Northwest Florida State College - Low Online Tuition

[smartdegree]

Here's another low cost option.  They offer both Associates and Bachelors.  


https://www.nwfsc.edu/online/

FEES (See online tuition)
https://catalog.nwfsc.edu/content.php?ca...avoid=7373

Online Tuition
Baccalaureate (College Credit) 
$123.59 
Advanced & Professional (College Credit) 
$105.01 



Bachelor Degrees

    Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS): Management and Supervision: Health Care Management
    Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS): Management and Supervision: Human Resources Management
    Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS): Management and Supervision: Supervision
    Bachelor of Science (BAS): Management and Supervision: Public Safety
    Bachelor of Science (BS): Nursing
    Bachelor of Science (BS): Early Childhood Education, Birth through Four

Associate in Arts

    Associate in Arts General

Associate in Science

    Accounting Technology
    Business Administration
    Industrial Management Technology

[origamishuttle]

How they transfer alternative credits will be important. Their CLEP page at TCB looks great:
https://clep.collegeboard.org/college-cr...te-college

But their student records page mostly refers to ACE as it relates to military, so I'm curious what they'll take:
https://catalog.nwfsc.edu/content.php?ca...y_Training

[sanantone]

Great find! I noticed that the link is to an old, archived catalog. Here's the link to the tuition and fees for the 2023-2024 school year. I don't think they're any different.

https://catalog.nwfsc.edu/content.php?ca...or-college

[nomaduser]

what online courses do they offer? can I see a list of their online courses?

[Kab]

how many transfer credits do they accept? 90?

[StoicJ]

Student Records - Northwest Florida State College - Acalog ACMS (nwfsc.edu)

The following factors will be considered in the evaluation of credits for transfer. The factors will be used in determining whether the course is transferable and in determining whether the course is recorded as a direct equivalent to an NWFSC course, not a direct equivalent but fulfilling a specific general education or degree requirement, or as a general elective: 

• Breadth, depth, and rigor of course content as evidenced by course syllabi, prerequisites, placement test scores, exit requirements, student portfolios, textbooks, writing or oral communication requirements, grading standards, catalog descriptions, etc.
  
• Qualifications of the faculty member(s) providing the instruction
  
• Age of credits
  
• Recommendations through other established credit assessment bodies (e.g. ACE)
  
• Institutional accreditation via other professional assessment/accrediting bodies (e.g. AMA, NLN, a state agency)
  
• Secondary documentation of course competencies (e.g. professional certification, standardized exam scores, etc.)
  

Credit by Alternative Means of Study

NWFSC will award credit for certain types of non-traditional study or credits earned through alternative means of study. No more than 75% of the credits toward NWFSC’s baccalaureate, associate, and certificate programs may be earned by way of alternate study. Alternative study methods covered under these limits include Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Excelsior College, Military Service Credits, Correspondence Credits, the NWFSC’s Course Challenge Exam Option, and credits awarded through Prior Learning Assessment. Credits for accelerated mechanisms defined under Florida rules and regulations will be awarded in accordance with Florida Administrative Code FAC 6A-10.024 and the State of Florida’s Articulation Coordinating Committee Credit-by-Exam equivalents. Current Credit-by-Exam equivalents as determined by the Articulation Coordinating Committee can be found at http://www.fldoe.org and searching for “Credit-by-Exam Equivalencies”.

[origamishuttle]

Recommendations through other established credit assessment bodies (e.g. ACE)

This is promising, although this section heavily implies subjectivity, so ACE credits may not be a given.

Further casting doubt is the section on military credits, which refers to ACE much more specifically:

The American Council on Education (ACE) recognizes the educational value of non-traditional training and learning experiences. As such, ACE continuously evaluates military school courses and occupations and makes recommendations for college-level credit. ACE credit recommendations are present on the Joint Services Transcript (JST) of a military service member. NWFSC will award credit for ACE recommendations in the associate and baccalaureate categories for the service member’s documented military courses. Students seeking credit for their military occupation experience must complete an electronic Request for Exception: Records in order for the credits to be considered. Approval to award credit based on a service member’s occupation experience rests with the Executive Director of Academic Records and Enrollment in consultation with the appropriate faculty/instructional staff. ACE recommendations for credit at the vocational level may be awarded upon approval from the Executive Director of Academic and Records in conjunction with the appropriate faculty/instructional staff. Military courses in which ACE has provided optional credit recommendations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and a final determination will be made by the Executive Director of Academic Records in conjunction with the appropriate faculty/instructional staff. While ACE recommendations will be considered for credit during the evaluation of the JST, they are not binding to the College. 

I'm worried that this could mean they only accept military ACE credits, but I hope I'm misinterpreting. I would certainly encourage anyone who is interested in this college to apply and see how their credits transfer.

[studyingfortests]

I was intrigued by the reference above to credits via "NWFSC’s Course Challenge Exam Option." This appears to imply that, presumably for some courses, one can use the Course Challenge Exam to earn credit. I could not find any direct links (except a link to a form that is behind a firewall for students) that further explain this, but I did locate for Florida State College - Jacksonville an informational page that indicates they offer 11 exams (potentially 33 credits).

If something similar is available for NWFSC, this could be an additional source of credits -- and for what I see for FSCJ, the courses eligible for exam include several unusual ones that might be useful if the credits can be transferred elsewhere.

I also note that, as I read it, there is a $15 per credit "distance learning fee" in addition to the $123.59, so the full per-credit hour rate is $138.59, which is still pretty inexpensive, especially for upper level credits from a regionally/institutionally accredited institution.

[bjcheung77]

Hmm, I wonder if you can degree hack this... using the "Vocational" credit towards the Bachelors... It's a tad confusing as they've got Postsecondary Voc. (College Credit) and also Postsecondary Adult Vocational (Voc. Credit). Since these are BAS degrees, it should technically be possible to ladder from the Diploma to Associates and finish with the Bachelors. I mean, it's interesting to get 'two diplomas' along with the Associates and Bachelors...