Paramedic degree?

[defscarlett]

What would the best option be for a degree at one of the Big 3 with someone with a handful of free elective military credits and a Paramedic Certification in Texas. Certification was taken at a trade school and not a RA/NA school.

[rebel100]

Charter Oak took all my EMT and medic courses, though they were from a CC.

I think EC and TESC recognize the NREMT-P for 20 to 30 credit hours, been a long time since I looked. St. Petersburg college in Tampa Fl. Has an online paramedic focused BS (pretty rare degree track), but I suspect the out of state costs will be high. They would take 45 hours if clep, and allow another 45 to be brought in....so you could bring the costs down that way theoretically..... I know its not what you asked about, but so unique I thought I'd throw it out there.

[rebel100]

http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...homas.html

Old info on the topic here.

[Gaz]

I know that right now it feels good to have a handful of credits and you want to get the most out of what you have, but once you start testing and earning other credits you will feel less bound to the handful that got you started.

The best option for a degree at one of the Big 3 is different for everyone. Your personal strength and weakness, interest, cost, best degree fit for your goals, etc. I wouldn't let a few credits guide you. Even in an unrealistic scenario where they deny all of your credits, a month with Straighterline and you are right back with a handful of credits.

Having said that, Coastline Community College has "roadmaps" toward AA degrees based on your NEC, MOS, etc.. They are very liberal with military credit. Their residency requirement is 12 semester hours; the courses are 8 weeks long.

[GoodYellowDogs]

Excelsior might take your Paramedic courses as Applied Professional.

[defscarlett]

I haven't been able to find anything off of any of their websites as far as acceptance. The only thing I've found is what they would give for their respective in-state certifications which might apply to out of state programs. The person who this is for isn't particularly interested in a degree, but thought it would be nice if they would be able to get one without too much effort.

[rebel100]

Honestly, the medic amounts to less than 30 credits. while I think it's a good bet that any of the Big 3 will transcribe the credit once the proficiency is demonstrated, I don't think the amount moves the needle enough for your purposes. There will still need to be 18-30 UL plus gen eds (which your guy/gal may not have since this sounds like a career type school), and then there are the remaining electives.

Get a list of their credits and I will take a closer look (as will many , of course)

[Gaz]

Earning a degree "without too much effort" is completely subjective. Each time I passed a CLEP or DSST I would think about all the people that just spent 16 weeks taking the course. They showed up two nights a week after work, handed in multiple assignments, took quizzes, a midterm, and final. I read a study guide and took an $80 exam that lasted less than an hour and walked away with the same credits at the same school.

There is no way around credit distribution requirements. Not too many degrees are heavily weighted with free electives. At a certain point the amount of free elective credit awarded for training is moot. A BA in Liberal Studies at TESC allows for 27 free electives. The remaining 93 need to be in specific subjects. For the purpose of illustration, imagine that the school awarded 120 credits for a paramedic license you would still need to complete the other degree requirements (93 credits). Though, sometimes credit awarded for training also meets specific degree requirements.

[defscarlett]

She's aware she would need to take all the Gen Eds, just not wanting to take too many in the area of study.

Certified as NREMT-P, and 14 credits that would fall into free electives from the Army (74d MOS). Visual Communications from Sophia for 3cr free electives

[rebel100]

She's aware she would need to take all the Gen Eds, just not wanting to take too many in the area of study.

Certified as NREMT-P, and 14 credits that would fall into free electives from the Army (74d MOS). Visual Communications from Sophia for 3cr free electives

AA/AS from COSC would just be the gen eds and any FEMA needed to round out the 60 credits required.

I put the following together for a friend some time ago, should be pretty close:





Charter Oak State College AS Degree (2 year pre-bachelors) CLEP/DSST Plan

Literature and Fine Arts (a) (3cr): Analyzing and Interpreting Literature CLEP (6cr)

Social/Behavioral Science (b) (3cr): Criminal Justice DSST (3cr) or Psychology CLEP (3cr)

Ethics (d) (3cr): Ethics in America DSST (3cr) Saylor BUS205 Business Ethics/law may work (3cr)

Information Literacy (y) (1-3cr): COSC proficiency test will satisfy for free

Communication (6cr and 3cr): College Composition CLEP (credit for English 1 and 2 for 6cr) and DSST Public Speaking (3 cr) note two separate tests here!...you can probably get the speech requirement waived if you can demonstrate any history of public speaking or teaching.

US Gov (u) (3cr): US Government CLEP (3cr)

Non US History/Culture (n) (3cr):
Global Understanding (g) (3): DSST Human Cultural Geography (3cr) Satisfies BOTH

Mathematics (q) (3cr): College Math Clep (6cr) or Straighterline College Algebra (3cr) or ALEKS College Algebra (3cr) if ALEKS doesn’t look like it will work just do the Straighterline option to complete this.

Natural Science (s) (7 cr): CLEP Biology or Chemistry, DSST Natural History, DSST Astronomy, CC Science with Lab, Straighterline Science with Lab. Straighterline is an excellent choice for this requirement…likely the least painful way! Perhaps College Biology with a lab for non-majors? Local CC is a great source for this one as well. You must complete two courses in science; one of those must be a science course with a lab. Saylor.org has a couple of options that might be doable, at least they would be cheap.

Using the above you would roughly have about 31 credits via CLEP,DSST, Saylor, or Straighterline,. Another 30 or so credits would be completed via FEMA IS courses for FREE. Saylor also has several cheap courses (less than $30) that can be applied to the degree…this are preferable, perhaps, to FEMA as they offer more utility in your bachelors later on.

Rough Cost:
8 CLEP/DSST Exams @ $100 each = $800
2 Straighterline Courses approx. $180 (if finished in 30 days, Math/Science requirements)
COSC Matriculation/Graduation Fee’s, and the cost of the Cornerstone Course (3cr) roughly $1200
TOTAL = $2180

Online College Courses For Credits Towards Your Degree | StraighterLine
Credit Aligned Courses | Saylor Academy
Free Clep Prep.com
Emergency Management Institute - Independent Study (IS) | Course List
ACE Credit Courses

With the above completed you would be halfway to a Bachelors degree. We can then re-assess where we are and where you wish to go.