I was just thinking about this and could not find the answer searching the forums. I have no interest at all in doing this but I was just curious if it is even possible. If you had 60 credit hours that satisfied an associates degree for lets say 4 colleges. Now these credits would be from different institutions but not the 4 mentioned. Could you essentially take the credits and get 4 associates from 4 different colleges? Now obviously this would not be cost effective and downright silly but is it possible? Are you credit hours spent or "used up" after getting the first associates? I have always wondered this but never knew the answer. :lol:
I have heard that most schools will not offer an AA if you already have one. I am not sure about AS or AAS degrees. Contact a school and find out.
If the credit was from colleges that aren't one of the four you're getting the degree from, then yes - this would work. But only if you lie and don't tell them. Say that you had 60 hours from CLEP/DANTES, military, and maybe college1 and college2. So, you send all of those to colleges A, B, C, D - where you've taken no classes. College D would have no reason to see the College A transcript and wouldn't know if College A issued an AA already. In practice though - you'd also have the residency requirements at colleges A-D so you'd have to wait until you've completed requirements at each and then have transcripts sent to the others before you apply for graduation from any of them. You then apply for graduation from each of them at the same time - at the point that you're applying for graduation, you don't have a degree from any of them yet (a technicality). Interesting question.
I'm certain it could be done as long as none of the transcripts you submit indicate a degree was awarded, as most schools will not issue a second undergrad degree without a written request and prior approval as Randell noted. The burning question to me is......why would anyone do so?
That's why I think it's a silly question but I had always wondered if it was possible. You would spend a huge chunk on money that could have been spent on a bachelor's, masters, law school, etc. It was just a question that has had me wondering for some time.
I did something similar...don't know if it was worth anything in the long run. I had earned an Associate of General Studies from Pikes Peak CC and had added a few credits to my overall education from other schools but not enough for a BS. I had my transcripts evaluated at Excelsior and was ultimately awarded an AS in Liberal Studies. The AS (Honor Grad) might have looked a little better on the promotion paperwork...maybe not. Got the promotion but I might have gotten it anyway. I should have saved the time and money and applied it towards study and testing to get a bachelors degree faster.
Okay, I hold three associate's degrees: City Colleges of Chicago, Harold Washington College - AS; Austin Community College - AA; Central Texas College - AAS. Undoubtedly overkill, but there exists a method behind the madness. The first associate's degree was earned while in the service. For my BA, I had a need for so many lower-level undergrad core classes to meet requirements that I simply completed just one extra course to finish the second AA. The third associates - my AAS from CTC - represents a "check the box" drill to meet academic qualifications stressed by the many clueless HR reps around the country. This AAS also meets academic requirements for US Department of State positions that I've been considering. I once devised a wild scheme to really milk the heck out of my GI Bill. So, I spoke with counselors at ACC and CTC. Afterall, receiving $1,000 per month for full time attendance while paying between $600-$650 total tuition for 12 hours over a 4-month semester equates to an awesome financial gain. The state of Texas has a policy in place regarding AS and AA degrees. A student may only earn one of each through a Texas CC/JC. However, after checking with school administrations and state agencies, I discovered other interesting policies as well. Students may indeed earn as many AAS degrees as desired at ACC and other institutions, but must follow the 25% rule. Both ACC and CTC adhere to what is called the 25% rule. 25% of required credits for a degree must be earned in residence at the awarding institution. Other colleges, especially those affiliated with GoArmyEd or military post-secondary education subscribe to a similar policies for associate's and bachelor's degrees. After completing my AAS from CTC (earned after my bachelor's), I wanted to prepare for an MBA. In my mind, it is more advantageous to pay $138 for leveling courses through a CC versus $600-$1000 at a university. The counselor at CTC changed my status from "graduated" to "business" over the phone. Except for 7 classes completed through CTC for my AAS, the rest of my coursework was earned at other schools - junior colleges and 4-year universities, 90% of which came in the classroom. This was a seamless transfer process involving zero difficulties whatsoever. The bottom line: read the student handbook. Your credits are not always "spent". It's up to the college to award subsequent undergrad degrees. Occasionally, you may require permission from a dean, but other times not. By the way, cooler heads prevailed on the 4th-6th associate degrees idea. I'm currently almost 1/2 finished with a masters and completed 1/3 of the requirements for an IA grad certificate. Which reminds me.... I have a paper due in a few hours and have been really pushed this semester because of a full course load taken while working 50 hours per week.
Awesome man! Yeah I guess I should have clarified a bit. I meant multiple associates basically in the same concentration. I would imagine some people could utilize multiple associates in different concentrations for their careers. I could see myself getting an associates degree in emergency management and another one in criminal justice if I didn't have to pay for both of them. To me it just makes more sense to keep moving on to a masters. Although if I keep debating which school, associates/bachelors/masters, etc. I'll just wind up like a donkey with a dangling carrot in my face. It will just keep staying right out of reach...
>> There was just a thread (was it here or on instantcert?) that mentions a national database of the colleges you attended. I would imagine you might be discovered depending on exactly what kind of information is in the data base. I only know how this works at TESC since this question comes up on IC from time to time (so I checked), but there is a graduation statement that has to be signed when you apply for graduation- something to the effect of you have not earned a similar degree in the same subject at another college. According to the college catalog, they would (could) revoke your degree if they found out.
