Community College Course Equivalency Guides

Westfield State University offers prospective transfer students the ability to review course equivalency documents established with selected community colleges.

The most recent editions of comprehensive course equivalency guides for the following community colleges and Westfield State University are available:

The most recent editions of the following Mass community college course equivalency guides, which identify courses that fulfill Westfield’s common core (general education) requirements, and also list additional selected courses that have been evaluated, are available:

The purpose of a course equivalency agreement is to give prospective transfer students a general idea of whether and how their community college courses will transfer to Westfield State University upon enrollment.  Course equivalency articulation differs from program-to-program articulation in that the course-to-course agreement evaluates a potentially transferable course as a single, stand-alone unit of transfer; it does not consider the course in the context of a body of requirements for a bachelor’s degree in a particular major program.  A program-to-program agreement articulates an entire 120-credit degree program, considering various course and concentration options available within the context of the major field of study.

For example, course-to-course articulation identifies whether a course from a specified community college, such as PSY 215, Child Psychology, at Holyoke Community College is considered equivalent to a Westfield course upon transfer (PSYC 0202), whether it fulfills an all-college common core liberal arts requirement for graduation (SOCU/Social Understanding), and whether it fulfills a requirement for any major program at Westfield, either as a course required of all students in a major or as a course required of some number of students in a major (PSY/Psychology; ED/Elementary Education; LED/Liberal Studies & Elementary Education).

Please note that these guides are designed for general informational use by students interested in transferring to Westfield State University from any of the community colleges listed above.  They are NOT intended for self-advising use by native Westfield students; in fact, information regarding the applicability of community college courses to the Westfield common core is inaccurate for native student use in many cases.  Native students should seek formal approval from their respective academic advisors before registering for any course at another college.

To use the comprehensive guides,reference the academic department index to determine which page in the document you’ll need to go to in order to look up a specific course evaluation, then click on the name of the department.  For example, to look up Child Psychology at Holyoke Community College, click on the Psychology page in the index, and you will be transported automatically to the Psychology page in the document.  Scroll through the departmental listing to find the appropriate course evaluation. To use the common core guides, scroll through the document of choice to find the department name and course title you wish to review.  The columns following each course title name provide the following evaluation information:

WSU equivalent= whether or not the course is exactly or approximately equivalent in content to a Westfield course.  If so, the Westfield corresponding department name and course number is specified.

WSU major= whether the course fulfills a major requirement at Westfield.  If so, the major program code(s) is listed.  However, courses designated as major requirements may not be required of all students.  A course is deemed equivalent to a major requirement in the guides if it is equivalent to a listed Westfield course that is required either of all majors or of all majors taking a specified concentration within the major, or if it appears on a list of courses from which students can choose a number of elective courses within the major.  A universal list of Westfield major program codes appears as a separate link to the guides.

WSU elective= whether the course transfers to any degree program at Westfield for general elective credit toward the bachelor’s degree.  Examples of courses that do not transfer for any degree credit are developmental English or mathematics, word processing, and cosmetology.

WSU core= whether the course fulfills an all-college liberal arts (common core) requirement for graduation at Westfield.  For example, a SOCU code means that the course fulfills a social understanding requirement at Westfield.  Please note that individual courses potentially may apply to more than one common core requirement area.  However, College policy states that a single course may fulfill two graduation requirements only if the second requirement occurs in the area of (Global or United States) Diversity.  A universal list of Westfield common core codes appears as a separate link to the guides.

The guides for Holyoke, Springfield Technical, Berkshire, and Greenfield community colleges are updated annually, and the remaining guides are revised as often as time permits.  The index page of each comprehensive document includes the date on which the last changes were published in any medium; the last page of each common core document includes the same information.  Interested prospective transfer students are advised to review course equivalencies during their admission application cycle to access the most current information available online.

These course equivalency guides are published for informational purposes only and do not constitute a contract between Westfield State University and any student, applicant for admission, or other person. Course equivalency guides are subject to change without notice.