Welcome to Western! We’re glad you decided to join us to continue your education.

We want to help make sure that the courses you took in fulfillment of General Education requirements transfer accurately and effectively. For the full list of General Education requirements, check out the full list of General Education requirements and courses. If you’d like to know more about University transfer policies, check out WOU undergraduate admissions. 

Got Questions? We’ve got Answers! 

Check out the Student FAQ page for our most frequently asked questions. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact the General Education office at gened@wou.edu.

Two Year Degrees

Students who have completed the articulated two year transfer degrees (AAOT, ASOT, California Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum, California State University Transfer Degree, Hawaii Articulated Associate of Arts degree or Washington Direct Transfer Degree) will meet the WOU General Education requirements as a block through the completion of that two-year degree. Got an AA degree that isn’t meeting your General Education requirements? Request a review by using our petition form. 

Oregon Transfer Module

Students who have earned the Oregon Transfer Module (OTM) will meet all WOU General Education requirements with the exception of Integrating Knowledge (2 courses, 6-8 credits).

Core Transfer Map

In 2017 the State Legislature passed House Bill 2998, a bill designed to streamline transfer between Oregon’s community colleges and public four-year universities. The legislation directed the HECC to bring together community colleges and universities to establish statewide “foundational curricula,” now called the Oregon Transfer Compass, of at least 30 credits that can be transferred to every institution in Oregon.  The course distribution requirements of the Oregon Transfer Compass can be found at https://www.oregon.gov/highered/policy-collaboration/Pages/transfer-2998.aspx

The fulfillment of WOU General Education requirements by the Oregon Transfer Compass is identified in the table below:

Oregon Transfer Compass Curriculum	WOU General Education Requirement
WR 121	Foundations: WR 121
Arts & Letters	Exploring Knowledge: Literary and Aesthetic Perspectives
Social Sciences	Exploring Knowledge: Social, Historic, and Civic Perspectives* *Also meets the cultural literacy requirement
Natural Sciences	Exploring Knowledge: Scientific Perspectives
Mathematics	Foundations: Mathematics

Interstate Passport

Western Oregon University is an Interstate Passport network member. Upon completion of university identified passport requirements, the university records completion of the Passport on the student record. The Interstate Passport enables successful transfer of a block of lower-level general education learning to other institutions participating in the Interstate Passport Network. Learn more at https://interstatepassport.wiche.edu/.

First Year Seminars and credits completed

Students transferring to WOU with 30 or more credits of coursework are assumed to have met the spirit and purpose of the First Year Seminars, so the FYS courses will be waived when a student transfers to WOU with 30 or more credits of coursework completed in a college or university course (Accelerated Placement credits do not count toward this 30 credits). This is in alignment with the Oregon Core Transfer Map and with similar institutional policies at other Oregon public Universities that have similar seminars.

Individual Course Transfer

We recognize two possible mechanisms by which a student brings individual transfer courses to their WOU General Education portfolio.

WOU course articulation

For courses that already articulate to an existing WOU course that meets a WOU General Education requirement the course will articulate as meeting that requirement.

Want to know how a transfer course might articulate? Check the transfer articulation database!

No WOU course articulation

For courses that do not articulate to an existing WOU course, following initial review by the Admissions office, lower division courses that are not specifically vocational in purpose will be supplied to the General Education director for dissemination to, and review by, the General Education Committee. Courses that are determined by the General Education Committee to meet a WOU General Education requirement will be articulated with an attribute to meet that requirement. Any permanent articulation of a course to a General Education requirement will be applied within Banner and Degree Tracks to apply to General Education requirements from the 2019-20 academic year forward.

Students with courses that do not meet review criteria may self-advocate to the General Education director for review of courses to meet General Education requirements.

General Education petition process