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Question:
I have a few questions regarding the concept of the Associates degree, as offered in several American schools, such as Regents, TESC etc. My questions are: Is a 2 year Associates Degree the equivalent of say a 2 year College diploma, as offered by a community college? If not, what is the difference between an Associates degree and a College diploma? Your assistance is appreciated.
Answer:
Probably so; in fact, U.S. community colleges generally offer the associate’s degree as the two-year diploma. When I worked as an education specialist in the Air Force, we did a lot (a whole lot) of work supporting the Community College of the Air Force. CCAF awarded only the A.A.S., and many students had difficulty getting their entire degree accepted towards a bachelor’s for the reasons you describe: the A.A.S. is more a vocational degree than an academic one, even though it combines both. (SACS accredits CCAF as an academic school; they originally accredited CCAF as a vocational community college, but that changed in the late ‘70s.)
I would add that the AA degree has much more chance of satisfactory transfer to a senior college than an AS. The AS programs tend to be terminal while the AA programs are preparatory. Always consult the intended senior college about such transfers before enrolling in the AA/AS program.
In the Canadian context, a two-year Diploma is not a university degree in its own right. This is a program that offers a particular, vocationally-oriented curricula, as well as general academic concentrations. A Diploma is not specifically designed for transferring to a four-year institution although, in specific circumstances, transferability is applicable. In this sense, a Canadian two-year Diploma resembles an AAS or AS in the American context.
In the American context, an AA degree is a university degree in its own right, not only offered by colleges but by some universities as well. This is a program that encompasses general education requirements, general distribution requirements, pre-professional classes, and some electives. It is a university-parallel program that is specifically designed for transferring to a four-year institution.
I’ve always thought of the A.A.S. (Associate in Applied Science) as the terminal Associate’s degree, I had no problem at all transferring my A.S. into my B.A. program (yes-different colleges). I have taught portions of several diploma programs, a particular discipline or plan of study devoid of general education requirements. At the community college level, when we combined the diploma program with general education requirements, i.e. English, Math, Social Sciences, etc. it became an Associates Degree program. We also referred shorter versions of the Diploma programs as Certificate programs.
One example we phased out several years ago was the old diploma nursing and replaced with the Associates Degree Nursing Program.
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