Degrees and Certifications Degrees and Certificates
Many students in our networking program already have degrees. They come to us for the purpose of increasing their IT job skills and to prepare for industry certification exams. Other students may wish to earn a degree or certificate from the college. The classes that you take as part of the networking program may count towards the requirements of certain degrees and certificates. There is no difference between a class taken to earn credit towards a degree and a class taken to prepare for industry certification exams – they are the same class. There may be students in the same class that are trying to earn a degree along with other students who are preparing for industry certification exams or just trying to increase their expertise in the networking field.
Below is a list of the degree and certificate requirements for students working towards a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree or a Certificate of Achievement from St. Charles Community College. These are degrees or certificates from the college. Industry certification exams are separate and must be taken at an authorized testing site as determined by Microsoft, Cisco, or CompTIA. Industry certification exams typically cost around $125-$150 each whether you pass or fail. If you fail the exam and need to retake it, then it will cost you another $125-$150 to retake it. These industry certification exams are not included in your tuition at the college and are taken independent of your classes at St. Charles Community College. However, discounts for Cisco certification exams are sometimes earned as part of the Cisco Networking Academy.
Our current degree and certificate requirements are shown below. Students have the option of meeting the requirements that were in place when they began the program OR meeting the requirements currently in place.
Associate of Applied Science Degree - Networking
| Students must complete 24 credit hours of general education classes in addition to the classes identified in this chart. See the General Education Classes chart below. | ||
| Course | Title | Credits |
| CPT 103 | Microcomputer Applications (may be waived) |
3 |
| CPT 106 | PC Operating Systems (may be waived) | 3 |
| Microsoft Classes (MCP, MCSA) | ||
| CPC 125 | Windows XP Professional | 3 |
| CPC 202 | Windows Server | 5 |
| CPC 225 | Microsoft Exchange Server | 3 |
| Computer Repair Class (A+) | ||
| CPT 107 | A+ (Computer Repair & Maintenance) | 5 |
| Cisco Networking Academy Classes (CCNA) | ||
| CPC 170 | CCNA1 | 5 |
| CPC 171 | CCNA2 | 5 |
| CPC 172 | CCNA3 | 5 |
| CPC 173 | CCNA4 | 5 |
| Additional Required Classes | ||
| CPT 105 | Computer Ethics | 3 |
| CPT 130 | UNIX | 3 |
Total Required Credit Hours |
66-72 |
|
Certificate of Achievement - Networking
| Students must complete 12 credit hours of general education classes in addition to the classes identified in this chart. See the General Education Classes chart below. | ||
| Course | Title | Credits |
| CPT 103 | Microcomputer Applications (may be waived) |
3 |
| CPT 106 | PC Operating Systems (may be waived) | 3 |
| Microsoft Classes (MCP, MCSA) | ||
| CPC 125 | Windows XP Professional | 3 |
| CPC 202 | Windows Server | 5 |
| Computer Repair Class (A+) | ||
| CPT 107 | A+ (Computer Repair & Maintenance) | 5 |
| Cisco Networking Academy Classes (CCNA) | ||
| CPC 170 | CCNA1 | 5 |
Total Required Credit Hours |
30-36 |
|
