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Request for Advice: Credits I have and what degree I should go for at Excelsior
#1
I am a "newbie" on here.
I attended Northwestern University in Chicago but then I had to relocate to another state...never was able to get back in school once I started a new career path at present employer.
In my 40s and employer is pushing I obtain a degree if I want to be promoted.
Present employer does offer tuition reimbursement if it is in line with what I do now- Business Data Analyst using SAS/SQL, if that helps to know.
But if I pay myself, I can pursue whatever I please.

COURSES I have completed at Northwestern University to major in Leadership & Organizational Behavior:
  • English 110 Writing Seminar I
  • English 111 Writing Seminar II
  • English 205 Intermediate Composition
  • English 206 Reading & Writing Poetry
  • Org Beh 301 Leadership Principles
  • Org Beh 307 Organization Behavior
  • Org Beh 311 Conflict Resolution
  • Comm 205 Theories of Persuasion
  • Phil 262 Ethical Problems & Public Issues

Thinking to start with Associates to get something done and then go after the Bachelor's.

QUESTIONS:
  1. Should I focus on completing an Associates degree or go straight to a Bachelor's?
  2. Based on courses I have completed, what degree program at Excelsior should I consider to get on the fast track to a degree in a year or less?
  3. What test providers (CLEP, UExcel, etc.) should I consider based on the program recommended?


Open to any suggestions and counsel regarding the surest and quickest route to a degree.

Thanks in advance.

beautifulpsalms
Newbie
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#2
There are only a few reasons to go for an Associate's while working on a Bachelor's:

1. An Associate's will fulfill an employment or personal goal. Will your boss promote you for getting an Associate's? If yes, then getting it first might move you along faster.
2. You think there's a chance you might not finish your Bachelor's promptly. Better the Associate's than nothing.
3. The Associate's practically falls into your lap as you go for the Bachelors. I recently got my BACS, and could have gotten an ASNSM in CS at the same time if I had done one more CS class. I didn't bother to do the extra class, but if I had planned to get the Associate's from the beginning, I might have arranged my courses so that I did earn it. It wasn't worth doing an extra course and delaying graduation.

Given your job, I would think you could go for a BSBA in almost any concentration, although CIS might be more on point with what your doing now. You could also probably make a case for a straight-up IT degree or even a CS degree. Check with your HR to see which degrees would be OK for you to pursue. Also sound them out about what kinds of courses and tests they are willing to reimburse. Courses at Excelsior (and the the rest of the Big3) can be expensive and more importantly, take more time than a lot of the alternative credit sources popular around here. However, your company may not be willing to reimburse for the alternative sources since they are not "college courses". However, using them often makes the cost so reasonable that working people can afford to simply pay out of pocket as they go.

The BSBA degree has many more test-out and alternative credit options available than IT or CS does. There are other folks on here who can walk you through specific course recommendations for that better than I could. Let us know which degree options float your boat.
NanoDegree: Intro to Self-Driving Cars (2019)
Coursera: Stanford Machine Learning (2019)
TESU: BA in Comp Sci (2016)
TECEP:Env Ethics (2015); TESU PLA:Software Eng, Computer Arch, C++, Advanced C++, Data Struct (2015); TESU Courses:Capstone, Database Mngmnt Sys, Op Sys, Artificial Intel, Discrete Math, Intro to Portfolio Dev, Intro PLA (2014-16); DSST:Anthro, Pers Fin, Astronomy (2014); CLEP:Intro to Soc (2014); Saylor.org:Intro to Computers (2014); CC: 69 units (1980-88)

PLA Tips Thread - TESU: What is in a Portfolio?
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#3
Dovetailing on Davewill's comment above regarding an associate degree: Really, if your employer is picking up the tab, the most important question is whether they would like you to have an associate degree.

Also, do you have any IT certs? Excelsior and Charter Oak are better about accepting them than TESU.

Is your employer only willing to pay for Excelsior, or would any of the Big 3 work for them?
BA, MA, EdS, MMT, etc.
83 hours of ACE-worthy credits
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#4
Why Excelsior in particular, especially with that expensive 6cr capstone course for a Business degree??

Are you willing to look at any of the other Big 3 schools? How about a competency-based programs like WGU? They have a better deal for an IT degree, if you're interested in that. They accept ACE-credit just like the Big 3, and are also a SL partner school. It might be a better fit, and cheaper and faster than EC.

TESU's BSBA will be the fastest, since you can test out of the capstone course, but your company may balk at the $2,000 residency waiver. They accept the most courses as UL, and only require 12cr of UL which is a huge bonus. The downside is that they accept the fewest certs and kind of random credits, but you don't have that problem with the courses you've taken.

COSC's BSBA is a good deal, and close to the same price as TESU. You will have to take the Cornerstone and Capstone there though (online) which will take more time than TESU.

EC is the most expensive, and has the 6cr capstone, which for me would be a deal-breaker. You may be able to get a good deal through POAG when you enroll (Peace Officer's Assoc of GA, only $25 to become an associate member, but you have to become a member, and tell EC when you enroll). This would be my very last choice of the 3.

WGU has both a BSBA (with several concentrations available), several IT degrees, and probably most applicable to you, a BS in Data Management/Data Analytics.

I would check out all 4 schools before you committed to EC.
TESU BSBA/HR 2018 - WVNCC BOG AAS 2017 - GGU Cert in Mgmt 2000
EXAMS: TECEP Tech Wrtg, Comp II, LA Math, PR, Computers  DSST Computers, Pers Fin  CLEP Mgmt, Mktg
COURSES: TESU Capstone  Study.com Pers Fin, Microecon, Stats  Ed4Credit Acct 2  PF Fin Mgmt  ALEKS Int & Coll Alg  Sophia Proj Mgmt The Institutes - Ins Ethics  Kaplan PLA
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#5
Read Kay V,

More on Partner Pricing:
Excelsior has a few partnership programs that lead to big discounts on tuition and fees. Two favorites here are from Straighterline and from the Peace Officers Association of Georgia. Since you don't need Straighterline classes, POAG is the clear choice.

First, join POAG as an associate member for $25/ year.
Join The POAG | Peace Officers Association of Georgia

When you are ready to enroll, you MUST mention that you are a member of POAG and would like partnership pricing (they have no way to know otherwise). Here is more info from Excelsior.
Excelsior College | Peace Officers Association of Georgia

Here is a ballpark of the total cost of tuition and fees from Excelsior. It is much cheaper not to take the 12 hours of Excelsior classes they mention and just take the Capstone instead.
Taking just a 3-hour Capstone

$0 to apply
$1095 Multi-Source enrollment fee
$1230 = $410 x 3 hours tuition
$450 graduation fee
Total $2775

http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...how-i.html
Non-Traditional Undergraduate College Credits (634 SH): *FTCC Noncourse Credits (156 SH) *DSST (78 SH) *CPL (64 SH) *JST Military/ACE (48 SH) *CBA (44 SH) *CLEP (42 SH) *FEMA IS (40 SH) *FEMA EM (38 SH) *ECE/UExcel (30 SH) *PLA Portfolio (28 SH) *EMI/ACE (19 SH) *TEEX/ACE (16 SH) *CWE (11 SH) *NFA/ACE (10 SH) *Kaplan/ACE (3 SH) *CPC (2 SH) *AICP/ACE (2 SH) *Sophia/ACE (2 SH) and *FRTI-UM/ACE (1 SH).
Non-Traditional Graduate College Credits (14 SH): AMU (6 SH); NFHS (5 SH); and JSU (3 SH).
 





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#6
Life Long Learning Wrote:$0 to apply
$1095 Multi-Source enrollment fee
$1230 = $410 x 3 hours tuition
$450 graduation fee
Total $2775

http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...how-i.html

Keep in mind that these are just the EC fees, and doesn't include the cost of courses/exams that you will need to take (other than the capstone).

TESU's fees are $2512 including the capstone exam.

COSC's fees are $2767 including the capstone and cornerstone (both required to be taken online at COSC).

So, they are all similar.
TESU BSBA/HR 2018 - WVNCC BOG AAS 2017 - GGU Cert in Mgmt 2000
EXAMS: TECEP Tech Wrtg, Comp II, LA Math, PR, Computers  DSST Computers, Pers Fin  CLEP Mgmt, Mktg
COURSES: TESU Capstone  Study.com Pers Fin, Microecon, Stats  Ed4Credit Acct 2  PF Fin Mgmt  ALEKS Int & Coll Alg  Sophia Proj Mgmt The Institutes - Ins Ethics  Kaplan PLA
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#7
I guess the EC BSBA capstone was changed to 3cr, so my pricing was wrong on that.

Here is a spreadsheet that shows the TESU BSBA in HR, which I think would be a better fit for you than the BSBA in General Management. The UL courses you took in leadership, conflict res, persuasion, and OB, all may fit perfectly into the HR degree, rather than the GM.

If you wanted to switch to GM instead, that's easy enough.


Attached Files
.xlsx   Less than 1 minute ago">beautifulpsalms TESU 2016 BSBA HR.xlsx (Size: 44.32 KB / Downloads: 4)
TESU BSBA/HR 2018 - WVNCC BOG AAS 2017 - GGU Cert in Mgmt 2000
EXAMS: TECEP Tech Wrtg, Comp II, LA Math, PR, Computers  DSST Computers, Pers Fin  CLEP Mgmt, Mktg
COURSES: TESU Capstone  Study.com Pers Fin, Microecon, Stats  Ed4Credit Acct 2  PF Fin Mgmt  ALEKS Int & Coll Alg  Sophia Proj Mgmt The Institutes - Ins Ethics  Kaplan PLA
[-] The following 1 user Likes dfrecore's post:
  • beautifulpsalms
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#8
Excelsior - $2800 (2775 + 25 POAG)
COSC - $2767
TESU - $2512

Every little bit counts, haha. TESU is the clear winner here for the BSBA. Even though the baseline is similar, when you start factoring in the harder to find, more expensive upper level courses that EC and COSC require and TESU doesn't, it's a no brainer.

Different areas of study will have different results, but there's no question with BSBA.
Northwestern California University School of Law
JD Law, 2027 (in progress, currently 2L)

Georgia Tech
MS Cybersecurity (Policy), 2021

Thomas Edison State University
BA Computer Science, 2023
BA Psychology, 2016
AS Business Administration, 2023
Certificate in Operations Management, 2023
Certificate in Computer Information Systems, 2023

Western Governors University
BS IT Security, 2018

Chaffey College
AA Sociology, 2015

Accumulated Credit: Undergrad: 258.50 | Graduate: 32

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#9
jsd Wrote:Excelsior - $2800 (2775 + 25 POAG)
COSC - $2767
TESU - $2512

Every little bit counts, haha. TESU is the clear winner here for the BSBA. Even though the baseline is similar, when you start factoring in the harder to find, more expensive upper level courses that EC and COSC require and TESU doesn't, it's a no brainer.

Different areas of study will have different results, but there's no question with BSBA.

It does depend on what credits you're bringing in though. For someone starting from scratch, I would say TESU. For someone who has IT certs, you should definitely go with COSC or EC. For someone with a lot of "random" credits that won't fit into the BSBA (which is not flexible), again COSC and EC might be a better bet.

It also depends on if you're in a time-crunch. For TESU, the ability to take the capstone as an exam is huge. COSC would be my last choice in this instance, as you have to take the cornerstone AND the capstone online.

Also, TESU wins for being the most ACE-friendly - they bring in a LOT more courses as UL than COSC & EC, and require fewer UL credits (12 or 15 depending on degree), while COSC & EC require 30.

So, it really just depends on your personal situation as to what will be better for you.
TESU BSBA/HR 2018 - WVNCC BOG AAS 2017 - GGU Cert in Mgmt 2000
EXAMS: TECEP Tech Wrtg, Comp II, LA Math, PR, Computers  DSST Computers, Pers Fin  CLEP Mgmt, Mktg
COURSES: TESU Capstone  Study.com Pers Fin, Microecon, Stats  Ed4Credit Acct 2  PF Fin Mgmt  ALEKS Int & Coll Alg  Sophia Proj Mgmt The Institutes - Ins Ethics  Kaplan PLA
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#10
+1 on this. The $$ is the same. Apply to all three as they are not the same in anyone's case!

dfrecore Wrote:So, it really just depends on your personal situation as to what will be better for you.
Non-Traditional Undergraduate College Credits (634 SH): *FTCC Noncourse Credits (156 SH) *DSST (78 SH) *CPL (64 SH) *JST Military/ACE (48 SH) *CBA (44 SH) *CLEP (42 SH) *FEMA IS (40 SH) *FEMA EM (38 SH) *ECE/UExcel (30 SH) *PLA Portfolio (28 SH) *EMI/ACE (19 SH) *TEEX/ACE (16 SH) *CWE (11 SH) *NFA/ACE (10 SH) *Kaplan/ACE (3 SH) *CPC (2 SH) *AICP/ACE (2 SH) *Sophia/ACE (2 SH) and *FRTI-UM/ACE (1 SH).
Non-Traditional Graduate College Credits (14 SH): AMU (6 SH); NFHS (5 SH); and JSU (3 SH).
 





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