Excelsior Communications Degree - Please critique

[operalady]

Thanks for the input! Now we're looking at cost and such things. Is there a big price difference betweel the two schools?

[NAP]

Hi!

I don't know when I will get to it, but I need to send you a separate note about the Computer exams. I have great news, many thanks to you!

All of you are doing a great job on this. When I get a chance, I'd like to look at it more closely to get her down to 120 credits and use all that she has earned already +/-FEMA.

Consider ALEKS Stats. It meets the quantitative requirement, math gen ed, and is UL for liberal arts degrees.

As far as cost, if she can finish in 1 year, there is a $75 application fee, $895 enrollment fee, $495 graduation fee. If she enrolls and goes into a second year, there is a $445 student service fee to cover that year of advising.

Also, $75/credit to transfer FEMA and exam costs for the UL credits, which TESC did not require. (We should look to see if NFA would be a better fit than FEMA.)

I have been following her progress. She is doing so well!

[alissaroot]

You may have already been looking into communications courses to fulfill her major requirements, but since it's Saturday and I have all my homework done for the week, I decided to see if I could piece together the major requirements for a Communications major-General. If you wanted, she could focus in any of the five areas of specialization. Here's what I came up with:

I. Core Requirements (9 credits)
A. Introduction to Communication BYU Independent Study- COMMS 101 — Mass Communication and Society
B. Interpersonal Communications--LSU Independent Study CMST 2010 – Interpersonal Communication
C. Public Speaking and the Art of Persuasion--DSST Public Speaking

II.Intermediate & Upper Level Courses. All Three Courses Required (9 Credits)
A. Ethics and Communication[COLOR="Purple"] BYU Independent Study
COMMS 300 — Media Ethics, Law, and Responsibility or COMMS 480 — Media Ethics and Moral Reasoning[/COLOR]
B. Social Science Research Methods-?
C. A Fundamentals course from any of the five areas of specialization (Organizational Communication, Journalism, Public Relations, Strategic Communication, and/or Media Studies) BYU Independent Study- M COM 320 — Communication in Organizational Settings

III. Electives (12 credits from at least 3 different areas of specialization)
[COLOR="Purple"]LSU Independent Study-CMST 2063 – Argumentation and Debate
DSST Technical Writing?
FEMA Effective Communication
OHIO U exam JOUR 311 History of American Journalism 2.68 UL
OHIO U exam JOUR 411 Communication Law 2UL
BYU Independent Study-COMMS 230 — Introduction to Advertising[/COLOR]

IV. Capstone (3 Credits)

OHIO exams: Courses A-L
LSU Independent and Distance Learning
BYU Independent Study - Courses - Management Communications - M COM 320 — Communication in Organizational Settings

It's not perfect, and I'm sure there are some cheaper options out there than BYU, but it's a start! And keep in mind that an adviser would be able to tell you if these courses actually meet the requirements or not, I'm just guessing. Good luck!

[NAP]

Yes, you are getting close with this.

I have a very important question. Does she want a BA or a BS? She can get a BA from here easily, but in the plan you made, the Gen Eds are for a BA and the UL is for a BS. In a BA, all UL credits are Arts & Sciences. This means MIS will not count, and she'll need to pick another exam.

Also, Humanities and A&I Lit were counted a second time in the last group. If those are taken out, she has 15 credits there, plus the FEMAs.

Restating your plan and by my count, she has 63 credits (without FEMA) and she needs 33 credits for the major, plus 3 for English and 1 for Info Lit, which equals 100 credits. That leaves 20 credits, 12 need to be UL Arts & Sciences. The last 8 are actually the 9 credits she needs for the math/science gen ed.

ALEKS Stats could change things around a bit.

Also there is a Research and Writing in the major requirement, which could be 0-3 credits.

[alissaroot]

Yes, you are getting close with this.

I have a very important question. Does she want a BA or a BS? She can get a BA from here easily, but in the plan you made, the Gen Eds are for a BA and the UL is for a BS. In a BA, all UL credits are Arts & Sciences. This means MIS will not count, and she'll need to pick another exam.

This is a good question, I was thinking of this myself. If she went with a B.S. instead of a B.A., she would have a much easier time of earning her free electives without wasting credits she's already done. Is her heart set on a B.A. rather than a B.S.?

[NAP]

This is a good question, I was thinking of this myself. If she went with a B.S. instead of a B.A., she would have a much easier time of earning her free electives without wasting credits she's already done. Is her heart set on a B.A. rather than a B.S.?

I'd have to think about this further, but to me it is just a matter of making the correct decisions to be sure the requirements are met. At this point, a BS would mean that of the last 20 credits, 12 need to be UL - 3 must be Arts & Sciences and 9 can be anything. For the remaining 8 credits, 6 need to fill the math/science gen ed and 2 can be anything. All of her current credits, except FEMA, would be used either way.

[operalady]

This is a good question, I was thinking of this myself. If she went with a B.S. instead of a B.A., she would have a much easier time of earning her free electives without wasting credits she's already done. Is her heart set on a B.A. rather than a B.S.?

Interesting thought...

I have always steered her towards a BA because she is not as strong in Math and Science. Her love of literature and the Arts has influenced our choices when it came to exams.

So much to think about.
How would changing to a BS mean exams she would struggle with?

[NAP]

I think I was writing while you were reading. See my post above yours.

[operalady]

I'd have to think about this further, but to me it is just a matter of making the correct decisions to be sure the requirements are met. At this point, a BS would mean that of the last 20 credits, 12 need to be UL - 3 must be Arts & Sciences and 9 can be anything. For the remaining 8 credits, 6 need to fill the math/science gen ed and 2 can be anything. All of her current credits, except FEMA, would be used either way.

Using all of her existing credits, except FEMAs, is one of my main goals. That's what I'm hoping for.

Thank you both for all of the encouragement and research. I am blown away that you would spend time helping us.

We have a lot of praying to do over this matter but I feel strongly that she will apply to both TESC and EC this week, just to get an official word on where her credits will fall.

[Ruddigore]

We have a lot of praying to do over this matter but I feel strongly that she will apply to both TESC and EC this week, just to get an official word on where her credits will fall.

Good luck on getting an official word on anything until you dish out the money for enrollment.

I was going to write that Excelsior didn't give me an unofficial evaluation at all, but I just found one that I never saw before. :o It just listed my sources of credit and the number of credits I needed in the various areas:

General Education

Written English Requirement

Depth Requirements

Applied Professional Credits or Additional Arts & Sciences

Information Literacy Requirement

I love how quick they are at updating your plan with newly acquired credits. Just thought I'd mention that.