Associate Degree Program Requirements Typically Top 60 Credits

The reasons for the low graduation rate for most community college students are multiple, but a recent study, conducted last year for Complete College America and reported in Issues in Higher Education, blames credit hour expansion as a primary cause.

The study found that "half of the community colleges surveyed did not have a single program limited to 60 credits, including general education degrees and those aimed at students who transfer to four-year institutions."  The assumption is that the added credit hour requirements that most two-year degree programs have is a deterrent to graduation.

I am not sure that I buy this argument.  

One only has to look at healthcare programs, especially nursing, to see that there is something else beyond simply numbers of credits at play.  Associate degree nursing programs typically require 70 or more credits hours for graduation.  Yet, these programs almost always have a very high completion rate - often in excess of 90% graduate in nursing.

Granted, it is not unusual for students at two-year colleges to take way more than two years to complete a degree.  Some of the most recognized obstacles include:

• Most community college students must take remedial or development courses, especially in math.  
• Students in these colleges often do not seek advising, or perhaps they get bad advice
• It is common for students to change majors
• Most students at two-year schools work, often full-time
• The part-time student attitude is also influenced by family obligations
• Many of these students fail to recognize that completing their Associate degree is in their best interest - they transfer out without completion

I agree that community, technical and junior colleges should not add credit hour requirements that extend the time to graduation - for the most part.  I am also a huge fan of certificate programs that are "nested" within an Associate degree.  This is a great way to "ladder" the progress of students, especially in career and technical programs.  15 - 20 credit hours can add up to a certificate, which means a form of completion that is often under-appreciated.

Associate degree program requirements typically top 60 credits | Inside Higher Ed