Laundering Credits within Degree Requirements?

[eriehiker]

I have a question:

I am planning to graduate from TESU in March with a BSBA, ASNSM and several certificates.  The degree will obviously be regionally accredited.

I have something like 350 credit hours at this point.  About 150 to 200 are via ACE and NCCRS.

Will the ACE/NCCRS credits be viewed differently if they are within the requirements of the degree?

I will give an example.  The current credits within my ASNSM are low level credits like the DSST Math for Liberal Arts.  I subsequently finished Straighterline's Calculus II.

Would it be of value to shift the Calculus II into the ASNSM?

I also know that there might be a difference between credits placed within the ASNSM vs. the BSBA vs. the certificates.

I would appreciate any guidance that you might have.

Thanks!
Mike

[dfrecore]

I don't think it matters which credits are where, as long as they are all listed on the transcript - which they will be if you've transferred them to TESU prior to graduation.

[sanantone]

The credits on the transcript aren't grouped by degree. They're grouped by source.

[eriehiker]

Thank you, dfrecore and sanantone. Always helpful.

[Ideas]

I don't think it matters which credits are where, as long as they are all listed on the transcript - which they will be if you've transferred them to TESU prior to graduation.

The credits on the transcript aren't grouped by degree. They're grouped by source.

I have a somewhat similar question. There's a course that I took from Davar, so I know it will be listed under NCCRS. I was thinking about taking it again from a more widely-accepted source. If I did, could I get TESU to put credit next to the "better" source, or will they mark it as duplicate since they already credited me for the NCCRS one? I know it wouldn't matter in most cases, but if it's a course that's prereq for another school.

[eriehiker]

I love it, Ideas. We are both so funny. It's not good enough to take the class once. We want to take the course two and three times just to get it right. It would fill up the transcript. It is an interesting idea to try and sculpt the transcript. The same course four times from different sources kind of underscores the MATH, MATH, MATH in the transcript. Probably not worth it unless it was $25 Saylor courses.

[cookderosa]

I don't think it matters which credits are where, as long as they are all listed on the transcript - which they will be if you've transferred them to TESU prior to graduation.

The credits on the transcript aren't grouped by degree. They're grouped by source.

I have a somewhat similar question. There's a course that I took from Davar, so I know it will be listed under NCCRS. I was thinking about taking it again from a more widely-accepted source. If I did, could I get TESU to put credit next to the "better" source, or will they mark it as duplicate since they already credited me for the NCCRS one? I know it wouldn't matter in most cases, but if it's a course that's prereq for another school.

That only makes sense if the course you're replacing your Davar course with is GRADED. Non-graded credit is non-graded credit, and will be listed as "cr" on your transcript.
Of course graduate schools will want to review your transcript, and if they have prereqs, you'll have to meet them- a prereq is typically going to say something like "C or better in Statistics" or such- so the hierarchy isn't between NCCRS and ACE, it's between graded and non-graded credit (transfer). Keep in mind that graded credit will come in without that grade, but it still exists- so if you took the course at your community college and earned a B, it will appear on your TESU transcript as "CR" but you still earned a B, which will be demonstrated when you send your CC transcript along with your application to grad school. If you took the course at TESU, the grade will appear directly on your transcript from the start.

[Ideas]

Of course graduate schools will want to review your transcript, and if they have prereqs, you'll have to meet them- a prereq is typically going to say something like "C or better in Statistics" or such- so the hierarchy isn't between NCCRS and ACE, it's between graded and non-graded credit (transfer).

Ok.

What I was thinking was CLEP versus NCCRS. I would want TESU to replace the NCCRS one with the CLEP, or show both. So that the schools that don't take NCCRS will look at see that I do have the CLEP version which is acceptable (assuming I score high enough for their cut off). If they see only the NCCRS they will be telling me I didn't meet the prereq.

[davewill]

Ok.

What I was thinking was CLEP versus NCCRS. I would want TESU to replace the NCCRS one with the CLEP, or show both. So that the schools that don't take NCCRS will look at see that I do have the CLEP version which is acceptable (assuming I score high enough for their cut off). If they see only the NCCRS they will be telling me I didn't meet the prereq.

I don't know that there are any schools that will make that distinction. I wouldn't bother unless I knew it would make a difference in some specific case.

[cookderosa]

Of course graduate schools will want to review your transcript, and if they have prereqs, you'll have to meet them- a prereq is typically going to say something like "C or better in Statistics" or such- so the hierarchy isn't between NCCRS and ACE, it's between graded and non-graded credit (transfer).

Ok.

What I was thinking was CLEP versus NCCRS. I would want TESU to replace the NCCRS one with the CLEP, or show both. So that the schools that don't take NCCRS will look at see that I do have the CLEP version which is acceptable (assuming I score high enough for their cut off). If they see only the NCCRS they will be telling me I didn't meet the prereq.

When a college has a policy regarding a CLEP exam, it's generally regarding their undergraduate program for degree seekers. As a total hypothetical, let's say ABC University doesn't award credit for College Math CLEP. That is for THEIR undergraduate degree seekers- it doesn't mean when you apply to ABC University as a graduate student that your College Math CLEP is undone in any way - in other words, the composition of your undergraduate degree is only relevant in terms of graduate requirements. So, if the same university says something like "Grade of B or better in math" then you're CLEP won't work *because* it's not got a grade- not because of the undergrad CLEP policy. OTOH, if they specify something like "CLEP or assessment credit in XYZ does not meet....graduate prerequsites" then that's something entirely different.

Your undergraduate degree *as a whole* meets the requirement to apply to grad school unless a grad school tacks on additional requirements above and beyond - and honestly, most don't. You'll see a lot of them ask for GRE or some other entrance exam, some want a certain GPA, etc. but the contents of an undergrad degree are only going to be under scrutiny at the most elite of elite colleges, even then, I am going out on a limb to say that they'd put CLEP, AP, ACE, and NCCRS in the same category. (non-college/ non-graded)


EDIT to add: spend a little time looking at target grad schools and see what kinds of requirements are asked for admission. This will help you a great deal. So will applying. You'll be shocked to find that you'll probably get accepted to all, or nearly all, of the schools you apply to. (I applied to a ridiculous number myself, for a lot of silly reasons, but got into every one) It is a buyer's market after all.