Making a “Major” Launch

Summer term application deadline is June 16; fall term deadline is Sept. 15

As a presenter at the 2022 Central Oregon Early Learning Conference at Central Oregon Community College — an annual, two-day professional development summit for regional educators — Luis Navez Dircio felt the significance of the moment. Some six years prior, Navez Dircio had been a COCC first-year student pursuing a plan of becoming a teacher, and the conference was a part of his learning experience. Now he was in front of the audience, sharing his knowledge.

That path began with a transfer degree at COCC. Transfer degrees, which last year comprised some 55% of the overall awards issued by the College — the majority of which take the form of an Associate of Science degree or an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree, an AAOT degree — connect students’ COCC credits to four-year universities. The AAOT is designed to fully conform to state of Oregon public university guidelines and meet all lower-division requirements.

“I knew that education was the career that I wanted,” recalls Navez Dircio, who went on to earn a bachelor’s at Oregon State University-Cascades and a master’s in special education from the University of Oregon. He became a learning specialist at Caldera High School and now works with students facing learning challenges, helping with study skills and homework, while also coaching soccer.

Framed around specific courses that shape the basis of a four-year degree, transfer degrees prep students for what’s next — while keeping the first two years more affordable. The transfer areas of study are incredibly diverse at COCC, offering some 43 majors, from business and physics to economics and math to computer science and psychology.

“These degrees establish a stellar academic foundation,” says Tyler Hayes, director of admissions and registrar at COCC. “Transfer degrees offer our students a chance to receive excellent instruction while staying close to home, and then smoothly transition into the four-year college experience.” Other benefits: Class sizes are small and the course catalog is large.

Many COCC transfer students have continued at OSU, UO and Portland State University — the current top-3 transfer destinations — but Oregon’s public universities also include Eastern Oregon University, Oregon Institute of Technology, Southern Oregon University and Western Oregon University. A number of other institutions accept the AAOT degree, such as George Fox University, Linfield University, Pacific University, Willamette University and more. COCC grads have also chosen places like Arizona State University, the University of Wisconsin, Washington State University and the University of Montana to continue their journey.

“Earning the AAOT streamlined and simplified my educational path,” says Kristen Howard, a paralegal who works in estate planning. It’s exciting work, she shares, helping clients feel relief — and providing a human touch throughout the process.

Her transfer degree took her to UO, where she earned a bachelor’s in social science. A job as a judicial specialist with the Oregon Judicial Department inspired her to receive a paralegal certificate from OSU.

“If someone told me they were thinking about getting the AAOT, I would say do it,” she says. “The peace of mind knowing that when I completed it, I could transfer seamlessly to U of O as a junior was a gift.”

Explore all COCC transfer degrees at cocc.edu/degreeoptions.