Advice for Business Degree in Finance

[Brent0803]

Hello everyone,

I want to start off by saying that I found this forum the other day when looking into getting a college degree online.  After reading through many threads, I can say that this is truly a remarkable community.  Many are here only to help others which is very admirable and selfless.  I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but I feel it is essential to give as many details about myself as I can to obtain the best guidance possible.  

I did quite a bit of research using this forum, and I have to admit the amount of information is quite overwhelming.  I am hoping this community can help point me in the right direction to pursue a Business Degree in Finance.  This is something I have put off for quite a while after I became successful in my career, but now it is something I want to accomplish.  My ultimate goal is to obtain my MBA, but first things first.

To start I will give some of my professional experience as I have read that this can be applied toward college credits in certain situations.  I have been in the banking industry for 25 years.  I have held a multitude of positions beginning my career as a teller until today where my title is SVP - Director of ACH Operations at a large regional bank.  I am unsure if any of my professional experience could be applied toward a finance degree, but it would be great if possible.  I also read that professional certifications could potentially be applied toward college credits as well.  I currently have my Certified Treasury Professional (CTP), Accredited ACH Professional (AAP), and Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP) certifications.  I am also preparing to take the Accredited Faster Payments Professional (AFPP) exam in February.  I expect to obtain that one as well because I believe in over preparing for these types of certification exams because you can only take them one time a year. 

I went to a community college briefly in 2006/2007 and below are the classes I completed.  I don't know if it makes a difference, but I had a 4.0 GPA. 
ENGL 1301; PSYC 2301; ITSC 1401; MATH 0308; MATH 0310; MATH 1314; SPCH 1311; ENGL 1302

Addendum & Template (answer in brief, compact, concise phrases - don't need long sentences):

Your Location: Houston, TX
Your Age: 46
What kind of degree do you want?: Finance
Current Regional Accredited Credits: My transcript says 25 credits, but I am not sure if all apply based on the courses listed above
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: I tried to find information on this but wasn't very successful in deciphering everything
Any certifications or military experience?: Yes, CTP, AAP, APRP, and soon to be AFPP certifications
Budget: I don't necessarily have a budget, but the less I would have to pay the better (obviously).  However, if I need to pay a little more to complete it faster I will
Commitments: Job and Family
Dedicated time to study: Depending on the week 10-20 hours, so probably an average of 15 hours weekly
Timeline: I would like to start in March of 2026
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: I will not need tuition assistance

I appreciate anyone who looks at this and welcome any advice.  

Thanks,
Brent

[ss20ts]

What are the courses you listed. ENGL1301 is meaningless to us. Every college has their own course numbers and sometimes they change them just to add to the confusion.

[bjcheung77]

Welcome to the board, you may want to see if a general Business, Organizational Leadership, Management degree is better for you than the Finance degree. You can later ladder to a masters such as the MBA or another, with a graduate certificate in Finance, or even a concentration in Finance later.

Since you're in TX, ETAMU and their CBE options would be your first recommendation. You can also take a look at the various UMPI YourPace options as your second choice. You can then take a look at WGU and/TESU and their BSBA offerings, as both of them have Finance as a concentration...

[LevelUP]

TESU will likely be the cheapest and fastest option. They offer a Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance.

SNHU also has a Finance degree program.

Here are some degree plans we have, though you can choose other colleges that are alt-credit-friendly.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ca...gree_Plans

[Brent0803]

Thank you very much for your replies! Just to clarify the courses I have already completed:

ENGL 1301 Comp & Rhetoric I
PSYC 2301 General Psychology
ITSC 1401 Intro to Computers
MATH 0308 Into Algebra
MATH 0310 Inter Algebra
MATH 1314 College Algebra
SPCH 1311 Intro Speech Comm
ENGL Comp & Rhetoric II

I am guessing the non-College Algebra courses won't count, but I am not completely sure. What would I need to do to look into if my work experience or certifications would count toward college credits?

Thanks in advance for your help!