Planning for an associate’s degree can seem intimidating at first. However,
given a little research and perhaps a meeting with an academic advisor,
students can find out just how straight-forward earning an associate’s degree
is.
Before enrolling in any classes, students must take a placement test at the Glendale Community College testing center and, following testing, enroll as a student at the college. After completing these two crucial steps, students can decide whether they want the help of an academic advisor or rely solely on their own research.
Students unsure about exactly what degree they might want to pursue should conduct research on different types of associate’s degrees. There are numerous websites describing what must be done to achieve different associate’s degrees and what jobs that degree can lead to, one of them being study.com. This website allows one to peruse various associate’s degree descriptions and lists jobs associate’s degree graduates can obtain. Another helpful website is createacareer.org, which also lists jobs graduates are qualified for.
After learning about which degrees interest oneself, students should find an associate’s degree class plan. Class plans can be found on the Glendale Community College website by locating the academics tab and pressing the link to degrees and certifications beneath it. Students can find the degree they want to complete, click on it, and from there look at the most current course check sheet to see what classes must be completed to earn the associate’s degree. Glendale Community College academic advisor Sudesh Udyavar confirms this, stating that “[the course check sheet] tells you exactly the specific classes for that degree.”
Students can put together a plan for themselves based off of the course check sheets. GCC student Cameron Murray demonstrates this by mentioning how he “looked up the plan on the [GCC] website” then made sure he “got the pre-recs out of the way so [he] could continue”. Murray emphasizes the importance of understanding what pre-requisites are required for each class, stating that “if you [don’t] do the pre-recs, you can’t do the class.”
For students wanting to make sure their plan is free of hitches, such as non-transferable credits, or who still feel lost on finding the right path, academic advisors at Glendale Community College are there to help. Academic advisor Sudesh Udyavar explains how they can assist, saying, “we ask [students] probing questions about what their eventual goal is, and based on that, we tell them what their pathway is.” He goes on to say that academic advisors” know the specifics of certain degree pathways and what applies under certain areas.” Academic advisors such as Udyavar are available for meeting at Glendale Community College upon appointment, which can be made in the enrollment center.
If, after researching and meeting with an academic advisor, students still are unsure what specific associate’s degree they should go for, they can pursue a general associate’s degree. Academic advisor Sudesh Udyavar tells how “a general degree typically is a good start to give [students]...a lot of students fall into that category of a general AA degree, but then eventually decide;…[then], they just have to double back and take…the classes for that degree.”
Switching degrees is also possible, as GCC student Cameron Murray, former computer tech student and current digital media arts student, demonstrates. “It turns out [the general classes] also applied to the digital media arts,” he says, in describing the switch. When the switch was made, he only had to finish up a few general classes and then “started doing the actual, specific, digital media arts classes.” Associates degrees of all types require many of the same general classes, which is why changing programs was not too difficult for Murray.
Given some research and perhaps help from a college academic advisor, planning for an associate’s degree should be doable for every student. By finding out how one’s associate’s degree must be earned, students will have a direct focus for the two years of schooling required of them to earn the degree and should not have a problem with taking unnecessary or not enough classes.
Before enrolling in any classes, students must take a placement test at the Glendale Community College testing center and, following testing, enroll as a student at the college. After completing these two crucial steps, students can decide whether they want the help of an academic advisor or rely solely on their own research.
Students unsure about exactly what degree they might want to pursue should conduct research on different types of associate’s degrees. There are numerous websites describing what must be done to achieve different associate’s degrees and what jobs that degree can lead to, one of them being study.com. This website allows one to peruse various associate’s degree descriptions and lists jobs associate’s degree graduates can obtain. Another helpful website is createacareer.org, which also lists jobs graduates are qualified for.
After learning about which degrees interest oneself, students should find an associate’s degree class plan. Class plans can be found on the Glendale Community College website by locating the academics tab and pressing the link to degrees and certifications beneath it. Students can find the degree they want to complete, click on it, and from there look at the most current course check sheet to see what classes must be completed to earn the associate’s degree. Glendale Community College academic advisor Sudesh Udyavar confirms this, stating that “[the course check sheet] tells you exactly the specific classes for that degree.”
Students can put together a plan for themselves based off of the course check sheets. GCC student Cameron Murray demonstrates this by mentioning how he “looked up the plan on the [GCC] website” then made sure he “got the pre-recs out of the way so [he] could continue”. Murray emphasizes the importance of understanding what pre-requisites are required for each class, stating that “if you [don’t] do the pre-recs, you can’t do the class.”
For students wanting to make sure their plan is free of hitches, such as non-transferable credits, or who still feel lost on finding the right path, academic advisors at Glendale Community College are there to help. Academic advisor Sudesh Udyavar explains how they can assist, saying, “we ask [students] probing questions about what their eventual goal is, and based on that, we tell them what their pathway is.” He goes on to say that academic advisors” know the specifics of certain degree pathways and what applies under certain areas.” Academic advisors such as Udyavar are available for meeting at Glendale Community College upon appointment, which can be made in the enrollment center.
If, after researching and meeting with an academic advisor, students still are unsure what specific associate’s degree they should go for, they can pursue a general associate’s degree. Academic advisor Sudesh Udyavar tells how “a general degree typically is a good start to give [students]...a lot of students fall into that category of a general AA degree, but then eventually decide;…[then], they just have to double back and take…the classes for that degree.”
Switching degrees is also possible, as GCC student Cameron Murray, former computer tech student and current digital media arts student, demonstrates. “It turns out [the general classes] also applied to the digital media arts,” he says, in describing the switch. When the switch was made, he only had to finish up a few general classes and then “started doing the actual, specific, digital media arts classes.” Associates degrees of all types require many of the same general classes, which is why changing programs was not too difficult for Murray.
Given some research and perhaps help from a college academic advisor, planning for an associate’s degree should be doable for every student. By finding out how one’s associate’s degree must be earned, students will have a direct focus for the two years of schooling required of them to earn the degree and should not have a problem with taking unnecessary or not enough classes.
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