Associate Degree At Home, Value of an Associates Degree
After several months of putting my "continuing education" on and off hiatus,
I'm finally in a position to make some progress. Basically I've finally
received all my transcripts from the various school in which I had taken
undergraduate credit courses with. By my estimates, I figure I'll be able
to transfer 51 credits to Regents/Excelsior. Although it is my intention to
eventually complete the general BSc. degree with Regents, this may not be
for some time. In the interim however I am looking to complete either the
AA. or AS general program. My current credits satisfy the depth requirements
for either program, as my 9 remaining credits are for Free Electives only.
So I figure I can just complete this portion with CLEP's or something.
1. Is this degree of any value? Is it perceived as a degree "for someone
who was too lazy to complete a bachelors"? As this degree is more common in
the US, how is this degree perceived in other parts of the world?
2. For a general Liberal Arts AA/BA. degree at places such as TESC and
Regents and such, if I've received course credit in a course such as Linear
Algebra or something, can I write say the CLEP College Algebra exam and
still acquire credit? Or would this be considered double dipping?
3. Has anyone transferred an AA/AS degree to a Canadian school and then
used it to complete a 3-yr general Baccaulaurate degree? Was all 60 credits
accepted into such a program?
An associate's degree is usually regarded as roughly equivalent to the first
two years of college. You can sometimes get an entry level job with one, but
more often it's something picked up along the way to a bachelor's degree.
About transfer -- it's easiest to transfer into a public four-year program
in the same state (for example, Iowa's state universities accept AA degrees
from Iowa community colleges with no quibble or question) -- as you go out
of state it can get harder. (I know one student who will have to complete
three years at a small private college in Indiana, because it wouldn't
accept all of his credits from an Iowa community college.)
I doubt that you can get credit for a course and a CLEP which cover the same
subject -- a college won't give you credit for taking the same course twice,
so why should they give you credit for a course and a test that cover the
same subject?
The value of an Associate's degree is extremely subjective. I've seen a lot
of jobs (especially in public government) specify at least an Associate's degree or
2 years of college. IMO, the main value is as a "reward" at the halfway point of a
4-year program, sort of an incentive to keep going.
If they cover different material, you probably could get credit for both.
For example, at the 2-year college where I got my AS, the lowest level math course
was "Principles of Algebra". If one took "Principles", you could also get credit for
the CLEP College Algebra subject exam, since they covered different material.
I think that the value of an associates degree varies with the field. In
the traditional arts and sciences subjects such as history or physics,
it probably isn't of much value. But associate degrees are very valuable
in para-professional and technician type fields, where the degree is
sometimes the required academic qualification.
As far as a general studies associates degree, I doubt that it would be
a whole lot more useful than simply 60 semester units (or whatever) of
lower division credit. However if you are collecting the credit for an
eventual BA, and would have to take the same courses anyway, then
earning the AA along the way certainly wouldn't hurt.
No, I don't believe that people think that. It's not that the associates
degree will reflect badly on you. It's just that it might not meet many
job requirements, unless it is in a technical-vocational sort of
subject. In a more academic sort of subject, a more advanced degree will
probably be expected.
I think that the more technician-type associate degrees, in fields such
as nursing, are often considered similar to some nations' "diploma"
courses. In the UK you could perhaps find similar programs in their
"further education" sector. Canada's community colleges grant diplomas
instead of degrees, I believe. But I don't know if you can find those
kind of diploma courses in the traditional academic subjects, let alone
general studies. So it might be more comprehensible in some countries to
tell prospective employers that you are half-way through a BA course
than to say you have an AA.
I don't know. I'm kind of speculating here. It would probably depend on
the country and the field. And on how well acquainted the employer is
with an American-style educational system.