Transfer and Articulation
Statewide Common Course Numbering
June 2018
Statewide common-course numbering: A uniform numbering convention used at all public postsecondary institutions for lower-division courses.
| Yes/No | Description | Citation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Alaska | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Arizona | Yes | The community college districts and universities under jurisdiction of the Arizona Board of Regents must develop and implement a shared numbering system which identifies courses that transfer from community colleges to Arizona public universities toward a baccalaureate degree. | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 15-1824 |
| Arkansas | Yes | The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board must implement a statewide common course numbering system that 1) provides improved program planning, 2) increases communication among all delivery systems, 3) facilitates the transfer of students and credits between state-supported institutions of higher education, and 4) promotes consistency in course designation and identification. | Ark. Code Ann. § 6-61-1401 to 1407 |
| California | No | There is a policy but it only affects the CSU and community college system. The UC system and private institutions may adopt it but are not required. | |
| Colorado | Yes | The Colorado Commission on Higher Education must oversee the adoption of a statewide articulation matrix system of course numbering for general education courses. | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 23-1-108.5 |
| Connecticut | No | Only at the community college level. | |
| Delaware | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Florida | Yes | The Department of Education and the Board of Governors must develop, coordinate, and maintain a statewide course numbering system for postsecondary and dual enrollment education in school districts, public postsecondary institutions and participating non-public postsecondary institutions. | Fla. Stat. § 1007.25 |
| Georgia | No | Common course prefixes, numbers and descriptions are provided for all institutions in USG. Does not to apply to the TCSG institutions. | Board Policy 2.4.10 |
| Hawaii | No | Only at the community college level. | |
| Idaho | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Illinois | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Indiana | Yes | The Commission must develop, implement and maintain a common course numbering system to be used by each state educational institution for all courses in the core transfer library. This common course numbering system must be mapped to the unique course numbers used at each institution. | Ind. Code § 21-18-9-7 |
| Iowa | No | Only at the community college level. | |
| Kansas | Yes | Each course in the general core is identified by a shared course number. The Kansas Regents Shared Number (KRSN) uses a 3-letter prefix and a 4-digit course number. | Board Policy Ch. 3 Section 2 |
| Kentucky | No | Only in the community college system. | |
| Louisiana | Yes | The Board of Regents must develop, coordinate and maintain a statewide course numbering system for postsecondary and dual enrollment education at all public institutions. | La. Stat. Ann. § 17.3164 |
| Maine | No | The University of Maine system has a "uniform course numbering" system, however not linked to the Maine Community Colleges System. | |
| Maryland | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Massachusetts | No | Does not have common course numbering, however is currently working on the Common Course Numbering initiative to build a common course numbering system to ease the process of transfer among Massachusetts public colleges and universities. | |
| Michigan | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Minnesota | Yes | The regents of the University of Minnesota and the trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities must develop and maintain a common numbering convention to distinguish remedial, lower division, upper division and graduate level coursework. | Minn. Stat. § 135A.08 |
| Mississippi | No | Only at the community college level. | |
| Missouri | Yes | The coordinating board for higher education shall establish a standard core curriculum and a common course numbering equivalency matrix for lower-division courses to be used at community colleges and other public institutions of higher education to facilitate student transfers. | V.A.M.S 178.780 (10) |
| Montana | No | Implemented a process by which courses found to be equivalent throughout the Montana University System (MUS) are identified with a common number and title. This only applies to the Montana University System so does not qualify for "statewide". | Board Policy 301.5.5 |
| Nebraska | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Nevada | Yes | All undergraduate courses in the NSHE must be common-course numbered with equivalent courses offered throughout the system. | Board of Regents Title 4, Chapter 14, Section 16 |
| New Hampshire | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| New Jersey | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| New Mexico | Yes | By August 1, 2017, the Higher Education Department must establish a common course naming and numbering system of courses identified as substantially equivalent lower-division courses. | N.M. Stat. Ann. § 21-1B-3 |
| New York | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| North Carolina | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| North Dakota | Yes | If courses are accepted as "common" by academic disciplines, then those courses must have a common course number, title and generic description. | Board Policy 403.7.3 |
| Ohio | No | They offer articulation numbers but not a common course numbering system. | |
| Oklahoma | No | They have the Course Equivalency Project which is a resource service that provides course equivalency information to facilitate transfer. However they are not commonly numbered so it is not counted as common course numbering. | |
| Oregon | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Pennsylvania | No | Pennsylvania has course equivalencies but no common course numbering. | |
| Rhode Island | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| South Carolina | No | Does not have common course numbering, however provides the Equivalency Synchronizer which is a resource service that provides course equivalency information to facilitate transfer. | |
| South Dakota | Yes | Common courses must have common CIP codes, prefixes, course numbers, course titles, course descriptions and prerequisite requirements. Common courses are offered by institutions that have the same content and level of instruction. | Board Policy 2:25 |
| Tennessee | Yes | The Tennessee Higher Education Commission must create a common course numbering system within the community colleges and universities. The common course numbers ensure course equivalency and facilitate transfer. | Tenn. Code. Ann. § 49-7-202(f) |
| Texas | Yes | The board must approve a common course numbering system for lower-division courses to facilitate the transfer of those courses among institutions. | Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 61-832 |
| Utah | Yes | The Board must develop, coordinate and maintain a transfer and articulation system within the state system of higher education that maintains a course numbering system that assigns common numbers to specified courses of similar level with similar content, rigor and standards. | Utah Code Ann. § 53B-16-105 |
| Vermont | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Virginia | No | Only at the community college level. | |
| Washington | No | Only at the community college level. | |
| West Virginia | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Wisconsin | No | Does not have common course numbering. | |
| Wyoming | Yes | The commission must coordinate and maintain the common course numbering system to improve articulation among the community colleges and the University of Wyoming. This is called the Wyoming Course Identification System. | Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 21-18-202 |
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