TESU to finish my bach in Crim Jus QUES about PLA?

[dice146]

Question for all. My eval just finished. I have an AA from back in day. All those credits (64)transferred. I've been a police officer in NJ for 20+ yrs now. Some other credits came as well.

W/ this PLA thing....... How many classes would they let me get credit for in Criminal Justice? The website says "no limit".

I've been a certified police instructor in NJ. Can easily teach some of the courses like Criminal Law, Motor vehicle Law, Reporting writing, Hostage Negotiations, and others...........

If I took this P.L.A. do you guys think I could get credits for those type of classes (lets say I ask for 6 classes -18 credits) as long as I prove my knowledge in the fields?

That's how I read it. Wondering what you other professionals think? OR Is it worth it or just take CLEP, TECEP or DSST tests in other stuff that would take less time?

Thoughts??? Thanks

[bjcheung77]

Please view the Beginners Guide and Wiki as well. There's a few items and I think there's a CJ degree plan also.

That's a very very good question! As you only have 64 credits, you would need roughly 60 more for the degree.
Your best usage for PLA is for the courses NOT readily available, which is exactly what you mentioned, the AOS (Area of Study).

Check out this webpage for the degree requirements: Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice at Thomas Edison State University

Create a spreadsheet (or modify one of dfrecore's), verify what you already have and list what's needed.
For the easily available courses, find the cheapest/easiest/fastest ones from Davar, Saylor/Straighterline/Study.com

[Ideas]

I believe TESU will give you a bunch of credit for having police training:
The Office for Assessment of Professional and Workplace Learning

Then hopefully what you need is only electives. Electives are cheap and quick to test out of.

If there's a specific course requirement you need, then PLA may be the way to go. There aren't many exams that are going to cover the types of stuff you know.

[Ideas]

PLA can take a lot of effort and time and money, so only do it if you need a specific course that you can't easily take.

[dice146]

I know I have GEN requirements to fulfill......... I'm asking about the PLA area only as it pertains to my area in Crim Just.. Don't worry, about Math, Eng Hist, Science, I got all those electives and things covered.

Just asking about a professional field that someone ALREADY has knowledge about. Lets say someone has been doing Accounting for 20+ yrs and can prove their knowledge. You know the field.

[sanantone]

There's no need to PLA some of these credits if you've completed the basic police officer course.

The Office for Assessment of Professional and Workplace Learning

[dice146]

I graduated from my academy in summer of 1996. To get all the police academy credits they listed dates from 2000- to current ONLY. They accepted 3 of my basic classes (9 credits). That's why I'm asking about PLA and if it's WORTH the time. I have a scheduled appt with an advisor friday and I'm hoping to argue for a few more credits (2-4 classes) at least.

[sanantone]

Then, you might want to ask Excelsior and COSC how many credits they will give you before going the PLA route. Todd Siben can be very difficult to work with. It depends on whether or not he's on his medications if he's going to tell you that there is someone capable of evaluating your portfolio.

[davewill]

It actually sounds like you'd be a good candidate for PLA. See my sig for the PLA tips thread. Look in the Thomas Edison State University | Prior Learning Assessment Course Description Database for courses that you could challenge. If you don't find them there, don't give up as you can use courses from other schools as challenge courses as well.

[dfrecore]

I graduated from my academy in summer of 1996. To get all the police academy credits they listed dates from 2000- to current ONLY. They accepted 3 of my basic classes (9 credits). That's why I'm asking about PLA and if it's WORTH the time. I have a scheduled appt with an advisor friday and I'm hoping to argue for a few more credits (2-4 classes) at least.

The price for PLA's is certainly right at TESU - it's a matter of whether or not they will force you to take PLA-100 and PLA-200 first, or how they'll handle it. Some people have had very good luck with PLA's and gotten lots of credit. But if you come across a difficult advisor at TESU, they will not make it easy to even figure out if it's worth you time or not. Unfortunately, although the degrees are great, the customer service is NOT.

Definitely check with EC and COSC though. They are both supposed to have better customer service than TESU, and they're both usually better about accepting certs and other things that TESU won't.