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Mission of the MAP Initiative

The mission of the MAP Initiative is to maximize credit for prior learning (CPL) for working adults, apprentices, and veterans and students in the California Community College system and beyond. We are now available to all 116 California Community Colleges, a community of colleges committed to awarding up to a year of college credit in recognition of the mastery acquired through prior learning, training, and experience.

The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office has enlisted the Mapping Articulated Pathways (MAP) Initiative to spearhead an ambitious effort to expand Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) opportunities across the state.

Background of the MAP Initiative

The MAP project began in 2017 and was initially funded by a Prop 98 Grant sponsored by Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes. MAP, which originally stood for Military Articulation Platform, was an effort to develop a modern cloud-based platform to automate the analysis and approval process for military credit based on American Council for Education (ACE) Military Guide Credit recommendations.  

In 2022, the scope of the project was expanded to support all forms of CPL, not just military. The MAP acronym was changed to Mapping Articulated Pathways, which speaks to the goal of embedding CPL opportunities on program pathways that can be used for outreach to working adults, apprentices, and veterans alike.   

In 2024, the MAP Initiative was incorporated into the organization of the CCC Chancellor’s Office and leads the efforts to build CPL capacity at our colleges and institutions—all to promote economic opportunity through college to career pathways. The MAP team works on behalf of the Chancellors Office and in close collaboration with the colleges, the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges, our intersegmental and inter agency partners, and community and industry constituents.   

Our Three-Part Strategy

The California MAP Initiative employs a three-part strategy to achieve these goals: 

  1. Culture: Professional development, multi-college faculty collaborations, and engagement with the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC).  
  2. Technology: The MAP platform serves as a centralized tool for creating, approving, and awarding CPL as well as documenting prior learning and supporting academic and career planning infused with CPL.  
  3. Policy: Advocacy efforts focus on aligning policies across segments, removing barriers, ensuring CPL is recognized and seamlessly transferable, and advocating for sustainable funding to support college efforts. 

The Current Status of CPL and the MAP Initiative

The MAP Initiative supports all 116 California Community Colleges and beyond. Services, which include professional development, MAP platform use, technical assistance, and ongoing platform development and integration are all provided at no cost to the colleges. Funding is supported by the Chancellor’s Office through state and federal appropriations and grants.

Current CPL opportunities (articulations) are listed on College CPL Landing Pages and the MAP Dashboard .

As of September 2025, the initiative has documented over 26,000 CPL awards for more than 106,000 units for a savings and preservation of funds estimated at 73M and a 20-year impact exceeding $455M.

Key areas of progress include:

  • Implementation of MAP 2.0, our second-generation platform that includes integrated AI parsing of uploaded documents; simplified faculty email approval process; student CPL Plan tracking; CPL Dashboard; college articulation sharing and adoption module; and multi-college district approval queues and audit logs.
  • Partnership with ASCCC to build on the work of multi-college faculty workgroups creating statewide CPL recommendations in: Administration of Justice, Fire, EMT/EMS Paramedic, Real Estate, Cyber Security, Information Technology, Welding, Automotive, and Foreign Languages. Additional workgroups for 2025 are planned for Child Development, Business, Allied Health, and Skilled Trades. By 2030, a total of 40 disciplines are scheduled to be reviewed.
  • Development of partnerships with industry and workforce agencies such as the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA).
  • Integration efforts with Program Pathways Mapper, California Virtual Campus, Assist, and the forthcoming Credential Registry, modernized eTranscript, and Career Passport.
  • CPL support throughout the Chancellor’s Office with LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network, IEPI, I Can Campaign, Guided Pathways Regional Coordinators, and Strong Workforce Consortia.
  • Support for noncredit, not-for-credit, adult education, Regional Occupational Programs
  • Sprints (Veterans, Apprenticeship) and focused Projects supporting Rising Scholars, CCC Baccalaureate Pathways, Behavioral Heath (Futuro Healthcare), Allied Health, CPL Infrastructure Planning through WestEd Project and Credential Engine.

The initiative team is actively working on MAP 3.0 projects for 2025-2026, focusing on equitable student access and success, workforce alignment and economic development, system integration and collaboration, and continuous improvement and best practices. New functionality is expected to be in production by the end of 2025 includes:

  • Statewide CPL Student Portal
  • Quick Adopt Process to support equitable access to CPL throughout the system
  • CPL Integration on CVC courses
  • New CPL Exhibit Module supporting faculty identification and validation of Skills and non-college Credentials