Beyond 60 Credits: The Blueprint for Mastering Your Associate Degree and Avoiding the Transfer Trap

Introduction: The Confession of an Academic Advisor

I am a higher education academic advisor and student success strategist, and for years, I gave students the wrong advice.

It wasn’t malicious.

It was the same advice everyone gives, the same advice you’ve probably heard a dozen times: “Just get your 60 credits, keep your GPA up, and you’ll be all set to transfer.” I said these words with confidence, believing I was setting students on a path to success.

Then, I met Maria.

Maria was everything you hope for in a student: bright, driven, and the first in her family to go to college.

She wanted to be an engineer, and she came to my office with a fire in her eyes.

I gave her the standard playbook.

“Focus on your 60 credits,” I told her.

“Get your A’s.” She did exactly that.

She worked tirelessly, aced her classes, and proudly completed her associate degree with 64 credits and a stellar GPA.

But when she applied to transfer to her dream university’s engineering program, the dream nearly shattered.

They rejected nearly a full semester’s worth of her credits.

Courses she thought were building blocks were deemed irrelevant.

Technical classes that were the pride of her associate degree didn’t map to the university’s foundational requirements.

She was facing another year of tuition she couldn’t afford and a delay that felt like a personal failure.¹

Maria’s heartbreak was my epiphany.

I realized the “60-credit checklist” wasn’t just incomplete; it was a dangerously flawed model.

A college degree isn’t a shopping list where you grab 20 items and head to the checkout.

It’s a complex

architectural blueprint.

Every course is a load-bearing wall, a plumbing line, a foundational element.

Using the wrong materials or assembling them in the wrong order doesn’t just look bad; it compromises the integrity of the entire structure.

That day, my mission changed.

I stopped being a simple registrar of courses and became a teacher of academic architecture.

This guide is the culmination of that journey.

It’s designed to move you beyond the “60-credit” illusion and empower you to become the chief architect of your own education, ensuring every credit you earn is a deliberate step toward a solid, transferable, and timely degree.

Pillar 1: The Foundation – Deconstructing the True Cost of a Credit Hour

The first rule of any construction project is to understand the cost of your materials.

In college, your primary materials are credit hours, and their true cost goes far beyond the number on your tuition bill.

The common understanding is that an associate degree requires 60 credit hours, a figure cited by institutions and the U.S. Department of Education alike.⁴

However, this is a baseline, not a universal standard.

A closer look at degree requirements reveals that many programs, especially the transfer-focused Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS) degrees, require between 60 and 66 credits, while career-focused Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees can demand up to 72 hours or more.⁵

This seemingly small variance is the first crack in the “60-credit” myth.

The Currency of College: Time and Money

Think of each credit hour as a unit of currency, paid for with both your money and your time.

The sticker price varies dramatically.

At a public two-year community college, the average cost for an in-state student is around $150 to $205 per credit hour.⁷

That same credit hour at a public four-year university could cost an average of $447.⁷

This price difference is the primary appeal of starting at a community college.

But this is where the financial calculus becomes perilous.

The single greatest hidden cost in higher education is the accumulation of “excess credits.” This is an epidemic.

According to a landmark report by Complete College America, the average associate degree graduate takes a staggering 22 excess credits—the equivalent of three-quarters of an academic year.¹⁰

This isn’t just a minor overage; it’s a systemic failure that erodes the very cost savings students seek.

Students fall into this trap for several reasons:

• Changing Majors: A student starts on a business track, takes 15 credits, then switches to psychology. Many of those initial business courses may not apply to the new degree plan, becoming excess baggage.¹⁰
• Poor Advising: Without a clear, structured pathway, students and advisors often pick courses based on what’s available or seems interesting, rather than what is explicitly required for transfer to a specific major at a specific university.¹⁰
• Financial Aid Maintenance: This is a particularly cruel paradox. To maintain eligibility for financial aid, students must often maintain a certain course load. If a required course is full or conflicts with a work schedule, a student might be forced to take an unnecessary elective just to stay enrolled full-time, directly contributing to excess credits with the very money meant to help them.¹⁰
• Competitive Program Hedging: Aspiring nurses or dental hygienists might load up on science prerequisites to apply to a competitive program. If they aren’t admitted, they are left with a transcript full of specialized credits that are difficult to apply to a different major.¹⁰

The Financial Penalty Box: Excess Credit Surcharges

Wasting money on unneeded classes is bad enough, but some states have policies that actively punish it.

To encourage on-time graduation, states like Florida, Texas, and Virginia have implemented Excess Credit Hour (ECH) policies.

These policies assess a tuition surcharge—ranging from 50% to 200%—for any credits taken beyond a certain threshold (typically 110% to 120% of the required degree credits).¹¹

In Florida, for example, a student in a 120-credit program who exceeds the 110% threshold (132 credits) will pay double the tuition rate for every subsequent credit.¹¹

This creates a devastating financial spiral.

The very systems designed to provide affordable access contain hidden mechanisms that can make college drastically more expensive for those who stray from the optimal path.

The table below quantifies this damage.

Table 1: The Anatomy of Wasted Money: Calculating the Cost of Excess Credits

Number of Excess Credits	Direct Cost at Community College (Avg. $150/credit)	Direct Cost at 4-Year University (Avg. $447/credit)	Potential Cost with 100% Surcharge (FL Model)	Estimated Lost Lifetime Earnings from Delay
6 (2 classes)	$900	$2,682	$1,530 (at CC)	~$15,000
12 (4 classes)	$1,800	$5,364	$3,061 (at CC)	~$45,000
15 (1 semester)	$2,250	$6,705	$3,827 (at CC)	~$45,000
22 (Avg. for AA)	$3,300	$9,834	$5,612 (at CC)	~$90,000

Sources:.⁷

Calculations are illustrative.

As the table shows, the problem isn’t just the direct cost of tuition.

The greatest financial hit comes from delayed entry into the workforce.

A one-year delay, easily caused by accumulating 15-22 excess credits, can reduce lifetime earnings by more than $90,000.¹⁶

This is the true, staggering cost of a poorly planned foundation.

Pillar 2: The Structure – Choosing Your Blueprint (AA vs. AS vs. AAS)

Before a single brick is laid, an architect must choose the right type of blueprint for the building’s purpose.

In your education, this is the most critical decision you will make: choosing between an Associate of Arts (AA), an Associate of Science (AS), or an Associate of Applied Science (AAS).

This choice dictates the entire construction process and, most importantly, whether your finished structure can connect to a larger one later on.

The Transfer Blueprints: Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS)

Think of the AA and AS degrees as blueprints designed with standardized “connection points.” They are built around a robust core of general education courses—in subjects like English, history, math, and science—that are specifically intended to be transferable and fulfill the first two years of a bachelor’s degree.⁵

• Associate of Arts (AA): This is the most flexible and common transfer degree. Its blueprint emphasizes the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts, developing the critical thinking and communication skills valued in fields like education, liberal arts, communications, and law.¹⁹ For students who are undecided on a major or are pursuing a non-STEM field, the AA is often the safest and most versatile structure to build.¹⁸
• Associate of Science (AS): This blueprint is more specialized, with a foundation heavy in mathematics, natural sciences, and technology. It is the ideal structure for students planning to transfer into bachelor’s programs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), business, data analytics, or health sciences.¹⁸ While still a transfer degree, its components are less interchangeable than an AA’s; the specific math and science sequences must align with the target university’s requirements.

The Career Blueprint: Associate of Applied Science (AAS)

The AAS degree is a different kind of blueprint altogether.

It’s designed as a “standalone” or “pre-fabricated” structure, intended to prepare you for immediate entry into the workforce in a specific technical or vocational field.¹⁷

Fields like welding, automotive technology, nursing, and paralegal studies often fall under the AAS umbrella.

This is where we find the most dangerous transfer trap.

Because the AAS blueprint prioritizes job-ready skills, it contains very few of the general education “connection points” that four-year universities require.⁵

Its curriculum is filled with specialized, hands-on courses that, while valuable to an employer, often do not “map” to the theoretical requirements of a bachelor’s degree.²¹

A student with an AAS in Medical Coding who decides to pursue a bachelor’s in English will find that almost none of their specialized credits transfer, forcing them to start over on their general education requirements and effectively pay for their education twice.²⁴

The one exception is the Associate of Applied Science-Transfer (AAS-T) degree.

However, this is not a universal key.

It is a highly specific blueprint that works only if the community college has a pre-negotiated articulation agreement with a particular university for that exact program.²¹

Without that specific agreement, it carries the same risks as a standard AAS.

Choosing an AAS with a vague hope of transferring later is a high-risk financial gamble.

The immediate appeal of a “career-ready” degree can mask a severe long-term penalty if your goals change.

Table 2: Associate Degree Blueprints at a Glance

Degree Type	Primary Purpose	Typical Credit Breakdown	Transferability to 4-Year University	Common Fields/Majors
AA (Arts)	Seamless transfer to a 4-year university	High Gen Ed (~36-45 credits), Low Major-Specific	High. The most flexible and widely accepted transfer degree.	English, Psychology, History, Communication, Education 18
AS (Science)	Transfer to a 4-year university in a science-focused field	High Gen Ed (~35 credits), Moderate Major-Specific	High. Requires careful planning to align science/math courses.	Biology, Business, Computer Science, Engineering, Health Sciences 18
AAS (Applied Science)	Immediate entry into the workforce	Low Gen Ed (~15 credits), High Technical/Vocational	Low/Problematic. Credits are often non-transferable.	Nursing, Welding, Automotive Tech, Culinary Arts, Paralegal 21
AAS-T (Applied Science-Transfer)	Transfer to specific, pre-approved bachelor’s programs	Varies by agreement	Limited. Only works if a formal articulation agreement exists.	Varies; often in fields like Business Technology or Applied Management 21

Sources: ⁵

Pillar 3: Reading the Blueprints – Mastering Your Degree Audit & Proactive Plan

Once you’ve chosen your main blueprint (AA, AS, or AAS), you need the detailed schematics for your specific project.

In college, this is your degree audit.

It is the single most powerful and authoritative tool you have, yet it is tragically underutilized.

It is your personalized, official construction plan from the institution itself.

Your Official Blueprint: The Degree Audit

A degree audit is not a simple transcript.

It is a formal, real-time evaluation of your academic progress that compares the courses you’ve taken, are currently taking, and have transferred against the specific requirements of your degree program.²⁶

It tells you exactly what’s complete, what’s in progress, and what’s still needed.

Learning to read it is non-negotiable.

Most audit systems use simple visual cues:

• A green checkmark or “OK” indicates a fulfilled requirement.²⁷
• A red “X” or “NO” indicates an unfulfilled requirement.²⁷
• A blue circle or “IP” (In Progress) shows a requirement that will be met by a course you’re currently enrolled in.²⁷

You should consult your degree audit at three critical moments every semester: before you register, to see what you need; after you register, to ensure your new courses are applying correctly; and after grades are posted, to confirm successful completion.²⁷

A key feature within most audit systems is the “What-If” report.

This tool is your academic flight simulator.

It allows you to hypothetically change your major or add a minor and see exactly how your existing credits would apply to the new blueprint, all without any official commitment.²⁸

It is the ultimate tool for safe exploration.

Surviving the Advising Lottery

The hard truth is that academic advising is a lottery.

While many advisors are dedicated and knowledgeable, the system itself is often broken.

Advisors are frequently overworked, with caseloads ranging from 300 to over 1,000 students, leaving them with as little as 10 minutes per appointment.³³

They are also often undertrained and lack access to up-to-date information, leading to inconsistent or outright incorrect advice.³⁵

Students consistently report being told the wrong requirements, leading to devastating delays and wasted money.²

You cannot afford to be a passive recipient of this advice.

The solution is to drive the process yourself through proactive advising.

This means you become the expert on your own degree.

You do the research, you read the blueprint (your audit), you draft the plan, and you use your advising appointment not to ask “What should I take?” but to state, “Here is what I plan to take based on my degree audit.

Can you confirm this plan aligns with my goal of transferring to University X for a major in Y?”

This shift in responsibility from the institution to the individual is a necessary adaptation to a flawed system.

The student who leverages the institution’s data (the audit) to verify the advice of its human representatives is the one who mitigates the most risk.

You must become the project manager of your own education.

Table 3: Your Proactive Planning Checklist: The Pre-Advising Briefing

Step	Action	Purpose
1. Audit	Run your most recent Degree Audit.	To get the official, up-to-date status of your degree requirements. 28
2. Explore	Use the “What-If” tool to simulate any potential changes to your major or minor.	To make informed decisions about changing your academic path without penalty. 32
3. Draft	Create a draft schedule of courses for the upcoming semester based on the “NEEDS” section of your audit.	To create a concrete plan based on data, not guesswork. 38
4. Backup	Identify 2-3 alternative courses in case your first choices are full.	To be prepared and flexible during the registration period.
5. Question	Write down 3-5 specific questions that cannot be answered by the audit or the online course catalog.	To use the advisor’s limited time for high-level strategy, not basic information retrieval. 39
6. Share	Email your draft plan and questions to your advisor at least 48 hours before your meeting.	To frame the conversation, show you are prepared, and allow the advisor to review your case in advance.

Pillar 4: Navigating the Construction Site – The Unspoken Rules of Prerequisites & Transfer

Every construction site has its own set of rules and potential hazards.

In academia, these are the unspoken rules of course sequencing and credit transfer.

Violating them can bring your progress to a halt.

The Building Blocks: Prerequisites and Corequisites

The flow of your education is dictated by two simple but crucial terms:

• Prerequisite: A course or requirement that must be successfully completed before you can enroll in a more advanced course.⁴⁰ For example, you cannot take Calculus II before passing Calculus I.
• Corequisite: A course that must be taken at the same time as another course, often a lab that accompanies a lecture.⁴⁰

Missing a single prerequisite can create a domino effect, delaying a whole sequence of courses and potentially pushing your graduation back by a semester or even a year.⁴⁴

These are the non-negotiable laws of your academic blueprint.

The Transferability Minefield

This is where students like Maria get lost.

The value of a college credit is not fixed; its worth is determined entirely by the receiving institution.

Transferability is not an inherent quality of a course, but a relationship between two specific colleges and their respective degree programs.

The question is not “Is this a college credit?” but “Does this credit from College X satisfy Requirement Y for Major Z at University A?”

• Articulation Agreements: These are the official “building codes” agreed upon between two institutions that dictate which courses are transferable.²⁴ These agreements, often found on a university’s transfer admissions website, should be your first stop when planning.²¹
• The “Junk Drawer” of Electives: This is a common trap. A four-year university may “accept” a credit but classify it as a “general elective” rather than applying it to your major or general education requirements.²⁴ While it counts toward the total number of credits for a bachelor’s degree (typically 120), it does nothing to advance you toward fulfilling your specific degree requirements. You get the credit, but not the progress.

The Non-Transferable “Materials”

Some courses are like faulty materials that will be rejected at any quality inspection.

You must learn to spot these red flags on a course catalog before you register.

• Remedial/Developmental Courses: These are courses, typically numbered below 100 (e.g., MATH 090), designed to prepare students for college-level work. They do not grant credit toward a degree and are almost never transferable.⁴⁸
• Vocational/Technical Courses: These are the highly specialized, hands-on courses common in AAS programs. They often lack the theoretical foundation required for a bachelor’s degree and are frequently rejected for transfer.²³
• Courses with Low Grades: Most universities will not accept transfer credit for any course in which you earned a grade lower than a C.⁵⁴

To navigate this minefield, you must use the tools available.

Look for university-provided Transfer Guides that map out four-year plans for transfer students.⁵⁶

Use online

Equivalency Guides or tools like ASSIST (in California) or MyPlan (in Washington) to see how specific courses transfer between institutions.⁵⁹

Table 4: The Transfer Trap Checklist: Red Flags on Your Transcript

Credit Type / Red Flag	Why It’s a Problem for Transfer	How to Verify & Avoid
Remedial/Developmental Course	Considered pre-college level; does not count toward the 60+ credits needed for a degree.	Check that the course number is 100-level or higher. Avoid courses with “developmental” or “remedial” in the title. 49
Vocational/Technical Course	Lacks the theoretical foundation required for a bachelor’s degree; often specific to an AAS degree.	If your goal is to transfer, stick to the AA or AS degree pathway. 23
Course with a Grade of D or F	Does not meet the minimum grade requirement for transfer at most four-year institutions.	Aim for a grade of C or better in all courses. Retake critical courses if necessary, checking your college’s repeat policy. 54
Course from Non-Accredited School	Credits from institutions that are not regionally accredited are generally not accepted.	Ensure your college holds regional accreditation (e.g., HLC, MSCHE, etc.). 50
Excessive Electives	May be accepted but not applied to major or general education, becoming “empty” credits.	Follow a transfer guide for your target major and university. Use your degree audit to ensure courses meet specific requirements. 24

Pillar 5: The Construction Schedule – Strategies for On-Time Completion

The final element of your blueprint is the construction schedule.

Finishing your degree “on time” is not just a matter of pride; it is a critical financial strategy.

The choice to attend full-time or part-time is not merely a scheduling convenience; it is a multi-year financial decision with potential six-figure implications.

The Timeline Equation

The math is simple but powerful.

A standard 60-credit associate degree takes a different amount of time depending on your course load per semester:

• Aggressive Full-Time (15 credits/semester): 2 years (4 semesters) ⁶¹
• Standard Full-Time (12 credits/semester): 2.5 years (5 semesters) ⁶²
• Ambitious Part-Time (9 credits/semester): ~3.5 years (7 semesters) ⁶²
• Standard Part-Time (6 credits/semester): 5 years (10 semesters) ⁶²

For students who can manage the intensity, accelerated programs offer a fast track, compressing an associate degree into as little as 11 to 18 months.⁶³

These programs often run year-round with condensed 5- or 8-week terms and may require a full-time, 9-to-5 commitment, but the savings in time and money can be substantial.⁶⁴

The Staggering Cost of Delay

The perceived flexibility of attending part-time or “taking a semester off” comes with a hidden and compounding opportunity cost that is rarely articulated to students.

The financial consequences of delayed graduation are severe and long-lasting.

• Lost Wages: The most immediate impact is lost income. A single-year delay in graduation can cost a student more than $90,000 in lifetime earnings.¹⁶ This is because wage growth is steepest at the very beginning of a career. By starting a year later, you miss that initial high-growth year and remain a year behind on the earnings curve for your entire working life.
• Opportunity Cost: Every extra semester spent in college is a double loss: you are paying tuition instead of earning a professional salary. A student who delays graduation by one year not only pays for two extra semesters of tuition but also forgoes an average starting salary of around $43,000, plus a year’s worth of potential raises, promotions, and retirement contributions.¹⁶
• Compounding Disadvantage: Delaying graduation increases the risk of entering the labor market during an unforeseen recession. Research shows that college graduates who start their careers during a downturn earn less for at least 10 to 15 years than their peers who graduated in times of prosperity.⁶⁸
• Skill Obsolescence: In rapidly changing fields, a longer time-to-degree can mean entering the workforce with partially obsolete skills, which can result in a wage penalty.⁶⁹

The seemingly benign choice to “go at my own pace” can easily turn a two-year plan into a five-year one.

That three-year delay could represent over $270,000 in lost lifetime earnings, a financial hole from which it is nearly impossible to recover.

Conclusion: Becoming Your Own Chief Architect

The path through higher education is littered with pitfalls: excess credits that drain your bank account, transfer traps that steal your time, and systemic flaws that can lead even the brightest students astray.

The story of Maria is not an anomaly; it is a cautionary tale that plays out on campuses across the country every single semester.

The “60-credit checklist” is an outdated and dangerous map for this complex territory.

The solution is to discard that map and adopt the mindset of an architect.

This means understanding that your degree is a structure you are actively building, not a list you are checking off.

It requires mastering five core competencies:

1. The Foundation: Understanding that every credit hour is a unit of currency, and that unplanned credits lead to staggering financial waste.
2. The Structure: Deliberately choosing the right degree blueprint (AA/AS for transfer, AAS for immediate career) to match your ultimate goal.
3. Reading the Blueprints: Making your degree audit your single source of truth and using it to drive proactive, informed conversations with advisors.
4. Navigating the Site: Recognizing the red flags of non-transferable courses and using articulation agreements and transfer guides to ensure a smooth connection to your next institution.
5. The Construction Schedule: Recognizing that time is money, and that on-time completion is one of the most powerful financial strategies you can employ.

I later worked with a student named David.

He, like Maria, wanted to be an engineer.

But armed with this blueprint mentality, his journey was different.

He identified his target university in his first semester.

He printed out their engineering transfer guide and his community college’s AS degree audit.

He taped them to his wall.

Every course he selected was a deliberate choice mapped to both documents.

He used his advising appointments to confirm his research, asking sharp, specific questions about course sequencing.

When a well-meaning advisor suggested an “interesting” elective, David politely declined, pointing to his blueprint and explaining that it didn’t fit the structural requirements.

He graduated in exactly two years with 62 credits, every single one of which transferred seamlessly.

He saved tens of thousands of dollars and, more importantly, two years of his life.

The system has its flaws, but it also provides you with the tools to overcome them.

By moving beyond the passive, checklist mindset and embracing your role as a knowledgeable, proactive architect, you can take control.

You can build a sound academic structure, on time and on budget, that will serve as a powerful foundation for the rest of your life.

Works cited

1. Deconstructing Narratives of Failure Through Academic Advising – NACADA, accessed August 6, 2025, https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Deconstructing-Narratives-of-Failure-Through-Academic-Advising.aspx
2. When academic advisors offer students the wrong advice, students suffer the consequences – The California Aggie, accessed August 6, 2025, https://theaggie.org/2019/11/22/when-academic-advisors-offer-students-the-wrong-advice-students-suffer-the-consequences/
3. Are there any consequences for advisors that make mistakes on graduation requirements? : r/college – Reddit, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/1bztnof/are_there_any_consequences_for_advisors_that_make/
4. www.snhu.edu, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/education/how-long-is-an-associate-degree
5. Glossary – Gateways to Opportunity, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.ilgateways.com/glossary
6. Institutions – Associate Degree Types – Arkansas Department of Higher Education, accessed August 6, 2025, https://adhe.edu/institutions/associate-degree-types
7. educationdata.org, accessed August 6, 2025, https://educationdata.org/cost-of-a-college-class-or-credit-hour#:~:text=At%20public%204%2Dyear%20institutions,pay%20%24205%20per%20credit%20hour.
8. Average Cost per Credit Hour & College Class – Education Data Initiative, accessed August 6, 2025, https://educationdata.org/cost-of-a-college-class-or-credit-hour
9. IOWA COMMUNITY COLLEGES TUITION & FEES, accessed August 6, 2025, https://educate.iowa.gov/media/7502/download?inline
10. Wasted time and money on undergraduate classes – The Hechinger …, accessed August 6, 2025, https://hechingerreport.org/wasted-time-money-undergraduate-classes/
11. Excess Credit Surcharge at Florida Colleges and Universities – FloridaShines, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.floridashines.org/excess-credit-surcharge
12. State-Adopted Credit Hour Policies Associated with Increases in Student Debt but Not Graduation Rates, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.aera.net/Newsroom/News-Releases-and-Statements/State-Adopted-Credit-Hour-Policies-Associated-with-Increases-in-Student-Debt-but-Not-Graduation-Rates
13. Excess Credit-Hour Surcharge Defined – University Registrar, accessed August 6, 2025, https://registrar.fsu.edu/records/excess-hours
14. Excess Hours – UF Registrar – University of Florida, accessed August 6, 2025, https://registrar.ufl.edu/courses/excess-hours
15. Excess Credit Hour Surcharge | FIU OneStop, accessed August 6, 2025, https://onestop.fiu.edu/registration/appeals/excess-credit-hour-surcharge/
16. The cost of delaying college by one year? More than $90,000 over lifetime – CBS News, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/college-delay-one-year-90000-lifetime-earnings/
17. Academics – Florida Department of Education, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.fldoe.org/schools/higher-ed/fl-college-system/academics/
18. Understanding Degrees at DMACC – AA, AS, AAS and AGS degrees, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.dmacc.edu/advising/understandingdegrees.html
19. Types of Associate Degrees | SNHU, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/education/types-of-associate-degrees
20. Associate Degrees | University of Alaska Anchorage Academic Catalog, accessed August 6, 2025, https://catalog.uaa.alaska.edu/undergraduateprograms/aasrequirements/
21. Types of Degrees and Certificates – Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.sbctc.edu/becoming-a-student/right-degree-you/types-of-degrees.aspx
22. What Is an Associate Degree? Requirements, Costs, and More | Coursera, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.coursera.org/articles/what-is-an-associate-degree-key-information-to-know
23. Does an AAS Degree Transfer to a Bachelor’s? – Marshall University, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.marshall.edu/blog/aas-to-bachelors-transfer/
24. Does an Associate degree prevent a student from losing his credits …, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.quora.com/Does-an-Associate-degree-prevent-a-student-from-losing-his-credits-when-transferring-from-a-two-year-community-college-to-a-four-year-institution
25. Transfer Myths – SUNY Schenectady, accessed August 6, 2025, https://sunysccc.edu/Current-Students/Academic-Advisement/Transfer-Services/Transfer-Myths.html
26. DegreeWorks – UTSA One Stop, accessed August 6, 2025, https://onestop.utsa.edu/registration/degree-planning/degreeworks/
27. Understanding Your Degree Audit, accessed August 6, 2025, https://basbls.uc.uiowa.edu/advising/degree-planning/understanding-your-degree-audit
28. Degree Audit – Office of the Registrar, accessed August 6, 2025, https://registrar.illinois.edu/academic-records/dars-audit/
29. What is Degree Audit? – Academic Advising, accessed August 6, 2025, https://advising.uccs.edu/sites/g/files/kjihxj1341/files/2020-05/What_is_Degree_Audit.pdf
30. Academic Planning for Students – Advising Programs Office – Harvard University, accessed August 6, 2025, https://advising.college.harvard.edu/academic-planning-for-students/
31. Degree Audit & Planning Software – Ellucian, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.ellucian.com/solutions/ellucian-degree-audit-planning
32. Degree Audit FAQ | Regis College, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.regiscollege.edu/academics/registrar-and-academic-records/degree-audit-faq
33. 4 Challenges Derailing Academic Advisor Effectiveness (And How to Fix Them), accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.civitaslearning.com/blog/4-challenges-derailing-academic-advisor-effectiveness-and-how-to-fix-them/
34. The critical role of academic advisors – @theU – The University of Utah, accessed August 6, 2025, https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/the-critical-role-of-academic-advisors/
35. The Academic Advising Gap: How Colleges Fall Short in Training Faculty, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.dceducationgroup.com/post/the-academic-advising-gap-how-colleges-fall-short-in-training-faculty
36. Why are academic advisors genuinely terrible? : r/EngineeringStudents – Reddit, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineeringStudents/comments/1bkbtu5/why_are_academic_advisors_genuinely_terrible/
37. Academic advising in college is horrendous, accessed August 6, 2025, https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/academic-advising-in-college-is-horrendous/1517746
38. Proactive Advising At a Glance – Delta State University, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.deltastate.edu/PDFFiles/student-success-center/academic-advising/delta-state-proactive-advising-ataglance.pdf
39. Challenges for Two-Year College Advisors – NACADA – Kansas State University, accessed August 6, 2025, https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Challenges-for-Two-Year-College-Advisors.aspx
40. Prerequisites and Corequisites | Queensborough CC Calendar – College Catalog – CUNY, accessed August 6, 2025, https://qcc.catalog.cuny.edu/requirements/degreeprog/prerequisite-corequisite
41. www.oswego.edu, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.oswego.edu/registrar/course-prerequisite-and-corequisite-information#:~:text=A%20prerequisite%20means%20a%20course,a%20specific%20course%20or%20program.
42. What are Prerequisite Courses? | Goodwin University, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.goodwin.edu/glossary/prerequisite-courses
43. Prerequisites and Corequisites (Class Types) – Washtenaw Community College, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.wccnet.edu/learn/class-types/prerequisites.php
44. Academic Advising – Tulsa Community College, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.tulsacc.edu/support/academic-advising
45. Disadvantages of Associate Degree: What to Know Before You Enroll – TuitionHero, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.tuitionhero.org/resources/student-loans/associate-degree-explained
46. CCC-Associate Degree for Transfer | CSU – California State University, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.calstate.edu/apply/transfer/pages/ccc-associate-degree-for-transfer.aspx
47. Community college transfer processes discourage degree completion – The Journalist’s Resource, accessed August 6, 2025, https://journalistsresource.org/education/community-college-transfer-bachelors-degree-barriers-research/
48. Transfer credit policies – Office of Admissions – University of Washington, accessed August 6, 2025, https://admit.washington.edu/apply/transfer/policies/
49. 4.1.18 Credit Earned through Transfer, Examination, and Prior Learning | University Policies and Procedures | Illinois State, accessed August 6, 2025, https://policy.illinoisstate.edu/academic/4-1-18/
50. Transferring Credits – University of Wyoming, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.uwyo.edu/admissions/transfer/transferring-credits.html
51. Developmental Education, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/uploads/Developmental-Education_An-Introduction-for-Policymakers.pdf
52. Transferring credit – Transfer to Wayne State University, accessed August 6, 2025, https://wayne.edu/transfer/four-year/credit
53. Glossary of Transfer Terms | Transfer Center for Policy & Resources, accessed August 6, 2025, https://transfercredit.wsu.edu/glossary-of-terms/
54. Why do college credit transfer and not degrees? – Career Village, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.careervillage.org/questions/866055/why-do-college-credit-transfer-and-not-degrees
55. Course Transferability – TCU Undergraduate Admissions – Texas Christian University, accessed August 6, 2025, https://admissions.tcu.edu/apply/transfer/course-transferability.php
56. Advising Tools – NC Community College Transfer Students – UNC System Intranet, accessed August 6, 2025, https://myapps.northcarolina.edu/transfertoolbox/advising-tools-nc-community-college-transfer-students/
57. Sample Transfer Plans – Black Hawk College, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.bhc.edu/academics/transfer-to-a-four-year-school/sample-transfer-plans/
58. Transfer Planning Resources – Admissions – The University of Iowa, accessed August 6, 2025, https://admissions.uiowa.edu/academics/transfer-planning-resources
59. Transfer planning resources – admit.uw.edu – University of Washington, accessed August 6, 2025, https://admit.washington.edu/apply/transfer/resources/
60. Basic requirements | UC Admissions – University of California, accessed August 6, 2025, https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/transfer-requirements/preparing-to-transfer/basic-requirements.html
61. What is the time commitment for different degree options? – Penn State World Campus, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/about-us/news-and-features/what-is-the-time-commitment-for-different-degree-options
62. NVC : Time to Degree – How long does it take to get an associate degree? | Alamo Colleges, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.alamo.edu/nvc/academics/resources/timetodegree/
63. How Long Does it Take to Get an Associate Degree? – University of the Potomac, accessed August 6, 2025, https://potomac.edu/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-an-associate-degree/
64. Accelerated Associate Degree (ASAP) – Ivy Tech Community College, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.ivytech.edu/programs/special-programs-for-students/accelerated-programs/accelerated-associate-degree-asap/
65. Accelerated Online Associate and Bachelor’s Degrees | Elizabethtown College, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.etown.edu/sgps/programs/associate-bachelors/index.aspx
66. Student Employment and The Economic Cost of Delayed College Graduation – FHSU Scholars Repository, accessed August 6, 2025, https://scholars.fhsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1163&context=jbl
67. Impact of Tuition on the Cost of Delayed Graduation: Public Institutions – ResearchGate, accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Impact-of-Tuition-on-the-Cost-of-Delayed-Graduation-Public-Institutions_tbl4_344754382
68. Recession Graduates: The Long-lasting Effects of an Unlucky Draw, accessed August 6, 2025, https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/recession-graduates-long-lasting-effects-unlucky-draw
69. Does time-to-degree matter? The effect of delayed graduation on employment and wages., accessed August 6, 2025, https://www.siecon.org/sites/default/files/oldfiles/uploads/2012/08/Aina-Casalone.pdf
70. Delayed Time-to-Degree and Post-college Earnings – PMC, accessed August 6, 2025, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7875953/