Select a frequently asked question below to learn more about SUNY Transfer Paths.
Core Courses are foundational lower-division/level courses included in SUNY Transfer Path major requirements and associated cognate requirements. These courses equate to lower-division courses required across SUNY campuses, ensuring guaranteed transfer between them. According to SUNY policy, identified courses are guaranteed to transfer for applicable major and/or cognate requirements. When a student completes a Core Course at their home SUNY campus, it will fulfill the same path requirement at the destination SUNY campus.
Starting in 2025, the process for reviewing and adjusting Transfer Paths and Core Courses has been significantly simplified. Campus coordinators can now complete this process directly by using the SUNY Transfer Equivalency Platform. The following resources are avilable to help you learn how to edit courses:
You can view Core Courses on the Core Course Navigator. In addition, you can access reports which will allow you to sort, analyze and export results on our Data and Reporting pages.
Approved SUNY Transfer Path courses are guaranteed to transfer as courses in the major or required cognates (not just as electives) at all SUNY campuses if completed with the grade of C or better. Important additional information:
• Transfer campuses can choose to accept a course passing grade lower than C if local policy allows.
• If a program requires a grade higher than C for all students, including freshman-starting native students, the standard can apply to transfer students as well.
• Pass/Fail courses may be accepted at the discretion of the campus, but transfer is not guaranteed.
• If a Transfer Path course is equivalent to, or replaces, a prerequisite course at a receiving campus, the course shall fulfill the local prerequisite and the student can move into the higher level course. For example, if a Transfer Path requires Pre-Calculus, Calculus I, and Calculus II, an incoming student who has completed Calculus I should not be required to complete the Pre-Calculus, and should be allowed to move into the Calculus II course.
The Transfer Advisory Council's SUNY Transfer Path Subcommittee will develop a cycle of review for the SUNY Transfer Paths. Disciplinary committees of 2-year and 4-year faculty will review the Transfer Paths and recommend possible changes. The Transfer Paths are expected to evolve over time and will be maintained online.
SUNY Transfer Paths are the responsibility of the SUNY System Office of Transfer and Articulation and the SUNY System Office of the Provost/Academic Affairs. To be assured that faculty are properly consulted and shared governance maintains involvement in the development of SUNY Transfer Paths, a SUNY Transfer Path Subcommittee was established as a subcommittee of the SUNY Transfer Advisory Council. Members are appointed by campus leaders, SUNY System leaders, or faculty governance bodies.
Faculty and staff should feel free to contact the Office of Transfer and Articulation for additional information or support.
The development of core courses requires effort on the part of all institutions to be assured courses the campuses have listed meet the learning outcome standards for a core course. Here are some common approaches, based on specific circumstances, to help navigate issues related to core course alignment.
A course being sent to my (home) campus does not meet the requirements/description/learning outcomes for the SUNY Core Course.
In this case, be assured you are reviewing the core course requirements for SUNY, versus the requirement for a local campus course. If the sending institution's course appears to not meet the SUNY Core Course requirements, you are encouraged to first reach out to the Office of Transfer and Articulation, who are responsible for listing and managing the core courses. After being assured there is not an error or other issue, the OTA can work directly with contacts at the sending campus to review the course. In very rare cases where the issue cannot be resolved, campuses may utilize the campus appeal process, where the issue can be appealed to the SUNY Provost to address an issue. You are advised to work directly with the OTA prior to sending an appeal.
One of my (home) campus courses no longer meets the SUNY Core Course requirements.
If you learn that a campus course for your home campus no longer aligns with a SUNY Core Course where it is listed, you should refer the matter to your campus curriculum lead. This may be a member of your department curriculum committee or another leader on campus who has been designated as the transfer path lead.
The tranfer path lead or campus chief academic officer representative may either contact the Office of Transfer and Articulation to make the adjustment, or immediately make an edit if they are an authorized editor for the transfer paths.
If you are a transfer curriculum lead or the manager of transfer paths, and need access to resources, please request it online.
Core course descriptions and learning outcomes are determined by faculty members in the course discipline. The faculty working groups are convened by the Transfer Articulation Council and the Transfer Path Subcommittee. Generally, any changes to the overall description and learning outcomes must be determined by the faculty. If you are a faculty or staff member in the discipline, and believe a course needs to be revisited, please contact the Office of Transfer and Articulation to help determine the next steps for review.