{"id":120138,"date":"2020-06-07T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2020-06-07T18:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=120138"},"modified":"2020-08-07T13:27:17","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T23:27:17","slug":"uh-accelerated-online-aa-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/06\/07\/uh-accelerated-online-aa-degree\/","title":{"rendered":"Flexible accelerated online <abbr title=\"Associate in Arts\">AA<\/abbr> degree helps workers with families"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_77234\"  width=\"676\" height=\"676\"  data-origwidth=\"676\" data-origheight=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/icjkJBzUX60?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Flexible accelerated online AA degree helps workers with families\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>In 2019, after 15 years at the same Waik\u012bk\u012b hotel, front desk manager <strong>Christopher Sawai<\/strong> noticed that a lot of young recent college graduates going head-to-head with him for promotions were beating him and becoming his bosses.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_120141\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-120141\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-sawai-2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"hotel employees\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-120141\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-sawai-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-sawai-2-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-sawai-2.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-120141\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christopher Sawai, center, with hotel coworkers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;I just decided it was time to move forward and the only way to do that was to earn a degree and progress as a person as well,&rdquo; said Sawai, 42.<\/p>\n<p>He saw that <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> was offering an accelerated online associate in arts degree and liked that it afforded him the opportunity to work while earning his degree.<\/p>\n<p>In fall 2019, Sawai became a member of the <a href=\"http:\/\/uhcc.hawaii.edu\/\">University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> Community Colleges Accelerated Online <abbr title=\"Associate in Arts\">AA<\/abbr> Liberal Arts degree<\/a> program\u2019s first cohort. He was one of the lucky 40 who ended up with a spot out of 400 applicants. Currently furloughed, Sawai said he has used the time off to take other online classes offered by <abbr>UH<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n<h2>Juggling work and family<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_120143\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-120143\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-gill-dhesi-3.jpg\" alt=\"mom and daughter\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" class=\"size-full wp-image-120143\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-gill-dhesi-3.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-gill-dhesi-3-130x130.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-120143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shareen Gill-Dhesi with daughter at Leeward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> Subway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The relatively new <abbr>AA<\/abbr> online degree program provides more versatility for residents who hope to earn an <abbr>AA<\/abbr> degree even while possibly juggling work and raising a family. <strong>Shareen Gill-Dhesi<\/strong> works full-time as a management consultant and homeschools her daughters, who are five and two.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For me personally, just being so busy with being a mom and work and everything, I think this is perfect for me because I think the way the programs are set up that it\u2019s not overwhelming,&rdquo; said Gill-Dhesi.<\/p>\n<p>She and her mother opened up the first Subway at Leeward Community College in 2011, and when she saw the online degree program being offered, it &ldquo;felt like home.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Only 50 spots available<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/uhcc.hawaii.edu\/online\/docs\/Brown%20Pages%20Application%20Link%20and%20Instructions.pdf\">Applications are now open<\/a> (<span class=\"small-text\"><abbr title=\"Portable Document Format\">PDF<\/abbr><\/span>) for the fall 2020 cohort. Only 50 spots are available. Students have the flexibility of taking five-week online courses, one at a time, year round. The cohort is designed for students with few to no college credits.<\/p>\n<p>The deadline to register is August 1, 2020. Resident tuition is $131 per credit. Out-of-state tuition is $345 per credit. Financial aid is available to those who qualify.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_120145\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-120145\" style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-gill-dhesi-1-214x300.jpg\" alt=\"mom and daughters\" width=\"214\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-120145\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-gill-dhesi-1-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-gill-dhesi-1-93x130.jpg 93w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/leeward-online-gill-dhesi-1.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-120145\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shareen Gill-Dhesi with daughters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Students who sign up for the accelerated online <abbr>AA<\/abbr> program will take a specially selected series of classes from across <abbr>UH<\/abbr>\u2019s seven community colleges and may graduate with their <abbr>AA<\/abbr> from Leeward Community College in December 2022. <strong>Jordan Lewton<\/strong>, online counselor at Leeward <abbr title=\"Community College\">CC<\/abbr> is available for questions at <a href=\"mailto:cconline@hawaii.edu\">cconline@hawaii.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It\u2019s never too late to start your path with education,&rdquo; said Sawai, who is aiming to eventually earn a master\u2019s degree in human resources. &ldquo;Especially with what is happening in the world with COVID-19, maybe you are in a career that just may not be sustainable for the next few years. Maybe this is your opportunity to go back to school and rethink about a different career.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gill-Dhesi added, &ldquo;The online degree program is accelerated, but it is very rewarding and it is manageable. I have a 4.0 <abbr title=\"Grade Point Average\">GPA<\/abbr> and I have a lot of other things going on. I think that if you set your mind to it, it is very much achievable and it is well worth your time and your money.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8212;By Kelli Trifonovitch<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> online degree was a great option, even before COVID-19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,12],"tags":[61,62,63,64,65,71,60,947,56,66],"class_list":["post-120138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","category-video","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-honolulu-community-college","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-kauai-community-college","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-maui-college","tag-uh-system","tag-video-2","tag-windward-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120138"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124570,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120138\/revisions\/124570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}