SCC's AAS degree gives students a different path

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG PCC EDITOR WEST BURLINGTON - With National Administrative Professionals week being celebrated across the nation next week, a local instructor at Southeastern Community College is showcasing a program that's aimed at helping traditional and non-traditional students find spots in the workplace. Trisha Hopper, who teaches the administrative professional programs at the community college in West Burlington, is looking for the traditional and non-traditional students who are looking for a quicker path into, or back into, the workforce. The programs are two-year degree programs called Associates of Applied Science degrees. The degrees give students hands-on practical skills that put them in positions to excel at office jobs that have ever-increasing demand. The immediate benefit of the program is the cost. Hopper said tuition at the college is very low at $174 per credit hour. Base tuition at some four-year schools in the state is at least twice that rate and nearing $1,200 per hour for out of state students. Hopper said students can be in the workforce before they graduate or immediately after, making money instead of spending it on two more years of schooling. Entry level jobs for those with this AAS degree are often near $14 in the private sector with fast potential for promotions and pay increases.
"Some other jobs have a higher starting wage, but it's a trade off for working days and having weekends off," she said. Hopper believes there is a misconception about the AAS degree. "The general public might not understand that an AAS degree is similar an old school vo-tech degree, or vocational degree. Some people don't realize that SCC has business programs that are also along those lines." She said another benefit of the program is the recent push by the state for employers to create apprenticeships. The state is looking at tax credits for employers who have apprenticeship programs that turn into full-time positions. "It's an extension of the traditional internship," Hopper said. "Except companies would come in and look for people that fit their needs, and then they are normally employed automatically upon graduation." Hopper said her classes are a great fit for people who enjoy the thought of working in an office environment, but aren't quite sure exactly what type of job they can do. The classes help students explore a variety of opportunities and pin-point their goals. "This program gives students a wide array of skill sets that they can take with them to many jobs. The goal of the program is not necessarily to be a long-term secretary, but it's the launching pad for a lot of careers in business." She said her pipeline is young moms and people whose last kids are entering school, and also, students who started down a different path before they discovered how cost-effective and convenient it is to get a business degree at SCC
"Althought I would love to have more high schol graduates in the program, high schools aren't the pipeline. That's kind of the problem, the college wants us to go to the high schools and we do that, but so many of them want to go to that four-year school. What happens is they go to the universitie, they don't do as well as they planned, it's not what they expected, they're homesick, or whatever reason and they come home. Then reality hits and they look again at SCC with fresh eyes. I'd just like to knock that middle part out and see them come to SCC in the first-place.Tessa Warth, a student from Burlington, who's in the program said the knowledge she's gained so far has helped her build the confidence she needed to open her own business. I actually just opened a hair salon in Burlington," Warth said. "I got everything I needed from SCC to do that. You don't only take office classes, you learn to be a better professional. You learn about business, communications - you learn accounting, ethics and not just for an office, but a business setting. I didn't get the confidence to open my own salon until this last semester." Warth said the class also boosts the students resumes to the top of the pile. "I just went to an interview and I was at the very top of the list. Not always do these employers ask for the degree, but just the confidence you have going is a huge deal. And you don't need the training other candidates may have. So the employer saves money and you don't stress. You just don't put a price on that." Anna Gaul of Burlington said the simplicity of paying for the classes and the flexibility make it great fit for her. "I'm a returning student. I have a daughter in high school and one in college and had a good paying job but cuts happened. Then here I am with all this experience, but I don't have that degree that so many are looking for." She said the school's payment plan helped pay for tuition and she said that helped her get through the first year and then the second year she was able to get grants and scholarships to help offset the costs. Catey Marek said the program has allowed her to retrain and refocus after being out of school for a couple years. "I was originally a high school student who came to SCC after high school. My first year I was going for a medical assistant, but realized it wasn't what I wanted and I didn't know what I wanted so I left for a couple years and then came back." Marek said she moved back to be closer to her father who is a veteran and could help her with some benefits to help pay for school. As a former employee with Marshall's in Tennessee she saw first hand how those with these types of degrees can move ahead faster. "There was part of the employment above the management that required degrees. I didn't feel confident in going to school down there so I came back here. It was stressful trying to find a place where I wanted to grow as an adult. When I saw this, I realized it was time to get with the program." Marek works with the Burlington Family Practice medical office in Burlington and said if she had gone to work there directly she wouldn't have had the credentials she does now. "Here I got the idea that I can move up if I get the opportunity, I know what I need to do because of this program." Marek said the degree program requires 220 hours of internship work. She said that really helps students understand the work and whether or not, its a fit for them. "I think this is the only business program that requires an internship," she said. 'That makes you get your foot in there, and then you can find out for yourself in that scene if you like it or not." Hopper said the program also puts the students head and shoulders above other candidates when it comes to office software programs like Microsoft and Excel. "I just talked with an employer who said everyone says they know Excel, and they think they do, but they don't. These students have had four semesters of it- so they know it," she said. Gaul said the program has shown her what she thought she knew as an employee that she really didn't. "With my years of experience in the field, when I came back here I learned more than I thought I knew. And I learned the easier shortcuts that I didn't know before." Warth said Hopper maintains solid relationships with the area workforce and that's a benefit in and of itself. "Mrs. Hopper breaks her back trying to maintain good relationships with people in town," she said. "The last interview I went to, the employer had so much confidence in her and what she's teaching and that carried a lot of weight with them." Hopper said employers in the area have been contacting her looking for students and she said she just hasn't had enough in her classes to send them potential employees. Some of the students have enough credits to get a two-year degree as part of the program that will transfer, while other students will do multiple tracks in the program and get the general track and the medical or legal professional track to open other options. Gaul said she will have degrees in both the general and medical tracks Students or people thinking about returning to school can get more information on the program at www.facebook.com/sccadminprofessional/. Students can message Hopper through the Facebook Messenger or by email at thopper@scciowa.edu.
As part of their instruction in computer software management, Hopper's class is currently building a cookbook to help practice integrating software applications. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC
administrative professionals, degree, jobs, legal, medical, Pen City Current, program, Southeastern Community College, students, Trisha Hopper, workplace

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