Associate of Arts Degree
The University of West Florida automatically awards A.A. degrees to bachelor’s degree-seeking students who have completed all requirements for an A.A. degree.
According to 2017 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, workers with an associate degree earn, on average, $124 more per week than a worker with a high school diploma and $62 more per week than a worker with some college credit but no degree.
Automatic Awarding
To qualify for automatic awarding of an associate degree, a UWF student must meet the requirements outlined in the University Catalog. Students may opt out of being automatically awarded their Associate of Arts Degree.
Reverse Transfer
In 2019, the Florida Legislature amended Florida Statute 1007.23 to facilitate a statewide articulation agreement. The state Reverse Transfer FAQ provides detailed information.
The purpose of the legislation is to assist former Florida College System (FCS) students who have transferred to a State University System (SUS) institution, such as UWF, to complete their Associate of Arts degree with their former FCS institution through a reverse transfer process. Reverse transfer is intended to increase options for students enrolled at an SUS institution who have transferred credit from an FCS institution to earn an associate in arts degree from their former college.
In order to participate in reverse transfer, a student must meet the following requirements:
- Be currently enrolled in a state university.
- Earned more than 30 hours of college credit at a single FCS institution.
- Transferred to a state university before earning an AA degree.
- Not previously earned an AA degree from the state university.
- Completed a minimum of 60 hours of college credit.
- Completed general education requirements of either the home FCS institution or the SUS institution.
- Not earned a baccalaureate degree.
- Be in good academic standing and be current with financial obligations at the SUS institution.
- Be in good academic standing and be current with financial obligations at the awarding FCS institution.
- Have met the civic literacy requirement per Florida Statute 1007.25(4).
- Have met college-level communication and computation competency per State Board of Education Rule 6A-10.030, Florida Administrative Code (FCS Requirement).
- Demonstrate competency in a foreign language per Florida Statute 1007.25(8).
- Consent to allowing the SUS institution to transmit the necessary information to the FCS institution.
- Meet any other AA degree graduation institution requirement of the degree-granting FCS institution.
The legislature requires UWF to obtain written consent from those who appear to have the credits for associate degree completion prior to sending information to the FCS institution. Non-responding students will be considered to be non-consenting and will not be eligible. Students who do not consent shall not be considered further from reverse transfer in subsequent terms unless the student initiates a request for reverse transfer.
Opting in to the reverse transfer process does NOT guarantee the student will automatically be awarded the AA. It simply means the FCS institution will evaluate the student’s transcript to determine whether they are eligible for the degree.
If you have received a notification that has expired, please email the Registrar's Office for further assistance on opting in to the reverse transfer process.
Reverse Transfer FAQ
Reverse transfer is the process where a student may be awarded an associate degree from a previous state college after transferring to a four-year institution.
If a reverse transfer candidate attended more than one FCS institution prior to transferring to an SUS institution, the degree-granting institution will be the FCS institution where the student earned the most credits, provided the student earned more than 30 credits at that institution. In the event the student has earned the same number of credits and meets the degree requirements at two or more FCS institutions, the FCS institution that the student attended most recently will be considered as the degree-granting institution.
College credit may include credit earned through acceleration, such as credit by examination, dual enrollment, and/or prior learning assessment if the home institution was the initial awardee. Credit awarded by other institutions and accepted by the home institution in transfer may not be included.
Yes. UWF may award the student’s AA degree if the student does not opt in to the reverse transfer process.
Please visit the Florida College System website for a listing of participating Florida colleges.
General FAQ
If you have not automatically received an A.A. degree and believe you are eligible, please send an email to graduation@uwf.edu.
Students awarded an A.A. degree may order a copy of their diploma through MyUWF, Diploma Request. There is a fee for this service.
No, you will not have to reapply for admission. You will continue to enroll as you work toward your Bachelor’s degree.
No, you will remain in your declared Bachelor’s degree program.
Undergraduates' financial aid eligibility will not be affected by earning the Associate of Arts degree, as long as you are under the 180 credit maximum time limit (MTL). Contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, view your financial aid status, and refer to Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Details for information on Maximum Time Limit (MTL).
No. As long as you are continuously enrolled at least half-time and working on your Bachelor’s degree, earning your Associate of Arts degree will not change your loan repayment schedule. However, because loan counseling is required upon completion of any degree, you are required to complete exit loan counseling at https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action.
Yes, your Associate of Arts degree will be viewable on your transcript, which you can view on your unofficial transcript.
No. The Associate of Arts degrees are not recognized in UWF commencement ceremonies.
Yes, courses taken as part of a completed Associate of Arts degree may be repeated under the Repeated Course policy.
No. The A.A. degree will not be awarded in the same semester that the baccalaureate degree is awarded or in any semester following the completion of the baccalaureate degree.
You can opt-out of receiving your Associate of Arts degree by completing the Associate Degree Auto-Award Opt-Out Form. For instructions regarding accessing this form, please see Opting Out of Associate Degree Auto-Award.
Please email the Registrar's Office Graduation Team with any questions or concerns.