official evaluation is completed. After admission, universities typically provide a credit evaluation report, which shows which community college credits have been accepted.

It's always best to check with both your community college and the university you are planning to transfer to for the most accurate and specific advice. Getting in touch with academic advisors at both institutions can help clarify any doubts or specific situations, such as how a course you've taken falls into your degree program at the university you wish to transfer to. For example, it's common for some general education courses to transfer easily, while specialized or vocational courses might not always transfer or might be credited as electives.