May 04, 2024  
2023 - 2024 Student Handbook 
    
2023 - 2024 Student Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Arts & Sciences, College Transfer Degrees


It is very important that you work closely with your Advisor to work out your schedule and determine your graduation requirements.

The A.A. degree and A.S. degree are intended to assist students to transfer to a four year college or university. The graduation requirements for both degrees consist of two parts: General Education courses and concentration or elective courses.

EICC holds that general education is “that aspect of the instruction program which has as its fundamental purpose the integration and development of every student’s knowledge, skills, attitudes, and experience so that the student can engage effectively in a life-long process of inquiry and decision-making.” (EICC General Education Goals, 2017)

As a result of their college studies, all EICC students should prepare for twenty-first century challenges by gaining:

  1. Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World-Through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences humanities, histories, languages, and the arts.
  2. Intellectual and Practical Skills, including-Inquiry and analysis; Critical and creative thinking; Written and oral communication; Quantitative literacy; Information literacy; and Teamwork and problem solving.
  3. Personal and Social Responsibility, including-Civic knowledge and engagement-local and global; intercultural knowledge and competence; Ethical reasoning and action; and Foundations and skills for lifelong learning.
  4. Integrative and Applied Learning, including-Synthesis and advanced accomplishments across general and specialized studies.

Students may choose electives according to their needs, interests and the requirements of their intended transfer institution. EICC strong recommends you contact your intended transfer institution for specific transfer information and course recommendations.

A concentration area slows a student to develop more depth of knowledge in one or more areas of study. Students may choose to follow the recommendations of a particular concentration area or may select any combination of electives to complete the Liberal Arts concentration. Course recommendations within each concentration area are available in the EICC online college catalog or from academic advisors.

AA Degree

The Associate in Arts degree is intended as a transfer degree. You take your first two years of college here, then transfer to a four-year college or university for your baccalaureate degree. This degree concentrates on the general education requirements for the degree. This is the degree recognized by the Iowa Regents’ Universities as meeting general education requirements in the College of Liberal Arts. See an advisor for details.

Minimum general education requirements for the Associate in Arts degree are listed as follows.

Communications

  • Written Composition, 6 credits
  • Speech, 3 credits

Arts and Humanities

  • Literature, 3 credits
  • Humanities, 3 credits
  • Arts, 3 credits

Cultural/Historical Perspective

  • Western Perspectives, 3 credits
  • International Perspectives or Foreign Language, 3 credits

Social Science

  • Economics or Political Science, 3 credits
  • Psychology or Sociology, 3 credits

Natural Sciences

  • Life Sciences
  • Physical Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Computer Skills (1)

Concentration Courses and Electives

  • 2 - 3  Courses, 18 credits
     

Total course credits, 62 credits

Courses recommended for each Concentration Area are listed in the catalog.

Notes:

  1. Students may choose to demonstrate proficiency in computer skills.
  2. A maximum of 16 hours of elective credit will be accepted from vocational/technical courses.
  3. A maximum of four semester hours of Human Development courses may be counted toward the A.A. degree.
  4. All coursework for the A.A. degrees must be numbered at the 100 level or higher.


NOTE: BE SURE TO DISCUSS THESE DEGREE OPTIONS VERY CAREFULLY WITH YOUR ADVISOR. IT IS IMPORTANT TO SELECT THE CORRECT COURSES NECESSARY TO TRANSFER TO ANOTHER COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.

AS Degree

The Associate in Science degree requires additional hours in math, engineering and science courses in addition to the A.A. requirements in math and science; these hours will reduce the elective hours required for graduation. See an advisor for details.

Minimum general education requirements for the Associate in Science degree are listed below.

  • Communication, 9 credits minimum
  • Arts and Humanities, 6 credits minimum
  • Cultural/Historical Perspectives, 3 credits minimum
  • Social Science, 3 credits minimum
  • Natural Sciences and Mathematics, 24 credits minimum
  • Computer Skills (1), 3 credits minimum
  • Electives (2, 3 courses minimum)
  • 62 total minimum credit hours
  1. Students may choose to demonstrate proficiency in computer skills.
  2. A maximum of 4 semester hours of Human Development courses may be counted toward an A.S. degree.
  3. A maximum of 16 semester hours in career and technical courses may be used as elective credits toward an A.S. degree.
  4. Coursework for an A.S. degree must be numbered at the 100 level or higher.

Please note that transfer of an Associate in Science Degree to a four-year college is often a course-by-course articulation. EICC strongly recommends you contact your intended transfer institution for specific transfer information and course recommendations. Students may choose electives according to their needs, interests, and the requirements of their intended transfer institution.