Education (General) (New Fall 24) - Associate in Arts (AA) (5086)
Do you desire to be an educator and want to make a difference in the lives of children and adolescents? Do you know the subject you would like to teach but need to get started with the educational foundation you will need to be successful? If so, then our Education (General) AA is the place to start!
Our Associate of Arts degree in Education (General) is designed to provide you with a solid foundation to transfer to a four-year institution. Our curriculum focuses on assisting those who desire to work in middle, secondary and special education settings.
By completing our program and receiving your Associate in Arts (AA) in Education (General), you will be prepared to transfer your credits to a four-year school and apply for your teaching certification in grades 5-12 and special education.
Our program serves as your guide to help you later pursue a bachelor’s degree. With a bachelor’s degree, you’re qualified to apply for your teaching certification in middle, secondary or special education. This curriculum also supports opportunities for those to take electives that aid in their pursuit of a secondary education content area or PK-12 special education.
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Our Education (General) AA program is designed to prepare you to transfer to four-year colleges/universities to obtain teaching certification in middle, secondary and PK-12 special education. Our curriculum provides you with the opportunity to spend a minimum of 30 hours of field experience working in a variety of educational settings. In the end, you will have completed an e-portfolio, comprised of work you completed through the program, that can be used as part of your transfer application.
This curriculum is designed to prepare graduates of the program to:
- Apply the theories of child development to promote healthy and challenging learning environments
- Use content knowledge to build meaningful curriculum
- Identify effective strategies to implement developmentally-appropriate teaching and learning
- Uphold national standards for professionalism and ethics as well as participate in continuous professional growth
- Use legal and ethical standards to locate professional literature to make research-based decisions that inform teaching practices
- Prepare an electronic portfolio that documents personal growth as well as scholastic and professional achievement throughout the course of the teacher preparation program
Please note that you must obtain the following clearance requirements, at your own expense, upon enrollment in EDUC 110:
- FBI Clearance
- ACT 151: PA Child Abuse History Clearance
- ACT 34: Request for Criminal Record Check - PA State Police
- NSOR
- Tuberculosis Skin Test (TB test)
Please consider these factors before enrolling. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact the program director. Also, please be aware that these clearances must be updated each year. For more information on required clearances, please download the clearances required for education students (pdf) or contact our clearance and placement coordinator Jen Myers.
Additionally, if you are intending to transfer must have a 3.0 GPA to enter the professional-level coursework, leading to teacher certification, at baccalaureate degree-granting institutions.
- View summaries of every course at HACC by browsing our class schedules database.
- Review our program guide (pdf) to view a list of required courses, recommended course sequencing and program competencies.
Yes! Our associate degree programs are designed to be flexible enough to transfer to a wide variety of colleges and universities with no loss of credit. However, each individual college has its own unique program. We encourage you to select a four-year school as soon as possible. This will allow you to learn the transfer college’s program requirements so you can take the proper classes at HACC.
Our various transfer options include:
You may complete this program at our Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York campuses through various modalities (e.g., hybrid, synchronous remote instruction and asynchronous instruction) in addition to on-campus/in-person instruction.
Yes! We offer many scholarships through the HACC Foundation. Each scholarship has specific eligibility requirements. To learn how to apply, please visit hacc.edu/Scholarships.
We offer classes in the spring, summer and fall for your convenience. Visit our website to submit your application at any time. Please include program code #5086 with your application, so you can make sure you apply to the correct program.
Future students, we are excited to connect with you and answer your questions. Please choose the option that works best for you to meet with us.
Current HACC students, please contact our Advising Department with any questions.