Common Course Numbering (AB 1111)

 

Over the next three years, between Fall 2025 and Fall 2027, the California Community Colleges will be adopting a statewide Common Course Number (CCN) system to streamline credit transfer between institutions and help students make informed course selections that support degree completion.

The goal of Common Course Numbering is to ensure that students can easily identify courses that meet equivalent transfer requirements across all California Community Colleges. This system will eventually assign common numbers, titles, and descriptions for approximately 75-80 of the highest volume transfer courses.

All colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District will be adopting new course numbers and titles beginning Fall 2025 as part of Phase 1 of the Common Course Numbering project. These changes will appear across the schedule, catalogs, and other college publications, affecting the following courses:

CCN Crosswalk

Old Course

New Course

Effective

COMM 101 Public Speaking

COMM C1000 Introduction to Public Speaking

Fall 2025

ENGLISH 101 College Reading and Composition I

ENGL C1000 Academic Reading and Writing

Fall 2025

ENGLISH 103 Composition and Critical Thinking

ENGL C1001 Critical Thinking and Writing

Fall 2025

POL SCI 001 The Government of the United States

POLS C1000 American Government and Politics

Fall 2025

PSYCH 001 Introductory Psychology

PSYC C1000 Introduction to Psychology

Fall 2025

MATH 227 Statistics

STAT C1000 Introduction to Statistics

Fall 2025

MATH 227S Statistics with Support

STAT C1000E Introduction to Statistics

Fall 2025

A Common Course Number is comprised of four elements:

  • Subject: 4-letter standardized abbreviation to be used across the state
  • Course Type Identifier: All CCN courses are indicated with a “C” prefix before the number
  • Number: 4-digit standardized course number (1000 range to be used for first-year courses, 2000 for second-year courses, etc.)
  • Course Specialty Identifier: System-level suffixes for special courses (L = Lab only course, S = Support Course, E = Embedded Support)

The California Community College system is implementing a student-facing Common Course Numbering (CCN) system, as required by Education Code Sections 66725-66725.5 through Assembly Bill No. 1111 (Berman), to be completed by July 1, 2027. This system will create common course numbers for comparable courses across all community colleges in the state, facilitating smoother transfers to four-year institutions and reducing unnecessary credit accumulation. By maximizing credit mobility, the CCN system will enhance equitable transfer opportunities and support student success by helping students build cohesive academic plans, understand course transferability, and make informed course selections. This collaborative effort involves faculty, administrators, staff, and system officials to ensure the best outcomes for California community college students.

Course numbers and titles will be changing over the new few years for many of the most popular transfer courses. When searching and registering for courses, you may need to look in the schedule under a different subject abbreviation or title.

  • For example, ENGLISH 101 will be changing to ENGL C1000 in the Fall 2025 schedule. (Please note that the support versions ENGLISH 101X, 101Y, and 101Z will for now remain under their original course numbers).
  • If you are enrolling in math Statistics in Summer 2025, you will look up MATH 227 or 227S, but if you are enrolling in Fall 2025 you will need to look for STAT C1000 or C1000E.

In total, somewhere between 75 and 80 courses will be included under Common Course Numbering over three distinct phases of implementation. The courses in these clusters were chosen because they represent the highest volume general education and transfer courses.

  • Fall 2025 – Phase I (courses listed above) includes 6 courses, as well as embedded support
  • Fall 2026 – Phase II (course templates currently under review) includes 23 courses in Anthropology, Art History, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Child Development, Communications Studies, Economics, English, History, Mathematics, and Sociology
  • Fall 2027 – Phase III (courses still to be announced) will include approximately 50 courses

Career Technical Education (CTE) and noncredit courses are not included in the current plans for Common Course Numbering.

For now, there will be no changes to these courses and they will continue to be listed under their original subject abbreviations and numbers. As part of a future implementation project, some courses may be adjusted to align with the Common Course Numbering scheme, but there are no current plans to do so at this time.

The old version and the CCN version are treated as exactly the same course. Whether you took it under the old number or the new number, they will fulfill the same requirements and clear the same prerequisites. If you have previously completed the course with a successful grade, you do not need to re-take the course.

The number and title under which you took the course is what will appear on your transcript.

Course articulation occurs at the college level, including for all CCN courses. Students are strongly encouraged to speak with a counselor and consult ASSIST to confirm how a course will apply to their specific academic plan.

Courses that are not part of the CCN system will continue to fulfill general education, major preparation, and course-to-course equivalency credit under previously established transfer agreements between LACCD colleges and four-year transfer institutions.

For additional background information and progress on the implementation of Common Course Numbering, please see the websites of the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.