Education & Training

AGSC stands for the Alabama Articulation and General Studies Committee. The AGSC was created in March of 1994 by the State Legislature through ACT 94-202.

The AGSC was created to simplify the transfer of course credit between public institutions of higher education within the State of Alabama. To accomplish this task, the AGSC has developed and implemented a statewide general studies and articulation program that facilitates the transferability of coursework among all Alabama public colleges and universities. The AGSC continues to serve as a monitoring committee for the articulation program. The committee members oversee and maintain the program on an on-going basis. Finally, the AGSC works to resolve any student appeals related to transfer of coursework as it relates to the articulation program.

For more information, click here.

STARS was rebranded in November of 2022 and is now know as Alabama Transfers.  Over this 28 year period, over 1.6 million transfer guides were obtained through by transfer students using STARS.

From 1994 to 2022, STARS was an acronym for the "Statewide Transfer & Articulation Reporting System." STARS was a web-accessible database system which provides guidance and direction for prospective transfer students in the State of Alabama.

The STARS System allowed public two-year students in Alabama to obtain a Transfer Guide/Agreement for the major of their choice. This guide/agreement, if used correctly, would guide the student through their first two years of coursework and prevent the loss of credit hours upon transfer to their chosen public four-year university in Alabama.  

From the date you submit this transfer guide, it must be honored by all Alabama public universities that offer the specified major for four years.  

Exception:  If an accreditation body or organization requires specific academic changes for all students (both native and transfers) in their fields of study, then transfer and native students would have to be treated equally and and would be required to fall in line with the new accrediation mandates.  An example of this was the passing and acceptance of the federal "No Child Left Behind" mandate years ago.

If it has been more than four years since you submitted a guide, your credits should still transfer just like older credits taken by all other students in the same degree program at a given university.   In any case, you may want to return to the Alabama Transfers website and obtain a new "official" guide in your major area.

This guide only applies so long as you continue in your specified major. If you decide to change your major, you should get a new "official" transfer guide. Most guides are fairly similar for Areas I–IV; however, you should still consult your academic advisor or counselor at your current institution.

Transfer Guides are protected by the AGSC Transfer Agreement. This agreement guarantees the transferability of major-specific courses for all of the listed universities. If a university refuses to honor your Transfer Guide, please contact us. 

You may choose to graduate under the course requirements displayed on your official guide, or you may benefit by chosing to graduate under the most recent catalog.  It is the transfer student's choice.

The only exception is when a change is mandated by an external accrediting agency or other regulatory agency, such as the State Department of Education, ACHE, SACS, NCATE, or CLN. In this case, the requirements will change equally for all students (native or transfer) at a given university.

It depends.

If you follow your transfer guide, then your graduation requirements will be equal to all other students in the same degree program at a given university.

However, each university has a minimum threshold to be considered a “transfer student.” If your transfer credits are fewer than this threshold, then you are still considered a “first-time” student. While you will receive credit for your courses, it may only count toward the Area (I–V) in which they were set as requirements.  The receiving institution makes the final determination on how the approved transfer courses will count toward their bachelor degree requirements.  If the courses are approve and appear on the transfer guide then the receiving institution must give degree credit in some form for the transfer coursework.

In terms of course sequence requirements, we strongly recommend you complete the entire sequence at the same community college or university.

Some Areas do not require specific courses, but instead let you pick from a list of AGSC-approved courses. Just make sure you check how your chosen courses will transfer to each university, as this may vary.

Some courses at a community college don’t have an exact equivalent at a given university. However, we recognize that they impart valuable knowledge.

So, rather than throwing those credits away when you transfer, the universities choose to accept them as “Area Core” or “Elective” courses. This means that the university does not have an exact equivalent course but that they will apply course credit a specified Area (I–V).

Each university may decide how to apply Advanced Placement (AP) and/or College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) credits.  At this time, you can view the AP course equivalency tables by visiting a university's website and searching for "AP Credit" or "CLEP Credit". 

COMING SOON! -- We are working to add more information regarding the transfer of AP/CLEP credit to the Alabama Transfers website.   

Dual Enrollment courses are taught by college faculty — either at the college campus, at your high school, or online. When you complete these courses, the credits will apply for high school now and college later.

Will these dual enrollment courses transfer later to another institution in the state?

If you plan to take your dual enrollment courses in Alabama, you should look at our list of AGSC-Approved courses for universities and for community colleges. These courses are guaranteed to be accepted at all of Alabama’s community colleges and public universities if they are required in your chosen major.

How do obtain more guidance and direction regarding dual enrollement?

To get started, you should contact your high school’s counseling office to determine eligibility and cost. We also have provided links to each of the four-year and two-year dual enrollment information pages here.

Yes.

First of all, your grades will affect your eligibility for admission into your desired university and upper-level major/program.

Second, your pre-transfer GPA will follow you to the university and will be calculated into your final GPA upon graduation.

Third, if your grades fall below the university’s threshold for transfer, then you will not be awarded credit for the courses and will need to re-take them. Each university may decide how to handle the transfer of D grades; however, the same policy must be applied equally to all students — native or transfer — at a given university.

Congratulations on completing all the course requirements!

Unfortunately, this guide does not guarantee admission to any university; nor to any specific major at the university; nor, even, to any broader field of study. You must still be officially admitted under the admisison policy of the desired university/major/program.

For a link to the university’s admission requirements, visit its webpage.  For quick access to these and other helpful links, please visit our participating institutions page.