You must first determine your educational goals before you can address
which degree plan you should pursue at ACC. If you intend to transfer
to a four-year institution in pursuit of a baccalaureate degree in a
business, related field, you need to pursue the Associate of Science
Degree in Business Administration at ACC. This degree plan transfers to
most four-year schools. If you do not intend to transfer to a four-year
school, you may pursue a business related Associate of Applied Science
degree, which is NON-TRANSFERABLE, in the following departments: Accounting,
Management,
Computer
Information Technology and Computer Science,
Financial
Management, Marketing,
Office
Administration, and Real Estate.
Each area has full-time faculty advisors who can answer specific
questions you might have.
THE INFORMATION WHICH FOLLOWS IS SPECIFIC FOR THE BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION ASSOCIATE OF SCIENCE DEGREE. This information is
provided in addition to information you may find in the catalog. Please
remember that requirements change and can differ among universities.
Students should always consult faculty advisors and/or catalogs of
universities to which they plan to transfer.
QUESTION and ANSWER
1. What if I am
unsure of my educational goals?
All of the specific two-year AAS degrees are very focused toward one
area. The requirements in the AS Business Administration degree are
more general. They are excellent foundation courses, which include
several business-related courses and electives. Moreover, many of the
courses transfer to most Texas universities. Thus, if there is any
chance that you will want to work toward a four-year degree, it is
better to work toward an AS degree in Business Administration than in
any of the more specialized two-year AAS degrees.
2.
ACC offers a wide range of business courses. These courses represent my
interest. Why are you suggesting that I take Mathematics, Science,
English, History, Government, etc, now when my interests lie in the
business area?
The answer is transferability and broad-based educational experience.
The Business Administration degree plan was designed to
include the proper transferable courses.
3.
In mathematics, the Business Administration degree plan requires
calculus and one other course from a given list. How should I choose
the other course?
Students who have completed two Core-Curriculum math courses will meet
the
minimum
Math requirement in the Business Administration degree.
However, it is recommended that students who intend to
transfer check with their receiving institution to ensure specific
transfer requirements are met.
The University of Texas requires MATH 1425, Business Calculus I or MATH
2413, Calculus I. Please consutl with a UT advisor as these
courses may change in the near future.
Texas State requires MATH 1324, Math for Business and Economics, and
MATH 1325 (or 1425), Business Calculus I.
Most other four-year schools require one of these two sequences.
Final decisions about which courses will be accepted lie with
the four-year school. If you are undecided about the
four-year school to which you will transfer, consult with the ACC Math
faculty or visit the
Math
Advising web site.
All of these courses have prerequisites. If it has been more
than one year since you compelted the required prerequisites, you will
need to review before you begin the math course. Depending on
your time constrains, your motivation, and the amount of material that
you have retained, you may need to take a review course.
4.
What about Natural Science?
The
University of Texas at Austin
requires that both natural science courses be taken in the same subject
(i.e. two courses in biology as opposed to one, biology course and one
chemistry course). Texas State requires that one of the two
courses be a laboratory science. Check with your receiving
institution to ensure specific transfer requirements are met.
5.
Some four-year schools accept transfer students with 30 hours and
others accept 54 hours. Should I obtain the minimum number of hours
from ACC or complete the associate degree requirements?
The answer to this question depends on your situation. Please consider
the following:
The tuition and class sizes at ACC are generally lower. Financially, it
is to your advantage to take as many transferable courses as possible
at ACC.
Employers often believe that students who set a goal of completing an
entire program and then succeed at that goal are more organized and
focused than students who have just taken the same number of
hours but not as part of a plan. Graduating with the associate of
science degree is a major accomplishment.
There may be a
break between the completion of the ACC courses and the completion of
your four-year degree. Some schools may not accept "stale" courses
individually, but will give credit for having completed an entire
degree program. Thus, the associate of science degree is preferred in
this case.
Please note that,
in general, a maximum of 66 hours may be transferred. Please check with
the four-year school for specific guidance.
6.
I want a job now, but I also want to be able to transfer to a four-year
school. Why should I even consider taking Mathematics, Science,
Economics, Government, etc. courses? I want Computer Science, Business,
Accounting, Finance, Marketing, etc. courses.
The general education courses included in the business administration
degree are excellent foundation courses. These courses provide both the
background and skills needed in the business courses and in the
business workplace. Employers value the completion of these basic
courses as much, if not more, than technical courses. The Business
Administration degree includes basic business courses.
7.
The Business Administration degree plan requires three semesters of
English while the University of Texas and other universities require
two. Why?
ACC requires three semesters to provide a good foundation in a crucial
area. Please remember that both ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302 are
prerequisites for the literature courses. The English Department at ACC
strictly enforces these prerequisites. The Literature course
also meets one of the two Humanities requirements in this degree plan.
8.
Can I test out of any courses?
It is common for students to receive credit through the College Level Examination
Program (CLEP). Please refer to
the ACC catalog for information about credit. These are national
standardized tests offered in Austin at the University of Texas. Call
the Measurement and Evaluation Center at UT for information about
taking them. Also each department at ACC may have courses for which you
may receive credit by challenging the course. Please check with the
department in which you are interested and read the requirements in the
ACC catalog. One example of a requirement is that you may not challenge
a course in which you were ever enrolled - even if you withdrew from
the course.
9.
I have credits from other colleges, which may count towards the
associate's degree. What should I do?
Any current or perspective student may request an evaluation of their
transcripts from other schools. (An official transcript must be
submitted from each college attended.) You can make this request with
any advisor
or in the Office
of Admissions and Records on any
campus. A specialist at the District Administrative Office will make
the evaluation and send a copy to you as well as to the department of
your major. Your advisor will then work with you to determine the
appropriate use of these courses. There are occasions when courses may
be substituted.
10.
May I receive credit for work experience?
ACC does not
currently have a provision for granting work experience credit.
The Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree (B.A.A.S.)
at some four-year universities can incorporate Technical and Vocational
training as well as credit for work experience. Again, in
most instances, the core curriculum will be required as part
of that degree plan. The Business Administration degree will
give you a great foundation to transfer towards this degree.
11.
Do Developmental courses count toward the Business Administration
degree?
NO. These are developmental courses, which will prepare students for
success in college credit courses and do not count toward any degree.
12.
I have been working towards an associate of applied science degree
(non-transferable). Now I see that the Business Administration degree
is better. Is there anyway to salvage the courses?
The
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science
is an excellent alternative to the BBA degree. Texas State University
offers a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in the Department of
Technology in its Occupational Education Division. This degree uses
non-transferable courses and work experience. You still must meet
general education requirements and take upper level courses at Texas
State University, but this may be an alternative for you.
13.
I want to be a CPA. What should I do?
All new students interested in the CPA exam must be working on the new
Professional Accountant Technical Certificate. To view general
information for ACC Students pursuing the CPA Exam Click Here.
To sit for the CPA
exam, a candidate must have a minimum of a bachelor's degree with 150
credit hours (a master's degree is not required). The candidate must
have at least 36 total hours of accounting (30 hours above the
principles courses) and 21 total hours of business courses. In
addition, effective July 1, 2005, candidates must complete three hours
of accounting ethics.
ACC offers a 2-year
degree for students who are pursuing the hours for the CPA Exam. This
is the Professional Accountant degree. You can transfer hours for
courses that you have taken at the undergraduate level into this degree
plan.
Before taking the
accounting and business courses at ACC, you should talk to local
colleges and universities about obtaining either another bachelor's
degree or a master's degree.
The Texas State
Board of Public Accountancy (Board) has an excellent web site. Please
review the material on this site. You can obtain publications from the
web site or you can contact the Board at (512) 305-7870 for copies of
the publications or to ask questions.
If you have a
degree from a country other than the United States, contact the Board
to have this degree evaluated.
If you take your
accounting and/or business courses at ACC, please review the rules from
the Board that may affect you. Also, visit the Educator's Page at the
Texas State Board of Public Accountancy.
Effective 4/04, the
CPA exam is changing. The content will change and it will be
administered on demand via a computerized exam.
The Accounting
Department at ACC offers the upper-level accounting courses through out
the city. Please review the course rotation as you plan your accounting
courses.
14.
Can you give me more information about the CPA Program?
On March 9, 2005, the Qualifications Committee of the Texas State Board
of Public Accountancy approved a group of courses offered in the
Business Studies area as qualifying educational credit in satisfaction
of the 21 business hour requirement that will go into effect on July 1,
2005.
The Qualifications Committee has also approved a newly developed ethics
course (ACNT 1370-Accounting Ethics) as qualifying educational credit
in satisfaction of the 3 hour ethics requirement that went into effect
July 1, 2005. This course has restricted enrollment. Please contact
Katy Gott at 512-223-4800 or email kgott@austincc.edu
You may view approved business courses here.
On July 24, 2003, the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy awarded
ACC's Accounting program its newly created designation of "Qualifying
Educational Credit for CPA Examination." Our department is proud to be
the first 2-year school in Texas to receive this designation and to be
able to continue to offer our students these courses.
If you have questions you should contact the Texas State
Board of Public Accountancy
(512-305-7800 in Austin) or a designated ACC
accounting professor.
15.
Do you have any suggestions for the general elective requirements for
the Business Administration degree?
The Business Administration degree is the first two years of a
four-year degree and is designed to transfer to a four-year
institution. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
has required that each college offering Associate of Arts, Associate of
Science, Bachelor or Arts, or Bachelor of Science degrees
identify a Core Curriculum that all students must take. You
must take your general electives from the core curriculum .
Students should consult with their receiving institution,
particularly when selecting Science and Math coursework.
Consult the degree plan footnotes, and the core curriculum in
the college catalog when selecting electives for this degree. Consult a
business advisor if you wish to take courses different from those
recommended.
16.
Do you have any information about the Field of Study Curriculum?
Field of Study curricula were mandated in Senate Bill 148 of the 75th
Texas Legislature (1997) and are intended to facilitate the free
transferability of lower-division academic courses among Texas public
colleges and universities. Field of study curricula is defined by SB
148 as "a set of courses that will satisfy the lower division
requirements for a bachelor's degree in a specific academic area at a
general academic teaching institution". As with the Core Curriculum, SB
148 gave the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board the
responsibility of developing and approving academic courses that will
fulfill the lower division requirements for majors that correspond to
the field of study.
If a student successfully completes a field of study curriculum, that
block of courses may be transferred to a general academic teaching
institution and must be substituted for that institution's lower
division requirements of the degree program for the field of study into
which the student transfers, and the student shall receive full
academic credit toward the degree program of the block of courses
transferred. A student who transfers from one institution of higher
education to another without completing the field of study curriculum
of the sending institution shall receive academic credit from the
receiving institution of each of the courses that the student has
successfully completed in the field of study curriculum of the sending
institution. Following receipt of credit for these courses, the student
may be required to satisfy further course requirements in the field of
study curriculum of the receiving institution. There are currently
seven approved and adopted field of study curriculums: Business, Music,
Child Development/Early Childhood Education and Grade 4 - 8 Teacher
Certification, Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Associate
Degree Nursing. Core curriculum,
Field of Study and General Education
THECB information, including legislation, background and rules can be
found here.
17.
I now realize that I declared the wrong major with ACC. What can I do?
You can change your major at any ACC Office of Admissions and Records.
Be sure to advise the Office of Admissions and Records of any address
or name changes.
18.
How do I find out about jobs and internships?
The Business Studies Division maintains a job posting area for students
which can be found here.
Each major campus at Austin Community College also has a job posting
area for all ACC students to contact for additional job opportunities.
19.
Is there anything else I should know?
YES. This information is not intended to answer all questions. Please
read the ACC catalog for additional information and for additional
questions, talk to any full-time faculty advisors.
If you want additional information on Academic Programs, please jump to
the Online
Transfer Manual. It includes
information about how to transfer, course equivalencies, transfer
plans, and much more.
GOOD LUCK IN YOUR
EDUCATIONAL ENDEAVORS.
