Which degree would be likely to have more value?

[bjcheung77]

Hot topic! Take the AAS at Pierpont - you will need to at least take 12 credits RA at the community college before you transfer your credits into the BOG AAS at Pierpont. I would recommend finishing the Pierpont AAS as a starting point and work towards a RBA or COSC BSLS by laddering your courses into the Bachelors down the road. If you really need an additional set of credits, you can take 12 credits at community college.

This is because COSC/TESU now requires at least 30 credits RA transferred into their program, you can finish the remaining 6 credits at the respective institution. And since you have 24 credits at the community college, it's just two more courses, you can see if they accept CLEP or ACE credits, finish the AA at the community college and you're good for BOTH associates!

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In the case of WV colleges/uni articulation the universities started creating a RBA degree to exclusively take these vocational like associates towards credit for a Bachelors degree. Oh, you may also want to have a read on this: I agree on most points - yes, at some time or another, AAS were considered or still is considered as Terminal degrees. https://www.onlineschoolscenter.com/diff...ce-degree/

[bluebooger]

AAS are not terminal degrees. ... They're used for subjects which you can start a career with such as accounting, culinary arts, criminal justice, etc. 

that's why they're called terminal degrees          
you finish your AAS degree and start your degree -- you don't continue on to a bachelors

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...ode=ucjc20

https://www.aarc.org/wp-content/uploads/...itions.pdf

I'm sure some bachelors programs will accept all your credits from an AAS degree, just as I'm sure some bachelors programs will accept the CLEP chemistry for credit               
but that doesn't mean all will

[ss20ts]

AAS are not terminal degrees. ... They're used for subjects which you can start a career with such as accounting, culinary arts, criminal justice, etc. 

that's why they're called terminal degrees          
you finish your AAS degree and start your degree -- you don't continue on to a bachelors

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...ode=ucjc20

https://www.aarc.org/wp-content/uploads/...itions.pdf

I'm sure some bachelors programs will accept all your credits from an AAS degree, just as I'm sure some bachelors programs will accept the CLEP chemistry for credit               
but that doesn't mean all will

I've never been told my AAS is a terminal degree. I transferred with it without any problems into a bachelor's program. It was a continuation of the AAS. Same with the culinary one I started many years ago. I was accepted at JWU and CIA as a Junior into their bachelor's in baking and pastry programs. 

[ctcarl]

This is a thought-provoking thread.

I think I will ask Nancy Parks at Pierpont for the official list of approved Areas of Emphasis for the BOG AAS. It sounds like something that could be useful.

Thanks for your input, everyone!

[rachel83az]

This is a thought-provoking thread.

I think I will ask Nancy Parks at Pierpont for the official list of approved Areas of Emphasis for the BOG AAS.  It sounds like something that could be useful.

Thanks for your input, everyone!

I asked her. She said that there is none. Basically, from what I can tell, you have to say something like "I want to have an AOS in History. Is that possible?" and she will say yes or no.

[ctcarl]

I asked her. She said that there is none. Basically, from what I can tell, you have to say something like "I want to have an AOS in History. Is that possible?" and she will say yes or no.

Thanks for sharing that, Rachel.

[dfrecore]

Many AAS degrees are terminal - they are a specific degree leading to a specific job. Surgical Tech, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapy Assistant, Radiation Therapist, Medical Sonographer, X-Ray Tech, Polysomnography, Dental Hygienist, etc. Most can be done with (or may require) an AAS degree, and there will be a large number of clinical hours required. There are also generally very few GE's required (far less than an AA/AS degree). In the program my daughter wants to take, out of 69cr required, only 20cr are GE - the other 49cr are all in her specialty, with 19cr of those being clinicals. It's similar to getting an RN degree (which is also a terminal degree, although not generally an AAS).

This is not to say that you can't go on to get a bachelor's degree afterwards, but you will usually have to complete additional GE's, and you may lose some credits in the process because there may be a large number of credits that are technical in nature, and therefore don't have anywhere to go in a typical bachelor's degree.

[a4tunatemom]

I have heard that an AA degree may have more value than an AAS degree. I have also heard that a degree that lists a specific area may have more value than a degree in general studies. That being said, which associate's degree would be likely to have more value - an AA in general studies from a community college or a Pierpont BOG AAS with an area of emphasis in history? My son wavered between getting his bachelor's degree in history or criminal justice for over a year before finally deciding on criminal justice. I was wondering if it would be a good idea for him to get the Pierpont BOG AAS with an area of emphasis in history so that, in the future, if he ever became interested in some type of history-related position, he would have a degree with an emphasis in history on his resume. Any advice would be appreciated!

If he can get the AAS with history AoE I say do it.

Does he have the 15 history credits now?

Thankfully, he already has the 15 credits in history and has everything else he needs for the AAS with the AOE in history. He would just need to not apply for graduation with the community college and transfer everything to Pierpont instead.

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I think that unless you're looking at a job with a very specific requirement, an AA/AS/AAS is not going to matter at all.  My daughter is planning on an AAS in Surgical Tech for instance, it's a terminal degree, meaning there is no bachelor's degree for that particular job.  There are many medical-related jobs that require an AAS, and in that case, an AAS is required, an AA/AS will not satisfy the requirements which have very specific coursework you have to take.

In the case of a BOG AAS degree, I can't think of a job/job field in which an AAS (or even AA/AS) will be meaningful in terms of history.  If someone wants a history degree, it's usually at least a BA, and many times an MA.  Nothing you take below a BA level will matter.  But if you find a job where an AA/AS/AAS in history is asked for, let us know.

I was thinking of something like a museum assistant position that he could do while he was working on his bachelor's degree.

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Unfortunately, you can't get a Pierpont degree after a bachelor's, peirpont is only for those with no college degree. And even if you could a Board of governors AAS would hold essentially no value.


AAS can be a terminal degree. Meaning some areas like comp sci, culinary, etc can lead to a job. However, in some of the subjects offered by AAS you can later get a bachelor's in the subject down the road. The point is that an AAS degree leads to a job. An AA pretty much is good for nothing as far as employment (at least speaking from personal experience and my AA is in general liberal arts). The peirpont degree is a little different as it isn't in a vo-tech field, but more of a way for adults to get a  check box associate's.

I'm sorry I didn't present all the information clearly. He doesn't have a bachelor's degree yet. He is just pursuing one.

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Hot topic! Take the AAS at Pierpont - you will need to at least take 12 credits RA at the community college before you transfer your credits into the BOG AAS at Pierpont. I would recommend finishing the Pierpont AAS as a starting point and work towards a RBA or COSC BSLS by laddering your courses into the Bachelors down the road.  If you really need an additional set of credits, you can take 12 credits at community college.  

This is because COSC/TESU now requires at least 30 credits RA transferred into their program, you can finish the remaining 6 credits at the respective institution.  And since you have 24 credits at the community college, it's just two more courses, you can see if they accept CLEP or ACE credits, finish the AA at the community college and you're good for BOTH associates!

---

In the case of WV colleges/uni articulation the universities started creating a RBA degree to exclusively take these vocational like associates towards credit for a Bachelors degree.  Oh, you may also want to have a read on this: I agree on most points - yes, at some time or another, AAS were considered or still is considered as Terminal degrees.  https://www.onlineschoolscenter.com/diff...ce-degree/

Thankfully, he will have 60 RA credits by the end of May so the RA requirement is covered. If I am understanding you correctly, He could get the BOG AAS and then get the AA afterward from the community college also. Is that right?

I also want to thank everyone who responded for their advice! It has been very helpful. I really appreciate everyone's input!

[bjcheung77]

Thankfully, he already has the 15 credits in history and has everything else he needs for the AAS with the AOE in history. He would just need to not apply for graduation with the community college and transfer everything to Pierpont instead.

I was thinking of something like a museum assistant position that he could do while he was working on his bachelor's degree.
I'm sorry I didn't present all the information clearly. He doesn't have a bachelor's degree yet. He is just pursuing one.

Thankfully, he will have 60 RA credits by the end of May so the RA requirement is covered. If I am understanding you correctly, He could get the BOG AAS and then get the AA afterward from the community college also. Is that right?

I also want to thank everyone who responded for their advice! It has been very helpful. I really appreciate everyone's input!

Yes, you're understanding this perfectly - Get the BOG AAS and with the same credits, get the community college AA afterwards. Since you mentioned above that you're going to delay the AA graduation. It'll take some time for Pierpont to process everything, but it'll be best to have them both for the extra price of transcripts - If there are missing courses for the AA at the community college, just finish it off and then use those extra credits as general education or free electives towards a Big 3 or competency based Bachelors degree!

[Merlin]

In my opinion, unless you have no plans to go further than an associate's degree and you're getting it to qualify for a specific career field, there really is no reason to pay for getting an associate's degree on its own. Outside of a limited number of jobs, an AA or AAS doesn't really offer much value. Sure, if you want to get an AA on the way to completing a bachelor's degree and you don't have to do much more to make it happen, then go for it. I did that myself. But as its own standalone academic credential, associate degrees don't really have much value anymore. Skip it and go for a bachelor's degree instead.