Bachelor Degree Advice Needed!

[marianne202]

Hi All!

I will be taking my last exam tomorrow for my AS degree from EC. I want to move on and get my Bachelors degree in Healthcare Admin or Healthcare Information. EC only has a Health Care Education BS degree and I don't know where that would be applicable. I'm currently a community college instructor, but that degree didn't thrill my bosses. I have the following questions I would like to ask the very helpful and experienced members here.

1) Will my EC and CLEP credits and EC AS degree be recognized by all other schools? EC is regionally accredited so I'm hoping it will fly elsewhere. I originally started in their RN program so I never looked into it for other degrees.

2) What other accredited, reputable schools accept CLEP, EC, DSST, TESC, FEMA credits etc? Has anyone had a problem with schools or employers giving credit for these exams?

3) Can these credit by exams be applied to the upper level Bachelors programs?

4) Has anyone completed a bachelors degree in Healthcare Admin or Healthcare information or related field that can recommend a school or program? There are so many Non-Accredited schools that come up when you do an internet search that it gets overwhelming trying to search for a reputable school.

5) Has anyone done a second AS degree with another school? I'm thinking about doing this to be able to get into a local BS healthcare information program that requires an AS in healthcare information for entry. Is this doable with credit by exams credits and a degree from EC?

I know some of this is school policy specific info but I'm just trying to get some suggestions from those of you that have been around this block a time or two. Thanks in advance for any and all help! This is daunting to say the least when at 45 you are forced to go back to school and decide what I want to be when I grow up! LOL!

[pcs]

If you don't mind me asking why Healthcare Admin or Healthcare information? Are you looking into a particular field of work?

[marianne202]

I have been an allied health instructor at the community college level for 9 years and was told in Dec that I needed to finish my AS degree in Nursing. I was unable to finish at EC due to my time in the program even though I was only a few classes from finishing. I'm unable to get back into the EC nursing program since I'm no longer in a hands-on medical profession. I really don't want to be a nurse anymore anyway. I love teaching too much! I thought that since I have worked in the medical field all my adult life...which is a lot of years! I just thought it made sense to stay in the health field. That was my thought, but since this is all new to me that is why I wanted some recommendations and direction. My boss is hoping the president will allow me to reapply for my old job with my AS degree even though it isn't in nursing but we just have our fingers crossed. It isn't required by our accreditation agency or our state board of education. I just thought if I continued on with my BS in a health related field he would accept that in exchange. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

[cookderosa]

Hi All!

I will be taking my last exam tomorrow for my AS degree from EC. I want to move on and get my Bachelors degree in Healthcare Admin or Healthcare Information. EC only has a Health Care Education BS degree and I don't know where that would be applicable. I'm currently a community college instructor, but that degree didn't thrill my bosses. I have the following questions I would like to ask the very helpful and experienced members here.

1) Will my EC and CLEP credits and EC AS degree be recognized by all other schools? EC is regionally accredited so I'm hoping it will fly elsewhere. I originally started in their RN program so I never looked into it for other degrees.

2) What other accredited, reputable schools accept CLEP, EC, DSST, TESC, FEMA credits etc? Has anyone had a problem with schools or employers giving credit for these exams?

3) Can these credit by exams be applied to the upper level Bachelors programs?

4) Has anyone completed a bachelors degree in Healthcare Admin or Healthcare information or related field that can recommend a school or program? There are so many Non-Accredited schools that come up when you do an internet search that it gets overwhelming trying to search for a reputable school.

5) Has anyone done a second AS degree with another school? I'm thinking about doing this to be able to get into a local BS healthcare information program that requires an AS in healthcare information for entry. Is this doable with credit by exams credits and a degree from EC?

I know some of this is school policy specific info but I'm just trying to get some suggestions from those of you that have been around this block a time or two. Thanks in advance for any and all help! This is daunting to say the least when at 45 you are forced to go back to school and decide what I want to be when I grow up! LOL!

>>


A quick question before I answer, do you teach any classes for credit that you yourself do not have credit for? If so, TESC will give you credit for everything YOU teach. This happened for me- I used them as free electives (27 credit), because I was seeking a degree in a different area, but it is FREE - as in no cost. If this applies to you, I'd be happy to talk to you about it. In my years here, I have not yet met another CC instructor without a BA degree (that was me) so the "Credit for prior teaching" option doesn't come up here much. It is a huge cost and time saver.


I also wanted to add, that when investigating schools, you want to find out of they are "Regionally Accredited" and if the answer is yes, then you have no issue about being reputable. Also, I'm going into nursing soon (starting my pre-reqs) and every school I have looked at (6) all accept CLEP. I have 17 years in with my current job as a CC instructor, I'd like to be on my way out at the 20 year mark.