2024-2025 College Catalog

Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI)

Rock Valley College is a participant in the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI), a statewide articulation effort to help Illinois college students transfer credit more easily between more than 100 participating Illinois colleges and universities. One of the main features of the IAI is the General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) which is a list of general education courses that have been articulated statewide and will be accepted for transfer by all participating colleges and universities in Illinois.

Completion of the GECC at any participating institution in Illinois assures transferring students that general education requirements for an Associate of Arts have been satisfied upon transfer to another participating institution. Students who wish to transfer to four-year colleges and universities are advised to complete an Associate Degree. Keep in mind, the IAI General Education transfers as a “package.” Course-to-course transfer credit is not guaranteed.

Students who have 30 semester credits of college-level coursework can transfer to an IAI participating institution and have the option of completing the institution’s lower-division general education requirements, or complete the IAI GECC. The receiving institution may require transfer students to complete institution-wide and/or mission related graduation requirements beyond the scope of the IAI GECC.

The IAI is a powerful tool for students. General and detailed information about the IAI as well as the most current list of participating schools can be found online at: iTransfer.org.


General Education Core Curriculum (GECC)

The requirements for an Associate Degree (A.A. or A.S.) at Rock Valley College consists of a minimum of 64 credit hours taken from three components:

  1. General education core curriculum

  2. Additional degree requirements

  3. Baccalaureate-oriented courses taken in the major/minor, and electives

The IAI GECC of 37-41 credits for an Associate of Arts, or 31-35 credits for an Associate in Science, consists of courses that colleges and universities consider essential for students’ success in college and life. The GECC requires study in the following areas:

ASSOCIATE OF ARTS
Communications.....................9 credits
Mathematics...........................3-6 credits
Physical and Life Sciences.....7-8 credits
Humanities and Fine Arts........9 credits
Social Sciences.......................9 credits

ASSOCIATE IN SCIENCE
Communications......................9 credits
Mathematics............................3-6 credits
Physical and Life Sciences .....7-8 credits
Humanities and Fine Arts.........6 credits
Social Science.........................6 credits
POST-TRANSFER...................6 credits

Courses taken at either the Transfer Institution or taken at RVC: one course from Humanities or Fine Arts and one course from Social and Behavioral Sciences.