Vocational Specialist Certificates General Education Requirements
The college recommends that all students create an educational plan with an academic advisor in the ECC Advising Center prior to registering. Students with previous academic, career, and life experiences are encouraged to investigate the proficiency credit options to substitute their acquired knowledge for prerequisite, course, and/or degree requirements.
The college recommends using the Academic Planning, Registration, and Payment Tool on accessECC to track your own progress.
These certificates are not intended for transfer. For information about courses in the curricula that will transfer see an ECC advisor.
Curriculum Requirements
The student must satisfactorily complete all courses specified in the curriculum of their choice. For details about these curricula, see the Career & Technical Education Curricula and Course Description sections of this catalog.
- For curricula with 30-59 total semester hours of credit, the Vocational Specialist certificate is awarded. For details, see the certificates and course descriptions on the pages that follow in this catalog.
In most cases, the courses required for a Vocational Specialist certificate may be applied toward an Associate of Applied Science degree in the same field should the student wish to continue study. See an ECC advisor for details. - For curricula with fewer than 30 total semester hours, the Basic Vocational Specialist certificate is awarded. For details, see the certificates and course descriptions on the pages that follow in this catalog.
In most cases, courses required for a Basic Vocational Specialist certificate may be applied to the Vocational Specialist certificate and/or the Associate of Applied Science degree in the same field if the student wishes to continue study. See an ECC advisor for details.
Communications Requirement
Unless a particular course is specified, students must choose communications courses from the list below if they are required in the curriculum. See the Curriculum and Course Description sections of this catalog for details about courses.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 101 | English Composition I | 3 |
| ENG 102 | English Composition II | 3 |
| BUS 101 | Business Communications I | 3 |
| BUS 142 | Business Communications II | 3 |
College Requirements
- A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 for all courses that are applied to the certificate.
- Meet the college’s Academic Residency Requirement for certificates:
- One fourth of the curriculum requirements but no less than eight semester hours of credit must have been achieved at ECC. AP, CLEP, and proficiency credits earned at other institutions do not count toward academic residency.
- Articulated credit earned through the Tech Prep Articulated Credit Program can be included in the calculation of the academic residency requirement. Tech Prep students who earn articulated credit can only earn ECC certificates after matriculating to ECC.
- If the certificate requires less than eight semester hours, all courses must be completed at ECC or through ECC’s Tech Prep Articulated Credit Program.