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| The American College of Applied Science currently is the only U.S. based institution of higher learning to offer graduate and undergraduate degree programs, and non-degree professional development diploma programs, in companion animal science and behavior based upon a foundation of applied behavior analysis. ACAS has been licensed as a degree granting institution by the State of Florida, Department of Education, Commission for Independent Education, License no. 3145 since January 2005. |
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 ACAS was founded in January 2005 by a group of university professors, animal behavior professionals and Internet technology experts in order to fulfill a need for educated professionals in the field of applied animal behavior science and to deliver higher education to students in the State of Florida and elsewhere without regard to geographic boarders. Prior to ACAS’s founding, no college or university in the United States offered undergraduate degree programs in companion animal science or graduate degree programs in companion animal behavior counseling or animal shelter administration. Today, we are proud to have graduated students from our diploma program in canine behavior counseling who reside in Florida, South Carolina, New York, Ohio, Colorado, California, New Hampshire, and other states as well as in other nations including Iceland, Spain and Taiwan. These students work each day with veterinarians, animal shelter organizations, caregivers, and the government; and in private animal training businesses helping caregivers to train and keep their companion animals in their families, rather than abandoning or relinquishing them to animal control authorities to be euthanized.
Our graduate students are teachers, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, police officers and business people who care about animals and the public welfare and wish to do their part to affect positive change for society and the 130,000,000 companion animals that share their lives with families in the United States alone. This year, our young college admitted its first veterinarian into our Master of Science program in companion animal behavior counseling and one of our graduate students has moved from her externship with a veterinarian and diplomat in the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists to a full-time paid position with his busy San Diego consulting practice. Soon, a few of our graduate students will be reaching the thesis stage of their program, the final and most important hurdle in a graduate student’s program of study. We are enthusiastic about the empirical research work that these students will complete and will be encouraging them to present it at educational conferences, both domestically and globally, and to the editors of peer reviewed scientific journals so that our school can make a contribution to the scientific literature as it pertains to this under researched area of companion animal behavior.
Millions of otherwise healthy cats and dogs are killed each year because they are no longer wanted and there are over 2 million dogs bite injuries reported each year in the U.S. with the victims being mostly children under ten years of age (HSUS, 2006). While these are truly staggering statistics, our graduates are in a position to make a positive contribution to animal welfare, for social change and to make better the world we live in. For this reason, we move forward in our higher education objectives.
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| The mission of the American College of Applied Science is to provide graduate, undergraduate and professional development program students who reside in the State of Florida, throughout United States and around the world with opportunities to launch, enhance or change careers in a diverse global society and to empower them through leadership, critical thinking and practical skills to affect positive change for society, the animals that share our lives with us and the environment. This is accomplished through providing high quality and technologically advanced blended learning programs and academic research opportunities while subscribing to scientific principles of investigation that continue to be our most trusted method of inquiry. |
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| The American College of Applied Science envisions a world where society and government places higher education high on every agenda since educated and caring people are less likely to harm each other, harm other living creatures and harm the planet. We envision a world where no animal will suffer needlessly for want of food, shelter, companionship or medical attention; where through public and professional education, planned population policies, personal responsibility and governmental and community involvement the needless killing of healthy but unwanted companion animals is significantly reduced and someday non-existent; where companion animals can work together with families and professionals to assist those with special needs to lead better and fuller lives. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi once said "A nation can be judged by how it treats its animals." Our graduates and faculty will strive, as professionals and members of our national and global communities, to serve the common good of society and the animals we share our lives with, each in their own individual way. |
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Some of the goals and objectives of the college and its academic and research programs are:
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To provide career opportunities for adult learners |
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To provide our community, the State of Florida, our nation and the world with educated and skilled individuals who can deliver positive change for society, animals and the environment |
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To provide blended learning programs to adult learners regardless of where they live, where they work or what responsibilities they may have that may otherwise limit their ability to earn a higher education, enhance a current career or achieve a more rewarding one |
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To expand scientific research into under investigated areas of applied science where new knowledge and applications can result in positive social, animal-related and environmental change. |
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| It is the purpose of ACAS to produce graduates on all levels who are capable of: |
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Identifying, analyzing, testing and implementing solutions to problems in their area of expertise using empirically supported methods of scientific investigation |
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Looking outward to their organizations and families and inward to themselves to indentify weaknesses and strengths and to act to become a better individual and citizen |
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To produce positive social and world change through their educational process |
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To realize the benefit and promise of higher education and to view one’s life as a never ending learning process |
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To critically analyze all situations rather than accepting what others believe is the truth |
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To recognize that the scientific method of inquiry is the best method for discovering truths that is available to humanity |
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To recognize that one’s spiritual and cultural belief systems can work in harmony with science but only through education and respect for those around us and the planet that sustains us all |
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| The college administraive offices are located in Crescent City, Florida and meet the State of Florida requirements as set forth in the Florida Administrative Code, subsection 6E-2.004(9). Information showing compliance with relevant local safety and health standards such as fire, building, and sanitation will be made available to students upon request. There are no classrooms located at the administrative offices. |
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| The college Dream Pond Science Field Station and Reserve is located just outside of the Village of Crescent City in northern Florida. It is the home of various dog breeds, horses, miniature donkeys, llamas, sheep, goats, chickens, guinea fowl, aquatic birds, and a wolf hybrid named Darwin. Students meet here for Academic Residency Lab courses and then proceed to animal shelter, animal sanctuary and governmental animal control facilities partnered with the college where they receive hands-on experience with animals under faculty supervision. There are no formal classrooms at the Science Field Station and Reserve. |
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| Virtual Campus course classrooms are accessable 24/7/365 at http://amcollege.net. These classrooms provide the student with a robust learning experience including an asynchronous discussion forum for class discourse, downloadble course resources, video clips, Web links, PowerPoint lesson presentations, some with audio/video of the instructor via Camtasia, synchronous chat rooms, and class synchronous instructional meetings (SIMs) that support up to 15 student and faculty participants using Web cams for two-way real-time communication. The college Virtual Campus is powered by the Moodle® open source Course Management System on dedicated Web servers. |
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| Academic resideny labs (ARLs) are held in places like Florida, Canada and other U.S. locations. ARLs focus on learner outcomes that build upon the theoretical knowledge acquired in online courses. Students work under faculty supervison with various animal species to develop skill sets and methodologies to change animal behavior and alike. ARLs are part of most, but not all, curricula at the college. |
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Externship Practicum
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| Externships are ususally completed in the student's community. These capstone projects are designed to give the student real-world experience in their subject area under the supervision of a faculty-approved field supervisor. An online classroom is established on the Virtual Cammpus for weekly communication with the student's extrenship practicum faculty advisor. |
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| Library resources are maintained and offered via a state-of-the-art online library created with Drupal® and managed by ACAS. A school librarian who holds a graduate degree in library science is available via email and telephone to assist students and faculty with their research and writing needs. There is also a real-time chat module available from the library web site.
Library resources include current textbook titles, periodicals, and subscribed professional journals appropriate for ACAS educational programs, bibliographic and monographic references, major professional journals and reference services, and research and methodology materials. There is a Writing Center and articles describing academic honesty and plagiarism. A private college repository for student and faculty research papers and theses is also available. Students and faculty have access to the online library 24/7/365 and the librarian is there to assist with research and obtaining article. Some full-text articles are free and others may have a small cost as established by online document deliver services and their agreements with publishers.
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