article_snippet: A four-year degree attests that you have acquired 120 credits.
article_snippet: Until recently, Louisiana students with an associate degree typically lost between 21 and 24 credits when transferring to a four-year state school.
article_snippet: And Louisiana students aren't alone; transfer students across the United States lose credits, which lengthens students across the country time to get a degree.
article_snippet: Someone who has spent the last 10 years working as a nurse's aid in a hospital who decides to go get a nursing degree has to start from scratch, taking introductory courses Someone who has spent the last 10 years working as a nurse's aid in a hospital who decides to go could probably teach, because colleges treat those without credits as blank slates.