Looking for a good roadmap for Associate or Bachelors degree for Manufacturing jobs

[DRAGELEMENTS]

Hello all,
First time posting, but long-time browser. I'm looking to get some help on what direction I should take to get a degree. I work in the automotive manufacturing area, and without a degree, I can't get promotions. I just finished the Excel High School adult program to get my offical HS degree as I dropped out being a stupid teen. Thank you ahead for the help. 

Your Location: 
Michigan

Your Age:
38

What kind of degree do you want?: 
Associate or Bachelors
Business or electrical technology/engineering type of degree

I was looking at the TESU Associate in Science (A.S.) in Electronics Engineering Technology. This sounded interesting. 

Current Regional Accredited Credits: 
Grand Rapids Community College Total Credits -7 
TE103 Intermediate Technical Math -4 (D)
PS110 American Government -3 (A-)

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 
None

Any certifications or military experience?:
None

Budget:
Cheaper the better, but I'm willing to spend what I need to get it done ASAP

Commitments:
I have a family and work full-time. Will get school work done when I find the extra time.


Dedicated time to study:
1-2 hr on weekdays and 2-4 hrs on the weekends

Timeline:
In the next 6-12 months

Tuition assistance/reimbursement:
My work will help with reimbursements if the college is accredited.

[bjcheung77]

Interesting enough... Excel High School had an ACE option for their dual enrollment or early college program, but for some reason they gave up on those classes if I recall correctly!  I've not recommended them at all, even though they seem pretty good on paper.  I would have skipped them and got a GED instead or skip the high school game with a home school diploma!  

It's going to be a TESU vs UMPI option as you want to get the best bang for the buck, plus get a mix of certs, degree, experience along with the trifecta of cost, ease, speed to finish.  Anyways, you should do the UMPI BLS with a minor of your choice, throw in the AALS and forget about it.  Take the 4 classes that go towards the MAOL for later if you really wanted to ladder into that route.  

For TESU, you can follow my recommendations here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...d-security
For UMPI, do what this person did by following my recommendations: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-from-UMPI

[DRAGELEMENTS]

Thank you, bjcheung77. I will start looking at that.

[Robson]

You might also want to check out MIT's MicroMasters in Principles of Manufacturing, which I believe has an option for financial aid on the edX platform. With this MicroMasters certificate, you may be able to gain admission into and credit at a number of online masters degrees https://micromasters.mit.edu/pom/pathways-masters/

[AmericanExpat]

Interesting enough... Excel High School had an ACE option for their dual enrollment or early college program, but for some reason they gave up on those classes if I recall correctly!  I've not recommended them at all, even though they seem pretty good on paper.  I would have skipped them and got a GED instead or skip the high school game with a home school diploma!  

It's going to be a TESU vs UMPI option as you want to get the best bang for the buck, plus get a mix of certs, degree, experience along with the trifecta of cost, ease, speed to finish.  Anyways, you should do the UMPI BLS with a minor of your choice, throw in the AALS and forget about it.  Take the 4 classes that go towards the MAOL for later if you really wanted to ladder into that route.  

For TESU, you can follow my recommendations here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...d-security
For UMPI, do what this person did by following my recommendations: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-from-UMPI

Excel ceased offering ACE credits because Excel owns Washington Technical Institute, https://www.washingtontech.edu, an accredited career college that offers the same 3-credit, general education college courses, Excel is AP certified and has official dual credit partnerships with institutions such as Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, University of Texas, San Antonio, St. Mary's University, and others. 


Excel High School has achieved several major academic and institutional milestones in 2025, including NCAA approval, the RAIL Endorsement from the Middle States Association (MSA), and both STEM and Competency-Based Education (CBE) certifications. Among these accomplishments, the most transformative advancement is the expansion of Competency-Based Education, which enables adult learners to earn a fully accredited high school diploma by demonstrating mastery of required competencies—often allowing qualified students to complete graduation requirements in days or weeks rather than months or years.

Notably, Excel High School was the first fully online school in the United States to introduce an adult-focused CBE diploma pathway and has become one of the nation’s most highly recognized online institutions. Further reinforcing its standing, Excel High School has been honored by Cognia with the designation of School District of Distinction, a distinction reserved for exceptional, high-performing school systems that demonstrate measurable excellence in academic quality, governance, and student outcomes.

Sources:

https://www.excelhighschool.com/online-p...ol-college
https://www.excelhighschool.com/online-p...ol-diploma
https://acu.edu/professional-education/p...-education
https://www.prweb.com/releases/excel-edu...50041.html
https://www.washingtontech.edu/accredite...nline.html

[bjcheung77]

@AmericanExpat, Wow, that's very informative! Hmm, your second post is also about Excel High school. I was the one who responded to your previous one, and yesterday, you've responded to mine in this thread.

In brief, I think Excel High school can work for some people, but for homeschoolers, you can really save the cash and use it towards dual enrollment (ACE/NCCRS credits) up to 90 towards our recommended institutions.

Here's my previous post where I quoted you, basically the same thing I just mentioned. https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid441942