Please help - getting a BA in Criminal Justice

[snowwhite88]

Hello,

I've been lurking around the forum for a while now and I'm really glad I found this forum because it is so inspiring. I never dreamed of getting my Bachelor's degree because I know I could never afford to go to a four year university but after hearing about the Big 3, I feel that there is hope for me.

I didn't want to start taking CLEP and DSST tests until later this year when I join the military but after talking to my recruiter yesterday, it looks like I cannot leave for basic training until October because the job that I wanted is closed for enlistment right now since they have more than enough enlistees for this fiscal year. And when I leave in October, it will take me almost two years before I can actually take any classes because I am going to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey for a year and three months and after that I have AIT for 5 months and I cannot take any classes, not even online classes, while there...

So after thinking about it, I want to get my BA in Criminal Justice before October so I when I enlist, I don't have to worry about finishing college and I can focus 100% on my training. However, I am really confused on where to start. I looked the BA in Criminal Justice at all the Big 3 schools and to me, it looks like Thomas Edison State College is the best way to go because it's the only college that will accept FEMA credits raw.

Here are some credits that I took from several local community colleges:

[B]
ANTH 200 Cultural Anthropology 3 .00 C
POLS 130 Intro American Politics 3 .00 A
PSY 100 Survey of Psychology 3 .00 C
ENG 22 Intro to Expository Writing 3 .00 A
FAMR 100A Personal & Professional Dev 1 .00 B
ICS 100 Computing Literacy & Appls 3 .00 A
MATH 20B Foundation Math 1 .00 CR
MATH 20C Foundation Math 1 .00 CR
MATH 20D Foundation Math 1 .00 CR
ENG 100 Composition I 3 .00 A
ICS 102 Intro to Internet Resources 3 .00 A
MATH 24 Elementary Algebra I 3 .00 C
FAMR 230 Human Development 3 .00 C
PHRM 203 Gen Pharmacology 3 .00 C
TAG 102 Elementary Tagalog/Fil II 4 .00 A


From The BackUp Training credited through North Idaho College:

The Backup - Community Policing, Cultural Diversity, Effective Courtroom Testimony, Preventing Misconduct
Law Enforcement Professionalism
LAWE 230 2 credits

The Backup - Civil Liabilities, High Impact Police Leadership, Tactics: Preventing & Responding to School Violence, Pursuit Decision Making, Report Writing
Career Enhancement
LAWE 232 3 credits

The Backup - Crash Investigations, DUI, Elderly Abuse and EDP, Gang Training, Use of Force
Basic Law Enforcement Issues
LAWE 204 2 credits

I also took all the FEMA courses as well as two NFA courses, Self-Study Course for Community Safety Educators (Q118) and Emergency Response to Terrorism (Q534).

I completed these courses at Docnet: Intelligence Support to Joint Operations, Logistics Support, Homeland Security, and Joint Warfare
but when I called TESC, the woman I talked to said I have to get a transcript from ACE but since I cannot find Docnet on the Ace website I guess I can't use them at TESC.

Courses that I am taking now (which will end in May):

LING 102 WI-Intro to Study of Language 3 .00
SPAN 101 Elem Span I 3 .00
CHIN 1100 Beginning Mandarin I 4.000


I've looked at TESC's BA in Criminal Justice Credit Distribution and now I have a lot of questions.. I don't know which TESC will credit and what CLEP and DSST to take. :confused:


1. For the English Composition requirement, I do not think they will take the ENG 22 Intro to Expository Writing that I have taken from a local CC because the course number is below 100 so which CLEP or DSST exam should I take to fulfill this requirement?

2. I am very slow in Math and I cannot take College Algebra at a local community college here without taking Elementary Algebra II first.. I have read about the Penn Foster Technical Math 1 class, is that course sufficient enough to satisfy the Math requirement at TESC?

3. Will the courses ICS 100 Computing Literacy & Appls, ICS 102 Intro to Internet Resources, and PHRM 203 Gen Pharmacology, fulfill the requirement for the "Other natural sciences/mathematics" area?

4. What subjects do I need for the 15 credits in General Education Electives?

5. For the Areas of Study in Criminal Justice, there are no exams for these right? So I must take the online courses from them?

6. For the Criminal Justice Electives, besides Introduction to Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, what other DSST or CLEP exams I can take?

7. And finally, can the FEMA courses be used to fulfill all of the required 27 credits for the Free Electives?

Last question, since I do not have a high GPA, will this affect me later on in getting a Master's degree?

Please if someone can guide me in the right direction on what CLEP and DSST exams to take I would really appreciate it. I cannot talk to an academic adviser at TESC because I do not have $2,300 for the enrollment fee right now. It might take until summer before I can have that kind of cash and I want to start studying and taking exams now. Thank you so much for anyone who can answer my questions.

[larry7crys]

1. For the English Composition requirement, I do not think they will take the ENG 22 Intro to Expository Writing that I have taken from a local CC because the course number is below 100 so which CLEP or DSST exam should I take to fulfill this requirement?

2. I am very slow in Math and I cannot take College Algebra at a local community college here without taking Elementary Algebra II first.. I have read about the Penn Foster Technical Math 1 class, is that course sufficient enough to satisfy the Math requirement at TESC?

3. Will the courses ICS 100 Computing Literacy & Appls, ICS 102 Intro to Internet Resources, and PHRM 203 Gen Pharmacology, fulfill the requirement for the "Other natural sciences/mathematics" area?

4. What subjects do I need for the 15 credits in General Education Electives?

5. For the Areas of Study in Criminal Justice, there are no exams for these right? So I must take the online courses from them?

6. For the Criminal Justice Electives, besides Introduction to Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, what other DSST or CLEP exams I can take?

7. And finally, can the FEMA courses be used to fulfill all of the required 27 credits for the Free Electives?

Last question, since I do not have a high GPA, will this affect me later on in getting a Master's degree?

Please if someone can guide me in the right direction on what CLEP and DSST exams to take I would really appreciate it. I cannot talk to an academic adviser at TESC because I do not have $2,300 for the enrollment fee right now. It might take until summer before I can have that kind of cash and I want to start studying and taking exams now. Thank you so much for anyone who can answer my questions.

Hi and welcome to the forum.
1. I don't know if TESC will take your previous course but you can CLEP it with English Composition with the Essay portion for all 6 credits.

2. Ask an advisor. Maybe your military training might cover it.

3. Possibly but you could take the Astronomy or Here's to your health DSST

4. Usually, your military training will cover all those credits. Otherwise, they will use the courses you listed as Gen Ed electives.

5. Maybe some DSSTs but you would have to take classes for the majority of them.

6. Not many. Ask an advisor though.

7. See answer to number 4. Otherwise, you could use FEMA credits but you would have to setup a credit bank (~$250) to actually use those credits.

8. It shouldn't. You should ask the college their requirements beforehand.

9. When you join the military, you only pay the application fee, not the enrollment/annual tuition fee, so ask if you can apply now and have all those fees waived. That's my advice to you but if they say no, wait until you are finished with your training. Don't expect to get stuff done until way after your training.

[cookderosa]

6. Not many. Ask an advisor though.

>>

There are 2 DSST exams- Criminal Justice (which I just took) and Intro. Law Enforcement. I am pretty sure both come into TESC at the 100 level, but probably inside the CJ major. There are a lot of CJ classes at TESC, and you would probably have to take them if you wanted that as your major. I took Gangs, and also Juvenile Delinquency at TESC.

Go for the major you want and can use in your career, but CJ isn't very "test friendly." I would suggest sending in your application ($75) and they will do an evaluation too. It tells you exactly what you need and where. You CAN easily test out of everything else between now and October so that only your CJ classes remain (or you can switch to Social Sciences or Liberal Studies) both of which are very test friendly. TESC does offer CJ tests, but they are expensive. No matter what- gen ed requirements are gen ed requirements. Just knock them out now- start next week! Don't wait! You can worry about classes or tests in your major once you get going, and you don't have to enroll in a college to take CLEP/DSST exams- they hold your exam score for 20 years!!!

[snowwhite88]

Thank you both for the reply! I think I will go ahead and send in my transcripts for evaluation so I know what subjects to take. How long does it take for them to evaluate your transcripts?

[HawkGuy]

What branch are you going into? If it's the Army, I can help answer a lot of your questions about military training credit and where it goes.

As far as FEMA credits go, they count toward the free elective area at TESC, not the Gen Ed electives. I fulfilled all of my free electives using FEMA credits, so there's at least one area you won't have to worry about.

Like Cookderosa said, start doing your Gen Ed's now. But watch out which tests you take. I took a few business ones, then switched majors, and they don't count towards anything but free electives in my new major. Just a heads up so you don't waste any money.

[originalbigjim]

you get college credit for military training, including boot camp. DLI usually counts for somewhere around 54 credits and trust me you will not have time to take any other classes online or whatever. They will let you take as many cleps and dantes exams as you want (as long as there is time for them). You have a while before you go, just look at what college you want to go to, find out their requirements and start plugging away, or wait until your in and do it for free. it is up to you.

[Runner4064]

Hello, my name is Brandon and I live in Monterey. You are absolutely going to love it. Shorts- year round! What is your target language?

In order to get excelsior to accept credits from FEMA you can convert them. (see other posts)

There are many options and many ways in which to get a degree quickly. If I can help you out go to the message forum and send me a private message w/ your email. I'll help however I can. Best of luck!

[entreelink]

98-Golf Korean here. Good luck!

[patsym]

Help guys,

Anyone did Law Enforcement recently? What areas should I focus on?
Studying, but want to hit the mark

[ShotoJuku]

I looked the BA in Criminal Justice at all the Big 3 schools and to me, it looks like Thomas Edison State College is the best way to go because it's the only college that will accept FEMA credits raw.

How about cost factors?