LearningCounts vs. TESC PLA

[SweetSecret]

i'm trying to decide which is the better option for PLA: LearningCounts or TESC. I'm worried I'm missing something regarding costs & difficulty.

1.) It seems like I read on here at one point that LearningCounts is easier to obtain credit through, is that still true?

2.) How "open minded" are both of these in terms of what they give credit for?
I want to try putting together a portfolio based on my dance/entertainment industry experience & teaching dance classes. I saw that TESC isn't very open to giving credits for anything related to "physical education activity"... but I feel like my experiences relate more to gender psychology, sociology, acting, communications, marketing, sales, customer service, etc. Plus, I have documents online going back 13 years showing that I've been involved in the industry.

3.) As far as pricing, would I be correct in thinking the breakdown for pricing on 12 credits would be as follows?

[INDENT]LearningCounts
$250 + $129 DIY course = $379 or
$250 + $500 Instructor led course = $750

Thomas Edison State College
$350 PLA Review fee + $952 OL-PLA-200 course (2cr) = $1,302 on Per Credit Tuition plan
$350 PLA Review fee + $466.38 OL-PLA-200 course= $816.38 Comprehensive
$350 PLA Review fee + $3,062 enrollment + $916 OL-PLA-200= $4,328

Per Credit tuition plan is $476 cr * 2cr = $952
Comprehensive tuition plan $8,395.00yr/36cr = $233.19/cr * 2cr =$466.38
Enrolled Option tuition plan $3,062 enrollment fee + $458/cr*2 [$916] = $4,328 ***

*** Or am I wrong? Does the $350 & $916 come out of the $3,062 that is paid for the enrollment fee?[/INDENT]

4.) For those of you who have gone through LearningCounts, how did you feel about the DIY course versus the instructor lead course?
I'd really like to go the way of PLAs & get the max 12 credits, but am concerned that because of the content of what I'm applying for, I may be more likely to have it denied. In that case maybe going the way of the instructor is better? This is an even bigger concern for me now that TESC is no longer accepting LL courses for UL credit. Some of the knowledge I have would align with courses like:

[INDENT]Columbia University WMST BC3519 (4cr)
Emerson College IN138 (4cr)
Cal State Bakersfield Phil381 (5cr)
Metro State U of Denver WMS 3310 (5cr)
Riverside City College ADJ A10A (?cr)
Southern Oregon U GSWS417 (4cr)
U of TX El Paso WS3372 (3cr)
U of CO Boulder WMST 4300 (3cr)
U of IL at Urbana Champaign GWS478 (3-4cr)
U of IL at Urbana Champaign LAW672 (3cr)[/INDENT]

I'm pretty sure between those & few others, I could rack up at least 12 credits.

Thanks!

[sanantone]

TESC is no longer giving UL credit for community college courses, not LL courses. When you decide to enroll, you will have to choose a tuition plan. For out-of-state students, the Comprehensive Tuition Plan is over $8,000 per year. It covers up to 36 credits in TECEP, e-Pack, PLA, guided study, and online courses per year. Under the Enrolled Options Plan, you pay a $3,000 enrollment fee. That is just to be enrolled and be able to apply for graduation. None of that money covers tuition. You will have to pay $229 per credit hour for PLA, e-Pack, guided study, and online courses. Under the Per Credit Tuition Plan, there is a 24 credit residency requirement for bachelor's degrees, and tuition is $476 per credit hour (TECEPs are still $36 per credit).

In order to complete a PLA, you need to take two courses. One is 4 weeks and worth 1 credit. The other is 8 weeks and worth 2 credits. I read in TESC's newsletter that you can skip one of the PLA courses, but you can only complete one PLA for 3 or 6 credits. I can't exactly remember. The advantage with LearningCounts is that it is obviously cheaper. The advantage with TESC is that you will know ahead of time if the subject will be approved and how TESC wants the PLA to be done. There is no guarantee that TESC will grant credit for a LearningCounts PLA or give credit for the course you want.

[Jonathan Whatley]

I want to try putting together a portfolio based on my dance/entertainment industry experience & teaching dance classes. I saw that TESC isn't very open to giving credits for anything related to "physical education activity"... but I feel like my experiences relate more to gender psychology, sociology, acting, communications, marketing, sales, customer service, etc. Plus, I have documents online going back 13 years showing that I've been involved in the industry.

Artistic dance is a performing art, like theatre and music. It is physical but in higher education it's categorically very different from Physical Education. If you haven't already, you should read Steve Levicoff's article on degreeinfo about earning credit by portfolio at TESC. Now Dr. Levicoff did this in the late 1980s. Expect some of the specifics to be different. But it still provides a good high-level view of the process. He earned 20 sh in music by portfolio:

For my credit in folk guitar, I met with TESC's evaluator (a music professor at Mercer County Community College) and played a few songs on the guitar. (By the way, I also challenged voice, piano, solfeggio [sight singing], performance class, choral singing, and a few other music courses.) After a two-hour meeting with the evaluator, I walked out with 20 credits in various music subjects. (The meeting included a written exercise in which I had to develop a four-part harmony to a written melody line. Still, not bad for two hours in which all I basically had to do was play and sing. Now if only I had added a dance course. But then, the professor wasn't my type.)

Some of the knowledge I have would align with courses like:

[INDENT]Columbia University WMST BC3519 (4cr)
Emerson College IN138 (4cr)
Cal State Bakersfield Phil381 (5cr)
Metro State U of Denver WMS 3310 (5cr)
Riverside City College ADJ A10A (?cr)
Southern Oregon U GSWS417 (4cr)
U of TX El Paso WS3372 (3cr)
U of CO Boulder WMST 4300 (3cr)
U of IL at Urbana Champaign GWS478 (3-4cr)
U of IL at Urbana Champaign LAW672 (3cr)[/INDENT]

I'm pretty sure between those & few others, I could rack up at least 12 credits.

Now, here's an issue. The very first course you list is titled "Sex Work And Sex Trafficking." And there's a "Vice Operations." Maybe you're talking about a type of dance that would be treated as categorically different from the dance taught at mainstream dance conservatories and fine arts departments. That might limit how far your dance work per se might go toward portfolio credit.

[sanantone]

Now, here's an issue. The very first course you list is titled "Sex Work And Sex Trafficking." And there's a "Vice Operations." Maybe you're talking about a type of dance that would be treated as categorically different from the dance taught at mainstream dance conservatories and fine arts departments. That might limit how far your dance work per se might go toward portfolio credit.

I don't know how teaching dance relates to sex work unless the OP was teaching exotic dancers or doing dance therapy. You can also rely on independent study to complete PLAs. The OP needs to remember that each 12-credit PLA needs to cover one subject. One cannot get credit for dance and sociology in one PLA.

[SweetSecret]

I don't know how teaching dance relates to sex work unless the OP was teaching exotic dancers or doing dance therapy.

Bingo; Modern & burlesque! I've been in the industry 13 years. I've befriended nearly every type of worker there is in this industry, traveled all over through the largest agency, & I know about the underground side of it in terms of crime, vice set-ups, trafficking, etc. I've also taught the physical dance side, sales, customer relations etc. Right now I am working with two county commissioners to change local ordinances to help stop human trafficking, & create an accounting method to force club entertainers to report earnings to the IRS. Reporting earnings will help legitimatize them; making housing, health care, etc more accessible. I've written published papers on burlesque, & have studied with the legends such as Satan's Angel. I also worked in San Francisco when the industry saw it first major unionization... & know why in the long-run it didn't work because things must be changed at the legislative level. There are so many classes out there now that relate to this industry, that it would be a shame for me to not capitalize on it. Plus, over the last few months I'm really starting to think I want to start either a social entrepreneurship or non-profit to help women in the industry be able to transition back into mainstream work. This would be my second company, since I actually started & sold a company prior to 2002. The company/nonprofit would help them with education, legal issues, & job placement. This all sort of piggy-backs on the time I spent working as a Care Coordinator for an HIV/AIDS service in San Francisco, other positions I've held in the mental health nonprofit industry, & as an admin assistant with the police. I loved the Care Coordinator job a lot, & since I've also worked in non-profits for about 10 years (leading a double life), I still want to be able to really help others out. I see so many people around struggling far too much. I've been trying to decide which degree to go for, but I think I'd be best getting a BA LDAS, then pursuing a masters in either Social Entrepreneurship, Nonprofit Management, or Public Leadership. In the mean time, I'm also trying to convince the city/county to hire me for one of two zoning enforcement positions they plan to hire for which will oversee the clubs in the city.

[sanantone]

Bingo; Modern & burlesque! I've been in the industry 13 years. I've befriended nearly every type of worker there is in this industry, traveled all over through the largest agency, & I know about the underground side of it in terms of crime, vice set-ups, trafficking, etc. I've also taught the physical dance side, sales, customer relations etc. Right now I am working with two county commissioners to change local ordinances to help stop human trafficking, & create an accounting method to force club entertainers to report earnings to the IRS. Reporting earnings will help legitimatize them; making housing, health care, etc more accessible. I've written published papers on burlesque, & have studied with the legends such as Satan's Angel. I also worked in San Francisco when the industry saw it first major unionization... & know why in the long-run it didn't work because things must be changed at the legislative level. There are so many classes out there now that relate to this industry, that it would be a shame for me to not capitalize on it. Plus, over the last few months I'm really starting to think I want to start either a social entrepreneurship or non-profit to help women in the industry be able to transition back into mainstream work. This would be my second company, since I actually started & sold a company prior to 2002. The company/nonprofit would help them with education, legal issues, & job placement. This all sort of piggy-backs on the time I spent working as a Care Coordinator for an HIV/AIDS service in San Francisco, other positions I've held in the mental health nonprofit industry, & as an admin assistant with the police. I loved the Care Coordinator job a lot, & since I've also worked in non-profits for about 10 years (leading a double life), I still want to be able to really help others out. I see so many people around struggling far too much. I've been trying to decide which degree to go for, but I think I'd be best getting a BA LDAS, then pursuing a masters in either Social Entrepreneurship, Nonprofit Management, or Public Leadership. In the mean time, I'm also trying to convince the city/county to hire me for one of two zoning enforcement positions they plan to hire for which will oversee the clubs in the city.

There is also the BSBA in Public Administration (applicable to government and non-profits) and the BSBA LDAS in which you can probably create a non-profit management concentration. If you plan to start a graduate program that requires some business prerequisites, you'll already have those knocked out with the BSBA. Another related degree would be the BA in Social Science where you could mix sociology, psychology, and some criminal justice courses.

[SweetSecret]

There is also the BSBA in Public Administration (applicable to government and non-profits) and the BSBA LDAS in which you can probably create a non-profit management concentration. If you plan to start a graduate program that requires some business prerequisites, you'll already have those knocked out with the BSBA. Another related degree would be the BA in Social Science where you could mix sociology, psychology, and some criminal justice courses.

These are all great ideas! I right now I'm just thinking about how best to get credit for the experience. I'm going to start another thread a possibly "hair brained" idea I had this morning about all of this.

As a really neat "side note" yesterday I e-mailed a woman via e-bay about some costumes she had for sale. She said she couldn't remember who the designers were, because she retired from the industry in 2004, but I recognized the designs right away... so I messaged her the names. She e-mailed me back a long message which was fun, because she started in the industry 7 years before I did. Its rare I meet anyone with more experience, & she was in before some significant laws changed around '99 which impacted spending by customers. There's been 3 other big "hits" since then. Anyhow, I googled her name... low & behold she is a '93 graduate from TESC! After that she continued her education & now has a PhD in applied physical science! Society generally doesn't give people in the industry enough credit.

[cookderosa]

These are all great ideas! I right now I'm just thinking about how best to get credit for the experience. I'm going to start another thread a possibly "hair brained" idea I had this morning about all of this.

As a really neat "side note" yesterday I e-mailed a woman via e-bay about some costumes she had for sale. She said she couldn't remember who the designers were, because she retired from the industry in 2004, but I recognized the designs right away... so I messaged her the names. She e-mailed me back a long message which was fun, because she started in the industry 7 years before I did. Its rare I meet anyone with more experience, & she was in before some significant laws changed around '99 which impacted spending by customers. There's been 3 other big "hits" since then. Anyhow, I googled her name... low & behold she is a '93 graduate from TESC! After that she continued her education & now has a PhD in applied physical science! Society generally doesn't give people in the industry enough credit.

I just posted on your other thread, I wish I'd read this first, I would have answered you slightly differently. The key to a successful PLA is that your experiences demonstrate learning in the course competencies as they are already. Let me make an overly simple example (it's not real) but let's say you worked in a soup restaurant for a year. All day, every day you made soups. So, you attempt to PLA out of a course called CULINARY SOUP AND SAUCE MAKING. (that is a real class ) The preparing of soups isn't what the course represents, the course competency represents having learned and prepared each of the mother sauces classically, learned the classical garnishes and their names, and some number of sauce derivatives. Then, learning / preparing the various soups by classification and their classical garnishes. By working in a restaurant making soups, you might only hit on 1-2 of the competencies of the course, thus not successfully demonstrating PLA - despite having spent a year making soups. "Bulk and contact hours" do not demonstrate competency. Think "scope and sequence."

So, your step is to go into those courses you pulled, and read the course outcomes and be able to demonstrate that you have met THOSE already presented. The PLA course walks you through assembling a portfolio, but you're not at that point just yet. Just go down the list one by one.

Finally, unless you're aiming for upper level credit in major, PLA is never cost effective (or time effective for that matter).

[SweetSecret]

Finally, unless you're aiming for upper level credit in major, PLA is never cost effective (or time effective for that matter).

That's exactly what I'm aiming for. At this point I think I have far more LL credits than I need, & with TESC's recent change of not accepting LL credits for UL courses... I really need to focus on how to get UL credits.

[FallingWaters]

I'm am currently in the process of attempting to earn credit via Learning Counts. I submitted my 12-credit PLA last week so I'm in the waiting game. I have only spoken to one other person who successfully completed credit via LC through TESC. I did the cheapest way- $129 course + $250 for 12 credits. The course was a waste of time and left me with just as many questions as I started. Their customer service hasn't been very helpful either, but I hope after they return the first draft I'll have a better idea of what to expect for the next one I hope to submit before my 6 months runs out.