What is the CEP?
The Course Equivalency Project (CEP) is a postsecondary
education resource service that provides course equivalency information to
facilitate student transfer within the Oklahoma System of Higher Education.
Its database contains faculty-generated course equivalency information for
hundreds of courses offered at public institutions in Oklahoma. The courses
are organized by discipline: biology, history, etc. Within each discipline,
several equivalency groups appear, each containing a collection of courses
from sponsoring institutions. A generic course title and State Regents' equivalency
number (a two-letter prefix and three-digit number) located at the top of
columns identify each equivalency group. Credit for a course within a group
can be transferred to any system institution which sponsors a course in that
group.
What is the Definition
of Equivalency?
Course equivalency is defined as follows: Course "A" is equivalent
to course "B" if and only if "A" satisfies all program
requirements that course "B" satisfies--serving exactly the same
purpose with respect to content delivery, general education or program degree
requirements. Lower-division course work cannot substitute for upper-division
credit-hour requirements. However, the content is transferable. For example,
if a student completes Smart Course 2000 at two-year college A, it will transfer
in content to four-year college B for its Smart Course 3000. The student will
not need to repeat the content or learning competencies acquired in Smart
Course 2000. But, the student must still complete the full amount of 3000-
and 4000-level semester hours that college B requires for a baccalaureate
degree.
How Does the CEP Benefit
Students?
Students who anticipate transferring to other institutions can access the
CEP to learn which institutions will automatically credit their course work
as being equivalent. From the CEP, students can also reach available home
pages of system institutions to find more detailed information about course
descriptions, prerequisites, or degree requirements.
How Does the CEP Benefit Faculty?
The CEP gives faculty the opportunity to update curriculum annually on a
statewide basis. When designing new curriculum, faculty can use the CEP as
a course equivalency reference and obtain course content descriptions. Faculty
Curriculum Transfer Committees representing all system institutions establish
the common course content descriptions for their disciplines.
How Does the CEP Benefit Academic Advisors?
With the CEP, academic advisors can quickly access accurate, up-to-date
course equivalency information, helping students make better informed decisions
about their education planning. Advisors can also impact the development of
the CEP. Oklahoma Academic Advisors Association (OACADA) representatives attend
annual system-wide faculty transfer meetings, and advisors can use the evaluation
component of the CEP to provide important feedback information for improving
its service.
Why Should Students Seek Academic Advising?
Incomplete educational planning can lengthen the time it takes students
to complete a degree and adds unnecessary costs. Visit with your academic
advisor to develop a comprehensive and accurate educational plan. Advisors
can identify those courses listed in the CEP that require prerequisites and
can help outline institutions' program degree requirements. Advisors can also
inform students about those courses that individual institutions consider
equivalent in separate articulation agreements but are not included in the
CEP. Finally, academic advisors inform students of support services and other
valuable campus information that can give students a competitive edge.
Disclaimers
- Any individual may download and/or print the information contained herein for purposes of course planning, advisement or other educational use. Because it is not possible to ensure the accuracy of any such copy, the State Regents are not responsible for the contents of downloaded information or any information derived therefrom.
- This information does not constitute a contractual agreement that institutions will offer all the courses described.
- CEP information is valid only for the academic year listed in the heading.
How to Use the CEP
The course equivalency information uses Adobe Acrobat
Reader, which presents data in Portable Document Format (PDF) files. PDF files
can display and print exactly as the author designed. For those who do not
have the Adobe software, a link is provided below. Course equivalency information
for years prior to 1998-99 do not require Adobe for viewing. Download a free copy of Acrobat Reader.
The matrix uses a menu-oriented system that is familiar to users of the Internet. Move the cursor to the drop-down menu and click on it. Move up and down the information by clicking on the scrolling arrows on the right or by using the up and down arrow buttons on the keyboard. To select a discipline, point to it with the cursor and click or use the "Enter" button to select a highlighted discipline.
The PDF will open in a new window. Use the Ctrl+ or Ctrl- buttons to enlarge or reduce the matrix size. Click on the various options Adobe provides to experience the multiple view and print formats. When using an Internet browser other than Netscape Navigator 3.0 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, some formatting distortions may occur.
The courses are organized by discipline: biology, history, etc. Within each discipline, several equivalency groups appear, each containing a collection of courses from sponsoring institutions. A generic course title and State Regents' equivalency number (a two-letter prefix and three-digit number) located at the top of columns identify each equivalency group. Credit for a course within a group can be transferred to any system institution which sponsors a course in that group.
When you select an academic discipline, such as mathematics, all established course equivalencies for that discipline will appear along with a list of system institutions that offer equivalent courses in that discipline. The equivalency information is in a matrix format with institutions listed vertically to the left and equivalency group headings and numbers listed horizontally along the top. All courses appearing in a column are considered equivalent at "only" the course-offering institutions.
For more detailed information about a particular course (course content, credit hours awarded, relationship to degree requirements and specified prerequisites) select an institution's home page by selecting Colleges and Universities from the main Student Center menu. If available, search the institution's home page for its course catalog or course offerings.
For an explanation of the notes, common course descriptions and institution acronyms, see the Appendix (PDF, 407k).
How to Access the CEP Equivalency Information for
Prior Years
Every year, faculty representing all system institutions
meet to update and add courses to the course equivalency matrices. There is
a different CEP version for each academic year beginning with 1996-1997. Institutions
keep a record of previous CEPs so that students can transfer to other system
institutions without losing the established equivalencies for completed course
work. Please refer to the menu for access: Course
Equivalency Tables.
How to Interpret Course Numbers
Course numbers of individual institutions
show considerable variation. Generally though, all 1000-numbered courses are
freshman level, 2000-numbered courses are sophomore level, 3000-numbered courses
are junior level and 4000-numbered courses are senior level. Upper-division
course work is numbered at the 3000 level or above, and lower-division work
is numbered at the 2000 level or below.
Evaluation
Component
For purposes of improving the CEP,
please address your suggestions or comments on the project to etaylor@osrhe.edu.
