California Community Colleges are making it easier to transfer to a four-year college.
Thanks to the Common Course Numbering System, courses with similar content will now share the same course number, subject prefix, and title across all community colleges, statewide. The goal is to make transferring to a four-year university easier, and to help students who attend more than one community college avoid taking the same class twice.
Starting Fall 2025, this new numbering system will be a statewide requirement for all California community colleges. This system ensures that courses with similar content share the same course number, subject prefix, and title across.
For example: If you take ENGL-C1000 at Contra Costa College and later transfer to Los Angeles City College, that class will count the same way and meet the same general education requirement—you won’t have to retake it.
Here’s What’s Changing (Updated for 2026)
| Old Course Number | New Course Number |
| ART-190: History of Art: Prehistory Through the Middle Ages | ARTH C1100: Survey of Art from Prehistory to the Medieval Era |
| ART-191: History of Art: Renaissance to Contemporary | ARTH C1200: Survey of Art from the Renaissance to Contemporary |
| ASTRO-120: Elementary Astronomy | ASTR-C1001: Introduction to Astronomy |
| BIOSC-110: Introduction to Biological Sciences | BIOL-C1000: Introduction to Biology with Lab |
| ECHD-121: Child Growth and Development (DS1) | CDEV-C1000: Child Growth and Development |
| ECON-220: Introduction to Macroeconomics Principles | ECON C2002: Principles of Macroeconomics |
| ECON-221: Introduction to Microeconomic Principles | ECON C2001: Principles of Microeconomics |
| ENGL-001A: Composition and Reading | ENGL-C1000: Academic Reading and Writing |
| ENGL-001AX: Intensive Composition and Reading | ENGL-C1000E: Academic Reading and Writing |
| ENGL-002B: Critical Thinking through Literature | ENGL C1003: Critical Thinking and Writing through Literature |
| ENGL-1C: Critical Thinking and Advanced Composition | ENGL-C1001: Critical Thinking and Writing |
| HIST-120: History of the United States (Colonial – 1865) | HIST C1001: United States History to 1877 |
| HIST-121: History of the United States (1865 – Present) | HIST C1002: United States History Since 1865 |
Need a hand?
Other things to know
As a result of a new California law (AB 1111,) California Community Colleges are in Phase 1 of adopting a common course numbering system for all general education and transfer pathway courses. The purpose of the CCN system is to ensure that comparable courses across all community colleges have the same course number. The goal is to streamline the transfer process from California Community Colleges to four-year postsecondary educational institutions and reduce excess credit accumulation.
If you took courses before Fall 2025, you’ll want to check the new numbers to make sure you’re not accidentally repeating a class you’ve already completed. You also might want to keep this change in mind, in case you find yourself looking at an old catalog or educational plan–the course you’re looking for might just have a new number!
Yep. Courses that haven’t changed will still transfer, just like before.
Some subject prefixes were changed (like the shift from PSYCH to PSYC,) to reflect what is commonly used across California Community Colleges. The goal is to improve clarity and ensure a more uniform system statewide.
Nope! That would be silly. Your old course still meets whatever transfer requirements it met before.
It will! And, don’t let that non-passing grade stay on your transcript!
Courses identified as CCN will have a “C” in the Course Number. For example: ENGL-001A will become ENGL-C1000.
Some subject area prefixes will also change to align with statewide standards. For example: PSYCH will become PSYC.
Revisions, including new course numbers and subject prefixes, will be clearly indicated in the college catalog and class schedules to help students easily identify and navigate these changes.
The common course number format is:
o Subject: Four letter abbreviation (e.g., ENGL for English).
o Course Type Identifier: C= Common Course Number; if you don’t see a ‘C’ in the course number then that course is not a Common Course Number.
o Course Number: Standardized 4-digit course identification such as C1000.
Yes! Honors courses (with an H) still count toward degree requirements.