New partnership ensures that graduates can transfer to ASU and complete a bachelor's degree in 2 years after earning an Associate Degree for Transfer

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Arizona State University and California Community Colleges have announced a statewide partnership that enables students who earn an Associate Degree for Transfer from a California community college guaranteed access to bachelor's degree programs at ASU.

Officials from ASU and the California Community Colleges system commemorated the agreement on Oct. 8 at the ASU California Center Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.

"This agreement recognizes the progress and success that California community college students have already made and gives them something all transfer students deserve: certainty about what their work counts for and clear paths to graduating with bachelor's degrees," said Nancy Gonzales, executive vice president and university provost at Arizona State University.

"By accepting every California ADT and connecting each one to several ASU degree options, we are expanding students' choices and making high-quality bachelor's degrees attainable for more Californians."

Through the partnership, every Associate Degree for Transfer, commonly known statewide as an ADT, will map to ASU bachelor's degree pathways across nearly 100 academic programs. Leaders from ASU and CCC describe it as the most comprehensive set of ADT transfer options available from a single institution.

Students who complete ADTs will receive guaranteed admission to ASU, and those who enroll in aligned bachelor's degree programs will enter with junior standing. ASU will accept at least 60 semester units or 90 quarter units of eligible California community college coursework, and the completed ADTs will satisfy ASU's lower-division general education requirements in the aligned pathways. Students can then complete bachelor's degrees with no more than 60 additional semester units.

Beyond the nearly 100 programs directly mapped to California ADTs, students can explore nearly 500 in-person bachelor's degree options in Arizona and California and more than 200 ASU Online options. In cases where a program is not mapped directly to a student's ADT, eligible coursework can still apply toward the degree. ASU plans to align more ASU degrees to corresponding ADT programs, further broadening options for transfer students.

ADT: A degree with a guarantee
California Community Colleges form the largest college system in the nation, yet the path from an associate degree to a bachelor's degree can prove to be out of reach for many students. Just 1 in 10 community college students transfer to four-year institutions within two years; they often face uncertainty about whether courses will apply, whether space will be available in their intended program and how long it will take to finish after transfer.

The partnership also aims to support the demand for graduates with bachelor's degrees across California. By 2033, California is expected to add hundreds of thousands of jobs requiring bachelor's degrees across fields including technology, finance, health care, education and social services. Expanding pathways to degree completion will add critical opportunities for students in a state where capacity at state institutions is limited. Access to ASU's portfolio of degrees will help more Californians benefit from those opportunities while meeting the state's growing workforce needs.

California originally created the ADT to give community college students more direct paths into bachelor's degree programs at the California State University system. The credential packages community college credits into a recognized transfer degree, giving students and advisers a common starting point for planning the next stage of education after high school. The new agreement between ASU and CCC is designed to broaden opportunities for students in California to transfer to one of the largest and most comprehensive public research universities in the nation.

ASU will accept all 60 California ADTs, including Associate in Arts for Transfer and Associate in Science for Transfer degrees. Each ADT will map to several ASU bachelor's degree options, which are detailed at adt.asu.edu. Students can see which programs align with their degree, how their completed coursework applies and which requirements remain before they enroll. ASU will also provide pre-enrollment guidance on degree options, financial aid and remaining coursework.

"Students who enter California's community colleges with the goal of earning a bachelor's degree should not have to worry about whether the credits they earn will transfer with them," said James Todd, vice chancellor of academic affairs for California Community Colleges.

Todd said the agreement builds on the ADT's role in creating a more predictable route from community college to a bachelor's degree. By mapping the degrees to numerous ASU programs, students will have greater clarity about how their credits apply and what remains to complete their degrees.

"We know our graduates are well prepared to succeed at a leading research university," Todd said. "This agreement is especially meaningful because it combines full lower-division credit mobility with a guaranteed pathway to ASU — from admission through degree completion within 60 units."

That flexibility is particularly important for California community college students, Todd said, many of whom need options that allow them to stay close to home, work around other responsibilities and pursue greater economic mobility.

"This will be a life-changing opportunity for many of our students," he said.

A partnership built for student success
Jeff DeFranco, ASU senior advisor to the provost on academic alliance strategy, joined the university in July after serving nearly 10 years as superintendent and president of Lake Tahoe Community College. That experience gives him a close view of how strongly students and counselors depend on the ADT when they make transfer decisions.

"As we often said at Lake Tahoe Community College, the ADT is a golden ticket to a bachelor's degree," DeFranco said. "As a former California community college president, I saw students build their plans around that promise and counselors use it to make a complicated transfer process understandable. In my new role at ASU, it is especially gratifying to be a part of this partnership and contribute to a university that is honoring the work behind the ADT degree."

For DeFranco, the agreement's value lies as much in its simplicity as in its scale.

"When a transfer counselor asks whether ASU accepts the ADT, we want the answer to be immediate and clear: yes," he said. "Students should not have to start over or guess which courses count. They should have guaranteed admission, junior standing in an aligned program and a clear view of what remains to graduate. This partnership is built on those guarantees."

More ways to complete an ASU degree
The range of formats is intended to meet students where they are. A student can remain in California and earn a degree online, study at ASU's downtown Los Angeles location, combine online learning with weekly in-person support through ASU Local in Los Angeles, Long Beach or Chula Vista, or relocate to Arizona for a campus experience. Six start dates throughout the year, depending on the program, give transfer students more flexibility about when to begin. Additionally, unlike many online degree providers, when students choose to enroll through ASU Online, they learn from the same university faculty, meet the same academic standards and earn the same ASU degree as students enrolled at a physical ASU campus or location.

Eligible students who choose ASU Online may also qualify for dedicated scholarship opportunities through the California Community College Achievement Plan. California students attending eligible in-person programs at the ASU California Center may qualify for a California tuition rate.

The partnership serves as the next evolution in ASU's history of expanding opportunity for California students. Approximately 25,000 California students enroll at ASU annually, the majority of which (more than 20,000), enroll through ASU Online. About 9,900 ASU students who enrolled in 2025–26 were from a California community college. ASU anticipates that the partnership will grow ASU's enrollment of Californians, especially among transfer students, which has grown steadily over the past two decades.

"California's community colleges are one of the great engines of opportunity in American higher education," Gonzales said. "ASU shares their commitment by being a top research university that is uniquely motivated by our ASU Charter ideals of measuring ourselves not by whom we exclude, but by whom we include and how they succeed. Helping more and more students turn their talent and hard work into degrees that allow them to reach their full potential is the goal of this exciting partnership."

Students and advisers can learn more about the Associate Degree for Transfer on the California Community Colleges transfer website and explore aligned ASU pathways at adt.asu.edu.

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SOURCE Arizona State University - Media Relations