The California State University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges have partnered to launch a new online course finder that will provide students who are enrolled at the CSU or a California community college access to 10,000 online, transferable classes.



The collaborative initiative, called Finish Faster!, gives CSU students the flexibility to complete lower-division general education (GE) requirements during the summer through online coursework offered at a California community college or CSU campus. Similarly, California community college students will benefit from the availability of online courses that will help them toward their goal of transferring or earning an associate's degree.



"At the CSU, we have long used technology where and how it is most effective to support student success," said Dr. Gerry Hanley, assistant vice chancellor, Academic Technology Services for the CSU Office of the Chancellor. "As we press forward with our Graduation Initiative 2025 efforts, this collaboration will help remove administrative and financial barriers facing students, allowing us to better meet students' needs and facilitate degree completion."

"The California Community Colleges has made significant strides in improving student success outcomes over the past several years and we're in a wonderful position to keep that momentum going," said Alice Perez, vice chancellor of Academic Affairs. "This collaboration with the CSU gives both systems the opportunity to better serve our state's students so they can complete their higher education goals even faster."



The initiative is launching this month to provide students additional information about the availability of online courses for the upcoming summer 2018 term. Using a variety of measures, students will be able to search for classes based on subject matter, Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum requirements, CSU GE Breadth Area or other requirements. Search results will be sorted by distance from the institution the student currently attends and can be filtered by start date, modality (online or hybrid) and price. The technology is provided by Quottly, a college-course search optimizer.



The CSU has a long history of meeting the needs of students through high-quality online education opportunities. In fall 2017, the CSU offered over 5,200 online course sections and more than 118,000 students enrolled in at least one online course. California community colleges serve more than 860,000 students who take at least one of the more than 68,000 online course sections offered annually.



For more information about how the CSU is working to improve student achievement, please visit the Graduation Initiative 2025 website.



# # #



About the California State University

The California State University is the largest system of four-year higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, 50,800 faculty and staff and 484,000 students. Half of the CSU's students transfer from California community colleges. Created in 1960, the mission of the CSU is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of California. With its commitment to quality, opportunity, and student success, the CSU is renowned for superb teaching, innovative research and for producing job-ready graduates. Each year, the CSU awards more than 110,000 degrees. One in every 20 Americans holding a college degree is a graduate of the CSU and our alumni are 3.4 million strong. Connect with and learn more about the CSU in the CSU NewsCenter.





About the California Community Colleges

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 72 districts and 114 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year. California community colleges provide career education and workforce training; guaranteed transfer to four-year universities; degree and certificate pathways; and basic skills education in English and math. As the state's engine for social and economic mobility, the California Community Colleges supports the Vision for Success, a strategic plan designed to improve student success outcomes, increase transfer rates and eliminate achievement gaps. For more information, please visit the California Community Colleges website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.