General Education (GE) Certification

General Education is one of the key components for transferring to a four-year institution.

General Education (GE) Certification is an official document from Evergreen Valley College (EVC) which certifies that a student, who is transferring to a four year institution, has met the requirements of a particular GE pattern.  Evergreen Valley College does not include GE certification on the official transcript and requires students to submit a request for GE certification.

Important GE Certification information: 

  • A request for certification can only be submitted once a student has been accepted to a transferring university.
  • All official transcripts from previous colleges and universities attended must be on file with EVC’s Admissions & Records Office.  Visit our Transcript site for instructions on how to submit official transcripts to EVC.
  • GE certification may include courses taken from other regionally accredited colleges, or credit earned through passing score on an external exams, such as Advanced Placement (AP) exam. To use AP/IB/CLEP exams to complete general education requirements, students must have their official exam scores on file with EVC before submitting the Request for General Education Certification (add hyperlink to GE Certification form and/or parchment site).
  • Students who are using high school coursework to satisfy the UC Language Other Than English (LOTE) requirement must have their high school transcripts on file with Admissions & Records before submitting the Request for Certification.  High school transcripts do not need to be official.
  • Certification requests require 3 to 4 weeks for processing. Be sure to check your transfer institution's deadline and submit your Request for General Education Certification accordingly.

Your GE Certification will be based on one of three General Education patterns – Cal-GETC, IGETC or CSU GE Breadth. Choosing the right general education pattern is an important step toward achieving your academic goals, but eligibility is key. Each pattern has specific rules about who can follow it, based on when a student began college coursework and whether they maintained continuous enrollment. To avoid setbacks and make sure you're following the correct path, it’s essential to meet with an Evergreen Valley College counselor. They can help you understand your eligibility to ensure you are following the general education pattern that best fits your transfer plans. 

Ordering GE Certification

Cal-GETC Certification:

Cal-GETC is a new GE pattern for all California Community Colleges effective Fall 2025. Students starting college in Fall 2025 or after must follow this GE pattern. It may be used for General Education Certification to the University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), and for Associate degrees for transfer (ADT). For a course to satisfy a Cal-GETC Area, it must have been approved for IGETC or Cal-GETC during the academic year in which it was completed—except for Area 1C, unless the course is COMM C1000 Introduction to Public Speaking (formerly COMS 020). The UC Language Other Than English (LOTE) graduation requirement is not part of Cal-GETC. 
 

IGETC Certification:

The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) is a general education pattern that fulfills lower division general education requirements at all California State University (CSU) campuses and most University of California (UC) campuses/majors. It is also accepted by some private/independent or out of state universities.  Students who have maintained “continuous enrollment” at a California Community College before Fall 2025 may continue to follow the IGETC pattern. New students are not eligible to follow this pattern.  It has yet to be determined when the use of the IGETC pattern will be phased out. To meet the UC foreign language requirement you need to submit your high school transcripts to Admissions & Records. IGETC Certification Deadline: Submit your Request for General Education Certification by the last business day in June in order to meet the UC IGETC certification timeline.

CSU GE Breadth Certification:

The CSU GE Breadth is a general education pattern that fulfills lower division general education requirements for CSU campuses only.  Students who have maintained “continuous enrollment” at a California Community College before Fall 2025 may continue to follow the CSU GE pattern. New students are not eligible to follow this pattern.  It has yet to be determined when the use of the CSU GE pattern will be phased out. 

CSU GE Certification Deadline: Submit your Request for General Education Certification at least two weeks prior to your transfer institution's deadline.

* Note for Dual Enrollment Students with coursework before Fall 2025: You are strongly advised to follow the Cal-GETC pattern. Dual enrolled students who complete California community college coursework before high school graduation are considered first year students and their catalog rights begin at the first regular semester term of enrollment, subsequent to high school graduation, at a California community College or a California State University or a combination of the two.