Higher Education Articulation Agreements - A Study of State Policies Covering the Early Care and Education Workforce

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

Explores how six U.S. states implemented higher education articulation agreements designed to help students and mid-career professionals transfer credits toward degrees in early care and education (ECE). The study examines state policy approaches, governance structures, stakeholder roles, and supports offered to transfer students. Evidence draws on telephone interviews and focus groups with state administrators, IHE leaders and staff, faculty, and students. Findings describe transfer associate’s degrees, block transfers, committee oversight, common requirements, and institutional supports such as online transfer information, outreach, transfer centers, and advising.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Research Questions

Study Design

Highlights

Statewide Articulation and Transfer Policies

State-Level Governance and Oversight

| U.S. Department of Education
Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development Policy and Program Studies Service
Results in Brief:
Higher Education Articulation Agreements:
A Study of State Policies Covering the Early Care and Education Workforce | | --- | | September 2019 | A barrier that students and mid-career professionals often face in attempts to advance their education level is that the coursework completed and credits earned in one institution of higher education (IHE) may not transfer to another. To address this issue, states have developed a variety of articulation policies and agreements to facilitate the transfer of credits and coursework between degree programs. Articulation policies are particularly important for individuals who begin their higher education coursework in a two-year college and later seek to transfer their credits to obtain a bachelor’s degree, which often is the case for teachers and caregivers in the early care and education (ECE) workforce. This study provides an in-depth examination of how six states and their IHEs have implemented articulation policies that include provisions specific to the ECE field, including approaches to articulation, governance structures, roles played by various stakeholders, and supports provided to transfer students. Research Questions 1. In the six states examined in this study, what higher education articulation policies and practices have been implemented to support students seeking a degree in ECE? 2. What governance structures do these states have in place to oversee ECE articulation policy? How do the states involve stakeholders in policy development and oversight? 3. How do IHEs in these states implement ECE articulation policies? 4. What supports do these states and IHEs provide for the transfer and articulation process? Study Design This report is based on case studies of six states with statewide articulation policies that address ECE degree pathways: California, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. The study also included 20 IHEs (10 two-year IHEs and 10 four-year IHEs) within those states. Study findings are based on telephone interviews and focus groups with (1) state-level higher education administrators, policy staff, and representatives from articulation oversight committees; (2) senior academic administrators from IHEs, faculty, and staff, such as registrars, student advisors, and financial aid officers; and (3) students who had transferred or were planning to transfer between a two-year and four-year IHE within the state. Readers should note that the six states are not nationally representative, and these case study data should not be generalized to other states. In addition, the selected IHEs and individual respondents may not be representative of all IHEs in each state. Highlights • All six states used transfer associate’s degrees and general education block transfers, which allow students to transfer courses as a set rather than on a course-by-course basis, to facilitate course and credit transfer for ECE students; half of the states also used guaranteed admission or common course numbering. • Four states established at least one statewide committee to oversee articulation, while the remaining two states oversaw articulation through a state higher education agency or system office. • Most IHEs (17 of 20) supplemented state-level articulation policies with intrastate and interstate regional articulation agreements formed between IHEs. • Most two-year IHEs (nine of 10) offered separate ECE degree pathways for students who planned to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree versus students who planned to end their education with the associate’s degree. • In nearly all the IHEs (19 of 20), ECE faculty played several key roles in implementing articulation policies, such as evaluating course transferability (15 IHEs) and designing courses that reflect agreed-upon competencies (12

FAQs

Why are higher education articulation agreements important for ECE students and caregivers?

Students often cannot transfer coursework and credits easily between institutions. Articulation agreements address this by facilitating credit and coursework transfer toward bachelor’s-level ECE pathways.

What states and institutions were included in the case studies?

The report covers six states: California, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. It includes 20 institutions of higher education within those states, including 10 two-year and 10 four-year IHEs.

What supports do states and IHEs provide to help transfer students through the articulation process?

Supports include online transfer information, outreach programs, transfer centers, and transfer student orientations, along with advising on career paths and financial aid and referrals to transfer advisors and degree planning tools.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel