Requirements for Associate Degrees and Certificates
Associate Degrees and Certificates are awarded to students who fulfill the requirements prescribed by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the West Kern Community College District. There are several different types of Associate degrees. There are Associate degrees in Arts and Associate degrees in Science. In each of these, there are transfer degrees and non-transfer degrees with the expectation that you will have employable skills upon completion. Below is general information about the degrees and certificates. Taft College grants several different types of certificates. An explanation of those follows the associate degrees explanation.
Associate Degrees General Information Applies to All Associate Degrees
- General Competencies in Math and English
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- For the Associate in Arts, Associate in Science degree or any of the Associate Degrees for Transfer (AA-T or AS-T), a student must demonstrate competency in reading, written expression, and mathematics. This can be accomplished through an assessment test or completion of a course that covers the area with a grade of “C” or better. For graduation purposes, the courses to show competency are Math 1060 (Intermediate Algebra) or the equivalency and English 1500 (Composition and Reading).
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- Minimum 60 Units Required
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60 units required for graduation, for all degrees, 12 degree applicable units must be completed in residence at Taft College (units taken at Taft College) and used toward the degree before a degree can be granted. Request for an exception to the residency requirement can be made to the Board of Trustees when an injustice or undue hardship would result. Only the Board of Trustees can grant an exception. Students should contact the counseling office for assistance with the exception.
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- Minimum Units Taken in Residence
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- A minimum of 12 degree applicable units must be completed in residence at the college granting the degree. The 12-unit in residence requirement is effective for all degrees awarded regardless of catalog year.
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Minimum 18 Units in Major
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- The coursework must include at least 18 semester units in general education, and at least 18 semester units in an area of emphasis or major.
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- Minimum 18 units of General Education
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- The general education requirements must include a minimum of work in natural sciences, social and behavioral sciences, humanities, English composition, communications and analytical thinking. One course must also meet the Ethnicity Studies requirement. See General Education Matrix to identify what areas the courses fit into. Local general education is 18 units. Students who are seeking the Associate Degree for Transfer to the CSU in AA-T or AS-T must follow the California State University General Education-Breadth pattern (CSU GE Breadth) or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) pattern. Students with long range goals should review the Transfer Requirement section of the catalog.
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- Taft College has additional local requirements that include: health education, American history and institutions, and information competency. Note: This does not apply to students who are seeking the Associate Degree for Transfer to the CSU in AA-T or AS-T as they are exempt from this requirement. U.S. Veterans and active U.S. military personnel may meet the Health Education requirement via military service. See Veterans Counselor for additional information and advisement.
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- Each course is worth varying numbers of units. Course descriptions are found at the end of the catalog under Courses of Instruction. There are three category of courses within a degree in the field of study: major courses or area of emphasis, general education, and the rest are electives. The degree must be completed with a minimum of an overall ‘C’ (2.0) grade point average (GPA) and a minimum grade of ‘C’ in all courses in the major (field of study) and competency areas. Double counting of coursework is permitted, meaning a course may be used to satisfy both a major requirement and a general education requirement, but not two general education areas.
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