A photo of a row of four-year university represenatives

Students intending to transfer to a four-year university should plan their programs with an advisor at the South Suburban College Transfer Center. The Center provides a wide range of services to assist students in the transfer process, including preparation of the Master Academic Plan (MAP) to ensure that SSC courses completed transfer to the four-year university of your choice. Other services provided include information on the transfer process and admissions requirements at four-year schools. The Transfer Center is open five days a week.

Transfer Information

When you decide on a transfer college, you obtain information on how to finance your college education and how to transfer your credit to that senior institution to complete a baccalaureate degree.

  1. Curriculum Guide Links:
  2. State of Illinois colleges participating in the Illinois Articulation Initiative.
  1. Visit the Counseling Center and talk to an advisor trained to help you make career and educationally-related decisions.
  2. Review various majors that might be appropriate to your intended career. A career decision is a big decision and will be an important factor in determining your major, which, in turn, will be a big factor in determining your college. It is a good investment to spend some time researching various careers and majors and to make sure that you are heading in a direction that fits your needs and personality. We have put the Career Information System (CIS) on-line for you for this purpose. When you use CIS, you may be asked for a User Name and Password.
    • Enter User Name: illinois
    • Enter Password: careers

    To use the CIS, click on Career Information System Select ‘Occupations & Employment‘ for career information. Other helpful career information links:

  3. Helpful information on various majors is available in the following sources:
    • Which State University in Illinois has my Major? – See “Illinois Universities – At A Glance” below.
    • Guide to Colleges by Majors is used by advisors. You may want to make an appointment with an advisor to discuss possible majors.
    • Princeton Review – Colleges & Majors
    • Choosing a major
  4. A federal government informational site is Federal Student Aid – apply for Federal Aid, plan your education, and more…
  5. Visit the Transfer Center (located in the Counseling Center), which has catalogs from in-state colleges, transfer viewbooks and brochures, course transfer guide for some schools, and applications.
  6. Four of the most useful college resources are the following links:

Send the following letters to the colleges of interest:

  1. Office of Admission c/o Transfer Coordinator asking for any of the following (if not available in SSC Transfer Center):
    • catalogs
    • application
    • unofficial transcript evaluation
      • send copy of college transcripts with letter
      • SSC Department of Admissions and Records will be able to give you a copy of your SSC transcript or contact the registrar at ext. 5814.
      • any transfer information available including open house dates and campus tour information
      • how to find out about transfer scholarships
  2. To the department/college
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    • curriculum guide for your major
    • unofficial evaluation of transcripts (same as above)
  3. How to finance the college of your choice:
  4. Try to visit all schools in which you are interested.
  1. Completed application (with fee if applicable)
  2. Official copy of all college transcripts
  3. Financial Aid application (if applicable)

Important Note: Make sure all course work transfers before taking it. Check IAI (itransfer.org) for General Education Core Curriculum, and for courses recommended for majors. Follow their curriculum course guide or IAI guide with SSC course equivalents.

Transfer courses are divided into two categories at a community college: General Education and General Elective.

  • General Education requires you to take 37-41 credits, sometimes in a certain sequence, for all degrees, and are considered to be foundation courses for all majors. 21-25 hours are general elective credits.
  • General Elective means that you can choose the courses you want. However, your major may require you to take courses that are NOT included in your Gen Ed Core Curriculum. Be sure to check with an advisor. A minimum of sixty-two hours is required for the Associate degree.

The IAI is a very comprehensive site. IAI governs course transferability from school to school in both the general education as well as the recommended pre-major (area of concentration) courses. Check this out online at www.iTransfer.org. All IAI courses are assigned a code that can be found in the course description section of a college’s catalog.

You can print an IAI Transfer Student Planning Worksheet, and take it with you, to help you and your advisor plan your Master Academic Plan (MAP).