Florida Statewide Course Numbering System
Course Identifications
Courses in this catalog are identified by prefixes and numbers that were assigned by Florida’s Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS), Section 1007.24, Florida Statutes. This numbering system is used by all public postsecondary institutions in Florida and by participating nonpublic institutions. The major purpose of this system is to facilitate the transfer of courses between participating institutions. Students and administrators can use the online SCNS to obtain course descriptions and specific information about course transfer between participating Florida institutions. This information is at the SCNS website at https://flscns.fldoe.org.
Each participating institution controls the title, credit, and content of its own courses and recommends the first digit of the course number to indicate the level at which students normally take the course. Course prefixes and the last three digits of the course numbers are assigned by Discipline Coordinators.
The course prefix and each digit in the course number have a meaning in the SCNS. The listing of prefixes and associated courses is referred to as the “SCNS taxonomy.” Descriptions of the content of courses are referred to as “statewide course profiles.”
The Statewide Course Numbering System is a classification system based on course content. A course is identified by a prefix, level number, course number, and lab code.
The Course Prefix is a three-letter designator for a major division of an academic discipline, subject matter area, or subcategory of knowledge. The prefix is not intended to identify the department in which a course is offered. Rather, the content of a course determines the assigned prefix to identify the course.
Level: The first digit of the four-digit course number that follows the prefix. It indicates the academic year that the course is normally offered. The levels are defined as follows:
0 = College Preparatory, Developmental, or Vocational
1 = Lower Level (freshman)
2 = Lower Level (sophomore)
3 = Upper Level (junior)
4 = Upper Level (senior)
5 = Graduate Level
6 = Graduate Level
7, 8, 9 = Graduate and/or Professional level
The three-digit course number identifies the specific content of the course.
The lab code is used to indicate that a course is a laboratory component of a lecture/lab pair, or that an integrated lab is a component of a combined course. If no lab code is specified, the course does not include a laboratory component.
- L = lab section of a lecture/lab pair
- C = combined lecture/lab course
The following is an example of a course identifier:
| Prefix (subject area) | Level | Course Number | Lab Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMH | 2 | 020 | -- |
In this example, AMH 2020 US History Since 1877 is a history course within the American History (AMH) subject area that is taught at the lower (sophomore) level. The course has no lab component.
Authority for Acceptance of Equivalent Courses:
Under Section 1007.24(7), Florida Statutes:
Any student who transfers among postsecondary institutions that are fully accredited by a regional or national accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education and that participate in the statewide course numbering system shall be awarded credit by the receiving institution for courses satisfactorily completed by the student at the previous institutions. Credit shall be awarded if the courses are judged by the appropriate statewide course numbering system faculty committees representing school districts, public postsecondary educational institutions, and participating nonpublic postsecondary educational institutions to be academically equivalent to courses offered at the receiving institution, including equivalency of faculty credentials, regardless of the public or nonpublic control of the previous institution. The Department of Education shall ensure that credits to be accepted by a receiving institution are generated in courses for which the faculty possess credentials that are comparable to those required by the accrediting association of the receiving institution. The award of credit may be limited to courses that are entered in the statewide course numbering system. Credits awarded pursuant to this subsection shall satisfy institutional requirements on the same basis as credits awarded to native students.
Exceptions to the General Rule for Equivalency:
Since the initial implementation of the SCNS, specific disciplines or types of courses have been excepted from the guarantee of transfer for equivalent courses. These include courses that must be evaluated individually or courses in which the student must be evaluated for mastery of skill and technique. The following courses are exceptions to the general rule for course equivalencies and may not transfer. Transferability is at the discretion of the receiving institution.
- Courses not offered by the receiving institution.
- For courses at non-regionally accredited institutions, courses offered prior to the established transfer date of the course in question.
- Courses in the X900-999 series are not automatically transferrable, and must be evaluated individually (see Appendix B).
- College preparatory and vocational preparatory courses (0-level).
- Graduate courses.
- Internships, apprenticeships, practicums, clinical experiences and study-abroad courses with numbers other than those in the X900-999 series.
- Applied courses in the performing arts (Art, Dance, Interior Design, Music, and Theatre) and skills courses in Criminal Justice (academy certificate courses) are not guaranteed as transferable. These courses need evidence of achievement (i.e., portfolio, audition, interview, etc.). The specific categories or courses that are not guaranteed to transfer are as follows:
- Art Courses prefixed ART are not guaranteed transferable.
- Criminal Skills courses in Criminal Justice (academy certificate Justice courses) are not guaranteed transferable.
- Dance Courses prefixed DAA are not guaranteed transferable.
- Interior All courses in Interior Design are not guaranteed Design transferable.
- Music Courses prefixed MVB, MVH, MVJ, MVK, MVO, MVP, (Applied) MVS, MVV, and MVW are not guaranteed transferable. Theatre Courses prefixed TPP with numbers ranging from 000–299 are not guaranteed transferable.
Dual enrollment courses completed in high school, and credit completed by examination for which credit is awarded by a participating institution, will transfer on the same basis as courses satisfactorily completed at the participating institution. The receiving institution is never precluded from accepting nonequivalent courses to satisfy certain requirements (e.g., electives).
More information is available in the SCNS Handbook linked under Latest News on the SCNS home page.
Courses at Non-regionally Accredited Institutions:
The SCNS makes available on its home page (https://flscns.fldoe.org/) a report entitled “Courses at Non-regionally Accredited Institutions” that contains a comprehensive listing of all nonpublic institution courses in the SCNS inventory, as well as each course’s transfer level and transfer effective date. This report is updated monthly.
Questions about the SCNS and appeals regarding course credit transfer decisions should be directed to Eastern Florida State College, Office of the Registrar at 321-433-7284 or to the:
Florida Department of Education
Office of Articulation
1244 Turlington Building
325 West Gaines Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400.
Reports and technical information may be requested by calling the SCNS office at (850) 245-0427 or at https://flscns.fldoe.org/.