I had a feeling this was gonna come back and bite me in the butt. This is my dilemma.

I planned on taking CLEPS & DSSTS that are required to earn both my AA & BA degrees respectively. I can earn 87 credits by using CLEPS & DSSTS. The other 33 credits I need (120 total @ TESC) need to be either done through actual classes or TECEPS. If I take actual classes then I'll need 9 classes (3 credits * 9 classes=27 credits)

I am majoring in Communications and there is only one communications course available through TECEP. So if I take that that will leave me with 8 classes to take.

I had planned on taking the actual classes that I need at my local community college because it's right down the street from my house and it's only $43.50 per credit hour because I live in the county. The only problem is that my local cc is on the quarter hour system. Based on the conversion rate, if I take 8 classes for 3 credit hours a piece that will leave me with 24 credit hours but only 16 semester hours(I need 27 for transfer to TESC). Which would leave me still 11 semester hours short to satisfy my core requirements at TESC.

I really wanted to take actual classes because I'm a little nervous about taking classes online because I've never taken a course online before. But I guess if I have to bite the bullet I will but damn!!!!

I need some advice. Would it be better to still go ahead and take the 8 classes at the local cc and take the remaining 11 semester hours someplace else...or just take the whole 27 credits at TESC online or at another institution?

I was all geared up to start taking classes at the cc in September but it looks like that will probably be a no go. I guess I just assumed that TESC will just take the credits as is and just transfer them in as they are without the conversion.

HELP ME PLEASE!!! I'm starting to get ticked off

***Why does everything pertaining to me have to be so damn complicated***!!!

From a loyal degree seeker,

Marshall

__________________
Marshall L. Williams IV
Excelsior College (enrolled)
B.S. General Business (42 credits down, 78 to go)

CLEPS:
Social Sciences & History (60)-Principles of Management (68)-Principles of Marketing (72)-Introductory Sociology (69)-Financial Accounting (53)-Introductory Psychology (66)-Intro to Educational Psychology (56)-Human Growth & Development (59)-Analyzing & Interpreting Lit (64)

Courses:
Real Estate Principles & Practices (A)-Real Estate Law (A)-Real Estate Finance (A)-Real Estate Appraisal (A)-Information Literacy (B)

Quotes:
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us" - Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least." - Goethe

I took Managerial Communications online at TESC and it was really easy. So I wouldn't fret too much about taking online courses. The only downfall is the price at TESC. It's waayy more than 43 bucks/credit. Maybe look into another college in the same county that offers online courses. Same price, and maybe they'll be on the SH program, not the quarter hour one.

__________________
Jesse
BA in Liberal Studies, Thomas Edison State College, 2008

take the class online...

__________________
Excelsior BS - General Business - 2008
Enrolled at Jacksonville State University - MBA - complete in 2010 (60% complete)

121 credits...ALL DONE BABY!!!

54 credits transfered in from prior college
54 credits by examination
6 credits from community college
3 credits from CSU-Pueblo (Operations Management)
4 credits for Information Literacy and Business Strategy from Excelsior

CLEP:
Principles of Macroeconomics (64)
Principles of Microeconomics (61)
Principles of Marketing (66)
Principles of Management (72)
Info Systems and Comp Applications (57)
Introductory Business Law (65)
Social Sciences & History (61)
DSST:
Principles of Supervision (58)
Principles of Statistics (67)
Introduction to Computing (60)
Principles of Financial Accounting (56)
Principles of Finance (55)
Money and Banking (52)
Ethics in America (66)
Management Information Systems (58)
ECE:
Ethics: Theory and Practice (B)
Organizational Behavior (C)

GMAT: 600

When I first started taking classes online, I was a little hesitant as well. I had concerns for the quality as well as validity of the courses, not to mention the workload (figuring, well, that if you're not sitting in front of the instructor he'll just pile the work on you).

My concerns turned out to be invalid-- colleges are embracing the methodology, the courses are the equivalent or close enough in quality, and the instructors are usually not unreasonable. Additionally, since I have acquired self-study habits through IT certifications, I like being able to study on my schedule and not someone else's.

If you do not find a college in Ohio offering a class to your liking, don't hesitate to consider a community college offering outside your state. I can tell you there are many good ones in Arizona and California. Folks here and on other boards praise certain CCs in New Mexico. I could personally recommend Barstow Community College or Mira Costa College in California. Sure, the fees are higher than in-state tuition for Ohio, but they might still beat what the Big Three charge.

I like Cerro Coso online format and they have a really good online program with an extreme amount of classes you can take.

CERROCOSO.EDU

I like taking classes online much better than in-seat... and I've done a lot of both. Don't worry about it, if you can study and pass all these tests, you will be able to handle yourself in an online class. I personally find the tests more stressful.

__________________
Bachelor of Arts, 2008
87 Traditional Credits
27 Exam Credits
6 FEMA Credits

M.A. in progress 2010

I think you should take them at the local CC. Even with the reduction in credits to SH it is still cheap. If they are not subjects that you feel you can completely master on your own take them there. If they are subjects you feel that you can adaquetly teach yourself then take them online. Mostly I would run a cost comparison of the two and make my decision from there.

For some reason I think the CC will still be cheaper if not close.

I don't have any advice strategy-wise, but I wouldn't be nervous about online classes through TESC. I had to take one online TESC class and was Majorly Stressed about it when I first started, to the extent that I was looking forward to the midterm because it was a paper TEST and that was something I knew what to do with, LOL!

But it actually went pretty smoothly. You'll want to take some time to familiarize yourself with the "Blackboard" online system they use and it's slightly clunky on occasion, but with fellow IC'ers here to answer your questions, you'll be fine.

I actually found the class very doable. It was broken into six 2-week modules. Each module usually required some reading and usually an online class discussion. There were a total of four written assignments in addition to that, but they didn't have to be more than about two pages. Very doable stuff. The midterm and the final were pretty easy too.

All in all, I was way more nervous than I needed to be. Once I got the hang of it, I settled down and it went just fine. You can definitely do it!!!!


And don't feel bad about things being complicated.....I took my last DSST as a paper test, after nearly a month of run-around from my local test center, who was having trouble administering the online tests for some weird reason. A few days later I had to close my credit card account, so I called DSST and gave them a different card number. They said no problem. Few weeks later I get a letter from them....I'm all excited, I think it's my score...it's NOT my score, it's them saying that the credit card # didn't work. Duh! That's 'cause they used the old number! I was really ticked off. I got them to kindofsortof expedite the scoring. Then I get my credit card bill and they've charged me triple. I call to find out what happened.......turns out they mixed me up with my sister, who took two paper tests the same day I took mine. We have the same last name and live in the same house and they changed HER credit card #, not mine. Aggghhhh!!!! What should have been a simple in-and-out online test has drug on in one complicated fashion or another for nearly six weeks.......and it's the last one I needed!!!! Sheesh!!!

__________________
DONE! History degree from TESC!

CLEPS:
College Math-69, Sociology-70, Humanities-72, Am. Lit-61, English Lit-69, S. Sciences & History-65, Eng. Comp/w essay-75, Microec.-64, Macroec.-73, Western Civ. I-71, Western Civ. II-71, American Gov't-71, US History I-75, US History II-65, A&I Lit-77, Prin. of Mgmt-76, Prin. of Mktng-76. Biology-69

DSST's:
Civil War & Reconst.-70, Modern Middle East-63, World Religions-76, Tech. Writing-67, Prin. of Supervision-67, HR Mgmt-69, Rise & Fall USSR-64, Vietnam War-60, Ethics-69. Intro to Bus-67, Org. Behavior-69, W. Europe-60

I took my first online class this year. It was also my first college course in 20 years. I must admit the class I took was a killer, but as I learned afterward even seasoned online students had said this one was particularly hard. All that being said, I finished the course and even got an A-. I am now looking forward to doing any further classes as online.

If I were you I would take as many credits as you can in Sept at your local CC the price is right. also try just one online course just to get the feel of it. Before you take the course check out the discussion board TESC's unofficial board had a lot of negative info about the amount of work for the class I took, but I never bothered to check it before I signed up.

You CAN do this.

__________________
Linda

EXAMS TAKEN
1/07 TECEP Psycology of Women (Needed/ acheived) 60/74
1/08 DSST Technical Writing 46/64
4/07 TECEP Word Processing Fundamentals 65/75
4/07 CLEP Info Systems & Computor App. 50/64
3/07 DSST History of the Vietnam War 44/66
11/07 DSST Intro to World Religions 48/65
5/08 CLEP Analyzing & Interp. Literature 50/69
5/29/08 CLEP Intro to Psychology 50/65
6/12/08 CLEP Intro to Sociology 50/69
1/27/09 CLEP Social Science & History 50/66
Finally 3 FEMA Done!!
Planned
Intro to Theater TECEP
Organizational Behavior TECEP or DSST
Physics I TECEP or EXCEL
Physics II TECEP oe EXCEL
Physical Geology TECEP or DSST
Calculus CLEP or EXCEL
Foundations of Education DSST
Intro to Education Psycology CLEP
2-3 FEMA credits
Global Environmental Change class
+ 43 B & M CC credits and 3 TESC credits and Finally on 6/30/08 an AA Degree
Eventually a BA in Natural Science/Mathmatics

Wow, that is pretty good info on Tesc on-line, their classes are alot easier than my CC online classes. What I found out here in California a lot of the CC will farm out the classes to the State University Professors who treat the class like one of their upper courses, except I did not get the upper credit with the class. But, they are alot more doable than regular class. Answer posts and your tests online, mostly w/o proctors very simple and doable.