AA VS AS WHICH IS THE CORRECT PATHWAY YOU?

Paola Documet-Castañeda

Director Advisement & Career Services, Medical Campus

Marina Hernandez

Director Student Services, Medical Campus

ASSOCIATE IN ARTS

Designed to facilitate transfer to upper division educational institutions

Not designed to prepare you for workforce Does not lead to a professional credential Focused on 60 credits of general education

coursework Includes designated courses for pathway

ASSOCIATE IN SCIENCE DEGREES Designed to facilitate transition to the

workforce Many lead to a professional credential Considered occupational degrees requiring

greater than 60 credits for completion Contains limited general education

requirements and focus on specific coursework directly related to pathway

Many include experiential learning such as clinicals, externships and/or internships.

After completion, students can articulate credits to a bachelor’s degree at State Colleges and public or private Universities and/or complete a limited number of courses to complete AA degree before transfer

BENEFITS OF AN AS DEGREE Leads directly to employment Many lead directly to certification and/or licensure Students can still complete an AA or continue on to a

bachelor’s degree after completion of an AS Particularly beneficial for students who need to support themselves

through College

Can often be a faster route to career goal

BENEFITS OF AS CONTINUED… Many AS degrees accept articulated credits from lower level

certificates College Credit Certificates Career and Technical Education Certificates

Many of the College Certificates accept articulated credits from High School Career Academies 900 academies in 16 clusters throughout MDCPS MDC has established articulation agreements that predetermine how

many credits will be articulated Technical Manual of Procedures (TMOP’s) outline when and how the

credits are awarded Credit for Non-Collegiate Coursework form

High School/Career Academy

Associate of Science/Associate of Art

Bachelor’s degree

ALL PATHWAYS LEAD TO BACHELORS There is no right or wrong pathway Have a through discussion with students

about: Student’s academic goal? Student's career goal? Does the student have the ability to take

advantage of articulation agreements that will accelerate completion?

Career Academies to CCC and/or AS CCC to AS

What is the student’s academic history? How much funding does the student have for

College? What type of program does the student want? In what type of institution does the student want to

study?

LET’S PRACTICE!

DAYNE

Dayne is an FTIC-DE student interested in being a nurse. Dayne has always loved healthcare. She even completed the Health Science Career Academy in high school and took the Certified Nursing Assistant exam after high school graduation. She is a single mom that currently works part-time at a local nursing home while her mother, who recently lost her job, helps her take care of her 2 year old son. Dayne is hoping to complete a nursing program quickly so that she can help her mom provide for their household.

MARIO

During high school, Mario completed the Education and Training Services Academy and volunteered to tutor elementary students in after school programs and he really enjoyed working with that population. Mario graduated high school a year ago and has been working at Publix, he likes the interaction with people but feels he would like to do more. Mario is considering going to College to be a teacher but he would like to graduate quickly as he lives on his own and needs an income.

EMILY

Emily has always loved science classes and has is intrigued by healthcare jobs. She did well in high school, graduated with a 3.0 weighted GPA. Emily has always dreamed of going to University of Florida (UF) to study nursing. However, her GPA and SAT scores were not sufficiently competitive for direct admission to UF. Emily is starting courses with MDC with a goal of transferring to UF as soon as possible.

MARC

Marc loves technology. In high school he completed a Microsoft Industry Certification. Marc has been working at Best Buy and would like to be promoted to the Geek Squad but his supervisor has told him he needs to go back to school and get a degree. Though Marc has excelled academically, he’s mentioned he never enjoyed any courses outside his computer classes; English, history and science were not his favorite subjects. Marc graduated high school with a 3.5 weighted GPA. Marc is here today to speak with an advisor about our computer programs at the College.

KARINA

Karina graduated high school 3 years ago. She has been working as a secretary at a local rehabilitation center and has developed an appreciation for the work of the PTA’s and PT’s that work at the center. Karina is pondering coming back to school. Her ultimate goal is to be a PT. Karina came in to speak with an advisor last month and was overwhelmed by the long pathway needed to become a PT. After speaking with her family, she is back in the advisement office today because she wants to meet with an advisor to discuss ways to accelerate her pathway, 8 years is too long for her to be in school and it is not feasible for her to not work while in College.