Associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate academic
degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, bachelor's degree-granting
colleges, and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years.
In the United States, and some areas of Canada, an associate's degree is often equivalent
to the first two years of a four-year college or university degree.
In spite of high unemployment, there is high demand for people with skills that often require
no more than an associate’s degree, such as: lab technicians, teachers in early-childhood
programs, computer technicians, draftsmen, radiation therapists, paralegals, and machinists.
Time requirements An associate degree is awarded to students
who complete 90 quarter credit hours or 60 semester credit hours of schooling.
Typically, on a full-time schedule, this requires two years to complete.
Other requirements include "general ed" courses such as English composition, Algebra, social
interaction, humanities, etc.
Some people refer to associate's degrees as "two-year" degrees because it is possible
to obtain the degree in approximately that length of time.
For students who place into developmental (sometimes called pre-college or remedial)
courses, the time will be extended since these credits will not apply toward the associate's
degree.
Conversely, high school graduates who enter college with a high amount of transfer credits
(AP, AICE, IB, CLEP) could finish the degree in less than two years.
In rare circumstances, some students take one year to earn the associate degree.
Other credentials, called either a Certificate or a Diploma, may be awarded for specific
studies that either do not meet the Associate's Degree requirements for general education
or for program length.
For example, certification in a particular field of information technology may only run
for four to six months and will most typically require coursework only in that subject matter,
without any "Gen Ed" requirement.
At 2-year colleges in the United States, more students attend part-time than full-time.
To accommodate part-time students, many of whom work, most US community colleges offer
required courses during evening and weekend hours and, increasingly, online (the Sloan
Consortium reports that 51% of all degrees earned online are associate's degrees.)
Names of associate degrees Data on associate degrees are frequently disaggregated
by curriculum: vocational or nonvocational.
The Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) counts nonvocational degrees under
the category "Arts and Sciences or General Programs," and vocational degrees fall under
six headings: Business and commerce technologies
Data processing technologies Health services/paramedical technologies
Mechanical/engineering technologies Natural science technologies
Public service-related technologies Europe and Australia
The Foundation degree in the United Kingdom and the Higher Certificate in the Republic
of Ireland can be considered European equivalents of Associate Degrees.
These programs are mainly provided through affiliated colleges at universities.
France formerly offered the General Academic Studies Degree from 1973 until implementation
of the Bologna Process between 2003 and 2006.
The diplôme universitaire de technologie (Technology university degree) is a two-years
degree delivered by an IUT (University Institutes of Technology).
In 2004, Australia added "associate degree" to the Australian Qualifications Framework.
This title was given to more academically focused advanced diploma courses.
However, very few courses yet use the new title.
In the Netherlands, there were four pilots between 2005 and 2011 to assess the added
value of the associate degree.
In 2011 the associate degree has been added to the Dutch system of higher education as
a means to close the gap with the vocational education system.
Canada In the province of Ontario, a college is an
educational institution which awards a 2-year diploma or a 3-year advanced diploma in technical
or career programs.
Universities offer 4 year bachelor's degrees, and at times partner with career colleges
to offer joint diploma-degree programs.
For example, the University of Toronto and Centennial College offer a joint Diploma-Degree
program in Paramedicine.
Students are eligible to enter these programs once they have completed an Ontario Secondary
School Diploma (OSSD) program at a high school, focusing their studies on college preparation.
Students who wish to attend university must study a different stream of academics while
obtaining their OSSD.
In the province of Quebec, an associate's degree is roughly equivalent to a college
diploma, which is delivered by a college-level institution.
Students can take two different paths to obtain a college diploma.
One way consists of completing a pre-university program, which normally has a duration of
two years and prepares the applicant for university-level studies.
The other way consists of completing a technical or career program in a college.
Normally, courses of this nature have a duration of three years and enable the student to enter
the work force directly after obtaining their diploma.
Hong Kong In Hong Kong, associate degrees, first introduced
into the territory in 2000 with the aim to increase the number of students with post-secondary
qualifications, are generally regarded as an inferior substitute to bachelor's degrees.
The quality of teaching and graduates have been under doubt since it was introduced.
Many degree-awarding and non-degree-awarding institutions start to offer associate's degree
courses following the government's encouragement; some of them are accused of over-admission
for profits.
Students who do not do well enough for university admission in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary
Education Examination (HKDSE), the public examination sat by the territory's students
in the final year of their secondary education, enroll on associate degree courses with the
hope to obtain a place for government-funded bachelor's degree courses.
As the number of university graduates continues to increase, more and more of associate degree
holders are finding it difficult to get employed and receive the salaries that were advertised
by the government or the institutions.
Although the recognition of associate degrees gradually improved in recent years, it was
generally regarded as one of the worst flaws of the Hong Kong education system.
United States In the United States, associate degrees are
usually earned in two years or less, and can be attained at community colleges, technical
colleges, vocational schools, and some colleges.
A student who completes a two-year program can earn an Associate of Arts (A.A.) or an
Associate of Science (A.S.).
A.A. degrees are usually earned in humanities, business, and social science fields.
A.S. degrees are awarded to those studying in scientific and technical fields.
Students who complete a two-year technical or vocational program can earn an Associate
of Applied Science (A.A.S.).
They may also have the option to use the credits from the associate’s degree toward a bachelor’s
degree.
Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees are offered at a number of universities
around the United States including Pennsylvania State University, Florida Institute of Technology,
Liberty University, and New England College.
Notes ^ "Associate of Arts (AAG)".
Belmont College.
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^ Marcus, Jon (February 26, 2013).
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Teachers College at Columbia University.
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^ Selingo, Jeffrey (26 April 2013).
"The Diploma's Vanishing Value".
Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company).
Retrieved 7 December 2013.
^ "Accreditation Reference Handbook, a publication of the Accrediting Commission for Community
and Junior Colleges (ACCJC)".
Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).
^ "Shocker: Eighty percent of NYC graduates unable to read".
RT.
March 8, 2013.
^ "Digest of Education Statistics: 2010, Total fall enrollment in degree-granting institutions,
by level of enrollment, sex, attendance status, and type and control of institution: 2009".
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
2010.
Retrieved September 28, 2011.
^ Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006.
The Sloan Consortium.
^ http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Documents/FHEQ08.pdf ^ "Recognition Ireland Statement on US associate
degree".
Qualificationsrecognition.ie.
Retrieved 2014-02-12.
^ "EQUIVALENCE DE DIPLOME (Degree equivalence)".
voilanewyork.com.
Retrieved 2014-03-29.
^ "overview of Dutch associate degrees and their classification".
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^ "Diploma Programs at Ontario Colleges".
ontariocolleges.ca.
Retrieved 2013-07-25.
^ "Student Zone - College - Finding/Applying".
College Zone.
Retrieved 2013-07-25.
^ "Penn State | Online Associate in Arts in Letters, Arts, and Sciences | Overview".
Worldcampus.psu.edu.
Retrieved 2013-07-25.
^ "Online Associates Degrees".
New England College.