Beginning in the Fall 2025 semester, California community college students planning to transfer to either a University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU), will experience a new change in the requirements for general education classes. The implementation of the California General Education Transfer Curriculum (CALGETC) is a new pathway that will replace both the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) and the CSU General Education Breadth (CSU-GE), creating a single streamlined system for students looking to transfer.
Alongside CALGETC, the state is also rolling out a statewide common course numbering system in Fall 2025. Both initiatives stem from California Assembly Bill 928, signed into law in 2021, while the course numbering system is designed to standardize the naming of the most commonly taken course names across all of California’s community colleges.
The creation of CALGETC is the result of the state looking to make the transfer process easier for students and requires California’s public higher education systems— community colleges, UCs and CSUs to collaborate to create a general education pathway for all to follow.
“So instead of having two, they’ve created one,” said A’kilah Smith, Vice President of Instruction at Los Medanos College (LMC). “The California community colleges, the UCs, and the CSUs worked together to create one pathway. It’s just supposed to streamline things and make it easier for students.”
The main goal of CALGETC is to reduce confusion and remove obstacles in front of students as they navigate many transfer options. “Instead of having two different transfer general education options, the University of California, California State University, and California Community College systems worked together to develop one single general education model,” Rachel Anicetti, the interim dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences said.
By eliminating inconsistencies between the UC and CSU systems, CALGETC aims to help students stay on track and graduate more efficiently.
“The idea is that by having just one pathway, it removes confusion and makes it clearer for students who want to transfer,” said Smith. “This is supposed to help students with transfer and completion rates. If it’s clearer, students can stay on track and graduate faster.”
Students who follow the CALGETC pathway will be required to complete 11 general education courses instead of the 12 that were previously required under IGETC. Certain requirements will stay the same, however, there are notable changes in the pathway that include the addition of an oral communication class and the removal of foreign language, and lifelong learning requirements.
The implementation of CALGETC is a process that faculty and staff at LMC have been preparing for. “Our Communications department redesigned their curriculum to meet new standards for the UC system,” said Anicetti. “Our Curriculum Committee ensured that as many courses as possible were UC-transferable, and our Counseling department has been training themselves and others on the new requirements to make sure all students are able to stay on track with their transfer goals.”
The upcoming shift will be new territory for everyone, however, CALGETC will only be required for students who enroll in a California community college beginning in Fall 2025 or later. While current students will have the option to transition to CALGETC if they choose, they still can complete their transfer under the existing IGETC or CSU-GE requirements.
To ensure students are informed, LMC is ramping up its outreach efforts.
“LMC is adding information to our website, college catalog, and around campus to make sure students are aware and informed,” Anicetti said.
In Fall 2025, students will also see the first use of the common course numbering system. Ensuring that equivalent courses have the same number system-wide, this initiative aims to make the designation of courses statewide clearer and consistent.
“The common course numbering system is meant to make it easier for students if you go to any California community college,” Smith explained.
The implementation of common course numbering will occur over the course of phases. “Phase one focuses on high-enrollment transfer courses, like English and math,” Smith said. “Then phase two expands to additional major prep courses. The goal is to have everything aligned over time.”
The shift aims to help students who are transferring across community colleges, eliminating confusion as they work towards their unique educational goals. “This is really about making it easier for students—no more trying to figure out if a class transfers from one community college to another. The number will be the same across the state,” Smith emphasized. “The more informed students are, the better decisions they can make.”
Although the implementation of both CALGETC and common course numbering are intended to benefit students, the changes may take time to adjust to and cause challenges for certain students. However, during this transitional process, faculty and staff at LMC are working to ensure a smooth process.
“We don’t want to confuse current students. This mostly impacts new students, but we want to make sure everyone understands what’s happening.”
For students seeking more clarification, information is available to all on the state’s official website, AB928committee.org.
