1. AA VS AS
WHICH IS THE CORRECT PATHWAY
FOR YOU?
Paola Documet-Castañeda
Director, Advisement & Career Services
Medical Campus

2. 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

3. 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 Miami Dade College, other
State Colleges and/or public or private Universities
and/or complete a limited number of courses to
complete AA degree before transfer

4. 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

5. 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

6. High
School/Career
Academy
Associate of
Science/Associate
of Arts
Bachelor’s
degree

7. ALL PATHWAYS LEAD TO BACHELORS
 There is no right or wrong pathway
 Have a thorough 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?

8. LET’S PRACTICE!

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. EMILY
Emily has always loved science classes and 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.