Degree Alternative Program (DAP)

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

The Pasco County BOCC has developed a Degree Alternative Program (DAP) to give existing employees; who may have the necessary experience and skills, but not a particular degree, a pathway to promotional opportunities in our organization. Employees from any department under the BOCC can choose to participate in the DAP. Participating employees must complete a specific, in-house, training curriculum track through our employee training & development program, Pasco U. In addition, participating employees must complete an “online learning initiative” (OLI) course, and then successfully pass a comprehensive test to successfully “graduate” from the DAP. Once an employee “graduates”, their DAP completion may substitute for an educational degree requirement for selected job postings within our organization. There is no cost to the employee to participate in the DAP. The DAP was launched in September 2015. Since that time we’ve had 126 employees sign up for the program. Our first two groups of employees (20 employees total) “graduated” in September 2016 and February 2017, respectively. Of those 20 employees, 2 have already been selected for positions that they otherwise wouldn’t have qualified for based on educational degree requirements for those positions.