ASSISTance: Summer 2023

Upcoming ASSIST Closures and Important Dates 

Please note the following office closures for ASSIST Central Services (ACS) for the remainder of the 2023 calendar year:

• Veterans Day
  • Friday, November 10
• Thanksgiving
  • Thursday, November 23
  • Friday, November 24
• Winter Holiday
  • Monday, December 25
  • Tuesday, December 26
• Winter Curtailment
  • Wednesday, December 27
  • Thursday, December 28
• New Year Holiday
  • Friday, December 29
  • Monday, January 1, 2024

Normal ACS operating hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm.

Articulation Modernization Project

ASSIST is approaching another milestone of its Articulation Modernization Project: the ability to publish and search for modernized articulation agreements for academic year 2023-2024 on the ASSIST website. California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) articulation officers (AOs) received access to the modernized articulation management system over the summer and continue to work diligently in preparation for this milestone. ASSIST is optimistic this milestone will be reached by early November. 

Please note the distinction between assist.org system readiness to display articulation agreements for 2023-2024 and the actual agreement availability for 2023-2024. Each CSU and UC campus is responsible for managing articulation agreements. The amount of work needed to prepare agreements in the modernized articulation system, the readiness of community college course curriculum updates, and campus-specific publishing practices all impact agreement availability on assist.org. 

For more information, please check the Frequently Asked Questions on this topic.

ASSIST Data Sharing

ASSIST has experienced an increase in requests for data. At this time, the following data files are available to CCC, CSU, and UC campuses:

File #1 - UC Transferable Courses
File #2 - CSU Transferable Courses
File #3 - IGETC Approved Courses
File #4 - CSU GE Breadth Certification Courses
File #5 - CSU US History, Constitution and American Ideals Approved Courses

All data extracted from the ASSIST system is in a format to be uploaded and interpreted by another computer system, such as a campus degree audit or transfer planning application. 

Data sharing expansions, including the ability to share articulation data via API, are planned for Winter 2024. Please refer to the Data page for updates.

Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU) Integration

As reported previously, ASSIST is also planning for and working toward integration of Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU) institutions. In preparation for integration, an implementation plan was drafted for and approved by the ASSIST Executive Sponsors over the summer.

High level aspects of the plan include:

• ASSIST Central Services (ACS) will host informational webinars for AICCU institutions to learn more about the work involved with managing course information and articulation agreements in ASSIST.
• ACS will hold focus groups for assist.org users to gather input and help determine the optimal methods for searching and navigating the assist website for AICCU related agreements. Assist.org users interested in participating in these focus groups should email help@assist.org.
• The first AICCU Participating Member Institution cohort will be confirmed in Winter 2024.
• System development, staff recruitment, and training will occur in Spring 2024.
• The cohort will receive access to begin working on 24-25 articulation agreements in Summer 2024.

ASSIST Office Hours

The ACS team continues to offer regular office hours for AOs covering different facets of managing data in ASSIST. Office hours are structured to cover a specific ASSIST-related topic but typically have no agenda. Instead, data managers are able to drop in, ask questions related to the specific topic, and hear what others ask or have to say. It’s a chance for the ASSIST team to connect with users and provide refreshers on using various parts of the system.

In 2023, ASSIST Office Hours covered the following topics:

• Curriculum data updates
• UC Transfer Course Agreement (UC TCA) submissions in ASSIST
• “Welcome back” refresher on using ASSIST
• UC TCA appeal submissions in ASSIST
• Modernized articulation application
• Curriculum area improvements and new features

The final ASSIST Office Hours of 2023 will cover CSU General Education (CSUGE), Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC), and CSU American Institution (CSUAI) submissions in ASSIST

• If you are a California Community College (CCC) articulation officer or data managing user of ASSIST, please contact your ASSIST Senior Articulation Analyst for more information.
• ACS is looking to expand its office hours offerings in 2024! If you would like to request an office hours topic, please use the ASSIST Office Hours Topic/Demo Request Form.

ASSIST Workgroup

The ASSIST Articulation Officer Workgroup met recently and provided input on the following topics:

• Legislative mandates - the group provided invaluable feedback and held important discussion regarding the perceived role of ASSIST with respect to recent legislative mandates AB 1111 and AB 928
• AICCU educational webinars - based on their experience, the group provided its thoughts on what vital information should be shared with AICCU institutions who attend the informational webinars. 
• Curriculum and Articulation Data Policies - ACS is finalizing curriculum and articulation data management policy. The visibility and use of ASSIST data means the integrity of that data is of the utmost importance. The purpose of these policies is not to modify curriculum or articulation practices at any institution but rather, to codify and document current process and best practices for how curriculum and articulation data is managed within ASSIST applications.

The next ASSISTance update will come in 2024 so from all of us at ASSIST, we wish you a productive and joyful end to the 2023 year!