Meramec Advising Center helps students choose area of study.
By: Meagan Roth-Roffy
Staff Writer
Whether a student is looking to transfer to a four-year college, achieve a degree, or get back into school, there are classes for everyone.
“Our most popular degree is the general transfer studies AA. Our allied health degrees are also very popular. Nursing has had a waitlist for years, but now both our PTA and OTA programs have a waitlist,” said Julie Massey, manager of Academic Advising.
STLCC-Meramec offers five associate degrees: arts, science, applied science, fine arts and arts in teaching. The associate in arts degree prepares students to transfer to a four-year college or university. According to the STLCC website, general transfer studies are the most popular discipline. The associate in science degree prepares students in a specific area to attend a four-year college. The associate in applied science prepares students for entry-level jobs. The associate in fine arts is more for students in an art program who are looking to further their education at a four-year school. The Associate of Arts in Teaching prepares students for a teaching career in early education and provides a foundation to achieve a bachelor’s in education.
Meramec also offers a Certificate of Proficiency and a Certificate of Specialization. The Certificate of Proficiency usually requires a full year of full-time classes and is for those seeking jobs that do not require a degree. The Certificate of Specialization is for those who are looking to add skills to further themselves in an existing job.
Carol Dury, Meramec and UMSL alumnus with a degree in education, said the program at Meramec was great. “This specific program has a lot of practicum hours required… There were not a lot of tests but several involved projects in different areas such as child psychology, school logs and research papers.”
After graduating from Meramec, Dury then went on to UMSL to get a Bachelor’s of Science in early childhood education.
“Since I was an early childhood major, I had to complete hours in a preschool or kindergarten classroom and in an elementary classroom since I would be certified from birth through third grade. Another requirement in order to graduate was to pass the Praxis test and my portfolio.,” said Dury.
Dury has some advice for incoming students who want to join the teaching program. “Study hard and get to know your teachers and advisors,” Dury said. “Also, study for the CBASE well in advance and begin taking it early on so that you will have time to pass all sections of the CBASE.”
The CBASE has five sections: math, science, social studies, reading and writing. In order to receive an associate and bachelor’s degree, students need to pass every section of the test.
“And remember to have fun,” Dury said.
