The Use, Effectiveness, and Awareness of the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC): An Evaluation.

The Intersegmental Committee of Academic Senates (ICAS) for the California Community Colleges undertook this study to assess the degree of use, effectiveness, and awareness of Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC). IGETC was adopted in 1991 by the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the California Community Colleges (CCC) systems. IGETC identifies a set course of requirements that will satisfy lower-division general education requirements for the student to transfer to any UC or CSU if a student completes the requirements at any community college. Two questionnaires were delivered (via mail and Internet), one to CSU and UC upper-division students who had transferred from a community college, and one to counseling faculty in the CCC. The total available student population was approximately 30,700 (22,700 from CSU and 8,000 from UC). A total of 2,082 students completed and submitted the survey. Surveys were also submitted by 332 community college counseling faculty (estimated to represent one-third of the statewide total of counselors). Key findings include: 82% of UC transfer students and 48% of CSU transfer students used IGETC. In addition, 54% of students who used IGETC reported using it in order to assure completion of general education requirements, 39% used it to transfer to CSU, and 37% used it to transfer to UC. The appendixes, containing the student survey; the counseling faculty survey; and an extensive number of data tables from the study comprise the majority of the document's contents. (NB)