By Brenda De La Cruz
Arizona State University and Los Angeles Community College District have teamed up to help make obtaining a four-year degree easier and faster.
Students at any of the nine LACCD colleges can now visit asu.edu/mypath2asu where they can access an array of online tools meant to assist them in meeting their educational goals in a smoother manner.
ASU, which last year had 3,600 California community college students transferring in, according to LACCD, will also offer a new hybrid university option through their downtown Los Angeles campus.
Here students will be able to access over 130 online BA programs, with an added bonus of in-person coaching to ensure success in their educational goals. Over 400 courses are available to students in the transfer pathways program as well.
In addition to making sure students are taking the right courses while in community college, MyPath2ASU also makes it possible for students to work toward ASU degrees simultaneously.
For students who may work in addition to attending classes and may not be able to meet with a counselor as often, MyPath2ASU also offers “my transfer guide” as a way to keep track on their own.
A big issue for community college students can be taking courses they thought would count toward their ultimate goal of transferring to university, then finding out some courses’ credits do not count toward anything.
MyPath2ASU aims to minimize credit loss and, if all course requirements are met, grant general admission to ASU.
Former East Los Angeles College student Kristy Haecker remembers taking some classes in vain during her time studying criminal justice.
“A lot of the classes I took did not matter. I couldn’t transfer my criminal justice credits and had to repeat classes.”
When asked if a partnership such as MyPath2ASU would have made a difference for her while she was attending ELAC, Haecker said,
“I would say yes, because I did not know what exact classes university wanted me to take. Knowing something like this is available can help students be more focused.”
Haecker now attends California State University Dominguez Hills where she has continued to pursue her B.A. in Criminal Justice.