A limit on Associates?

[justintime]

Back during my days in the Army, I often wished we had a "Community College of the Army" that was similar to the CCAF. Our education centers advertised Regents (Excelsior) along with schools under DOD contract (City Colleges of Chicago, University of MD, Troy State). But nothing existed for us quite like the CCAF. I understand eArmyU is much better now than the good old days. USAF usually lived better than us Army grunts, which should come as no surprise.

It is my experience that some colleges allow a student to earn as many AA/AS/AAS as desired. Our local CC allows only one AA and one AS, but an unlimited number of AAS degrees. Central Texas College may have a degree limit if using TA while on active duty. I'm unsure about Excelsior's policies. If memory serves me correctly, TESC has a limit.

The following absolutely reeks of academic redundancy, but I've earned 3 associates degrees over the past 17 years. Two of the degrees, an AA in General Studies and an AAS in Information Technology were awarded by schools having close ties to the military - City Colleges of Chicago - Europe and CTC. The third AA comes from a local community college.

For me, the motivation for obtaining the 3rd AA was primarily due to the core requirements for my BA. After completing all core classes at the local CC, only one additional class was needed to satisfy the 3rd AA. My then-employer paid tuition and books in the form of a monthly stipend. So I sat in class after work or took online courses to the tune of 9-15 hours per semester. I also earned two undergrad certificates.

I'll end with this: The bachelors is the key. While the associate degrees look good on the resume, the 4-year degree opens many more doors.