Community college students were struggling to transfer. Now, they have a pathway to Arizona State

California Community Colleges announced an agreement Thursday with Arizona State University that creates a guaranteed transfer pathway for students.

In recent years, ASU has been rapidly expanding, “growing with no end in sight and expanding well beyond the state's borders,” as AZ Central put it. For California community colleges, the new agreement offers a new option for students who struggle to transfer to the California State University and University of California systems.

For over a decade, California community college students could enroll in a two-year associate degree of transfer after it was codified in law. There are about 60 ADT options students can do. The law envisioned that if students completed that program, they were guaranteed admission to a California State University campus. In recent years, that guaranteed transfer degree has also let students transfer to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

What transfer options do students have?

But the transfer process is not an easy one.

A state audit of the transfer process in 2024 found that only 21% of students who started at a California community college between 2017 and 2019 transferred to a four-year university within four years of starting their ADT program. The audit pointed to “financial insecurity, family responsibilities, and an inability to relocate.”

Another reason: CSU and UC had complicated transfer requirements that were difficult for students to navigate. And transfer students weren’t always offered their first-choice CSU or UC school — so even if they got into a CSU or UC school, sometimes they didn’t go because it was not in the region they were applying to.

The audit also found:

• every community college did not offer all ADTs
• all CSU campuses did not accept all the ADTs
• not all community colleges offered counseling to make sure students had the required number of units to transfer. 

The Arizona State option

Enter ASU with a golden ticket, literally.

At a signing ceremony at their center downtown, ASU officials demonstrated — printed-out tickets in hand — how ASU was going to guarantee a degree pathway for every student who completes the ADT.

 ”The plan here is to try to increase transfer, increase completion of baccalaureates in equitable ways for Californians,” said James Todd, chief academic officer at the California Community Colleges.

“ What makes this unique is this is the most comprehensive ADT partnership that has existed for the California Community Colleges,” said Jeff DeFranco, special advisor to the provost at ASU. “Arizona State University is accepting all 60 associate degrees for transfers. So we're saying we're accepting all these, and those 60 actually lead and open you up to nearly ... 100 different degree options.”

Students who choose to transfer to ASU can enroll on campus in Arizona, do the program online or opt for ASU Local, where you do your coursework online but you have a weekly meeting with your fellow students and ASU staff.

“ What ASU could provide is, for instance, let's say you can't leave your community, and this was the case for many students: childcare, supporting an intergenerational household, work commitments, whatever was going on — sometimes they can't leave,” he said. “ASU has more than 200 bachelor's degrees online, and that is very unique.”