MARYSVILLE, Calif. – The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office recently informed the Yuba Community College District (YCCD) that it has approved Woodland Community College’s associate in arts for transfer (AA-T) degrees in communication studies and psychology, and similarly approved Yuba College’s AA-T degree in Sociology.

In addition, both Woodland Community College and Yuba College are awaiting approval of an associate in science for transfer (AS-T) degree in mathematics.

These transfer degrees in communication studies, psychology, sociology and mathematics are but the

start, with more transfer degrees being considered.

Senate Bill 1440 (Padilla), the Student Transfer and Achievement Reform Act (The Star Act), was signed into law in September of last year and directed community colleges to create and grant associate degrees for transfer by the start of the 2011-12 academic year.

To earn an associate degree for transfer a student must complete 60 semester units that are eligible for transfer to the California State University System (CSU). If a student completes the 60 transferable units with a minimum GPA of 2.0, then he or she is guaranteed admission to CSU.

“We are extremely excited to be offering these new transfer degrees to our students for the upcoming academic year,” said Dr. Beatriz Espinoza, vice chancellor of educational planning and services for YCCD.

“Creating a vehicle for our students to simultaneously attain their associate’s degree and guarantee them admission as a junior at CSU is truly an efficient transfer practice that is long overdue, one which will improve student success, transfer rates and the number of well-trained graduates able to immediately enter the workforce,” Espinoza added.

For more information on the associate degrees for transfer offered at YCCD students should visit a counselor at WCC or Yuba College and/or visit the colleges’ Web sites at http://wcc.yccd.edu or http://yc.yccd.edu .

The Yuba Community College District spans eight counties and nearly 4,200 square miles of territory in rural, north-central California. It has colleges in Marysville and Woodland, an educational center in Clearlake, outreach operations at Beale Air Force Base and in Williams, and will be adding an outreach facility in Sutter County as part of the Measure J facilities bond.

For more information about YCCD please visit our website at www.yccd.edu.