Small Steps to Completion Goals

2024
Northland Pioneer College
https://www.npc.edu/
ArizonaRachel Arroyo-Townsend
Equitable Access and Outcomes
Within Northland Pioneer College’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) division, many of the direct-to-work programs are structured to have three completion levels. The CTE degrees are designed with the first completion level labeled as the “Certificate of Proficiency” (CP), followed by the “Certificate of Applied Science” (CAS), and lastly with the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree. Based on this structure, students achieve small goals that lead them, not only to an AAS degree, but then on into the BAS degree programs.

Research has shown that degrees that offer different levels of completion help students to focus on the completion level in front of them instead of the entire degree which can seem intimidating and overwhelming. With the completion of each level, students feel a sense of accomplishment that helps to drive them towards continuing the next step and giving them the confidence to enroll in the baccalaureate programs.
Completion Levels