Transferring from community college to an online Bachelor's program

[daydream]

Hi all. A few years ago, I was in community college and acquired a two year certificate in accounting. My initial goal was to transfer to a state school and acquire a bachelor's in the same major, but it turned out that the advising I received wasn't that great and barely any of my classes transfer to state universities here. If I went to a state school, I'd have to basically start over from scratch. Not what I anticipated, but that's just how things turned out. I took some more general education classes for fun and now I have around 120 credits on a quarter system through community college classes and CLEP exams. 

My priorities have changed since community college and I'm seriously considering going to an online school to study business administration. I'm hoping that I could utilize something like Sophia and/or study.com as part of my degree plan, but I'm unsure if any of the schools I'm considering limit total credits acquired or if that only applies to credits from community college. I enjoyed being able to study independently for the CLEP exams that I took and would like to acquire the majority of my credits needed through testing.

UMPI, TESU, and COSC are the main schools that I'm looking at for business administration. I'd appreciate any advice about credit transfers, degree planning, and how that process all works. I emailed TESU about their policy surrounding Sophia and community college credit, but I haven't heard anything back from them. My end goal (for now) is to acquire my bachelor's degree and TEFL certificate, so that I can teach English and hopefully find more work opportunities abroad.

Location: WA
Age: 25
Desired Degree: Business Administration Bachelor Degree
Current Regional Accredited Credits: Around 110 on a quarter system (Approx ~73 semester)
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 10 (from CLEP) - Equivalent to ~6 semester credits)
Certifications/Military Experience: None
Budget: under $10,000... Ideally under $5,000
Commitments: Currently have a full time job

[wow]

UMPI - You need to take at least 30 credits at UMPI.

TESU - You need to take a Capstone course there and possibly the Cornerstone (they waive the cornerstone if you have a previous bachelor's; i'm not sure if they waive it for previous associate's). You have to have at least 30 credits total (incl. the required TEST courses) from an accredited college or university, and it sounds like you have met that requirement.

COSC - I know nothing.

So UMPI and TESU are both doable and will likely accept many of your credits. For more specific guidance, we'll need to know what classes you've taken, or you can consult sample TESU degree plans here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ca...gree_Plans

[natshar]

Another option would be WGU.

[bjcheung77]

In addition to what was mentioned above, you've skipped a few lines of the addendum and template. It may seem trivial with bits of information, but those little pieces of info will help tremendously. I would recommend investigating the ones already listed... UMPI/WGU for competency based options, TESU/Excelsior for max transfer of 114 and 113 credits, if you want to expand on that, there are other institutions that are CBE that I really like as well... For missing general education, electives, or for your major/minor, you may want to investigate taking Study.com classes for those that can't be offered anywhere else.

[daydream]

In addition to what was mentioned above, you've skipped a few lines of the addendum and template. It may seem trivial with bits of information, but those little pieces of info will help tremendously.

Sorry about that. Didn't know there were more lines.

Your Location: WA, USA
What kind of degree do you want?: Bachelors in Accounting, Finance, or Business administration

LWTech Total Credits from my AA: ~94 (equivalent to ~62 on semester system) quarter credits plus some elective lab science and social sciences credit from other CCs in WA
https://catalog.lwtech.edu/preview_progr...turnto=570
See above for the classes that I had to take for my AA program. Grades were excellent. Program itself placed a lot of emphasis on business technology classes which may or may not transfer.

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 10 quarter credits from psychology and sociology CLEPs

Dedicated time to study: Plenty. I enjoy studying so I don't mind if it takes up all of my free time.
Timeline: Ideally under 1-2 years
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Eligible for Pell Grant

[davewill]

The choice between UMPI and TESU boils down to what you care about the most. If you care about cost the most, UMPI will be cheapest and possibly the fastest by calendar time. You will have to take 30 credits from them, but their courses are self-paced and might suit your idea of self-study.

If you care the most about taking as many courses as possible via alt-credit, TESU will let allow you to transfer everything in except the cornerstone and capstone. The cost difference is substantial, although TESU is still a bargain compared to most butt-in-seat schools.

Note: many members of the forum have opined that taking 30 credits at UMPI requires about the same amount of writing as the TESU capstone by itself, if that is a factor for you. I will also note that UMPI is cheaper if you are able to work through the courses quickly. If your study time is limited such that it would take you 4 or more UMPI sessions to finish, then TESU might be more to your liking.

[origamishuttle]

Note: many members of the forum have opined that taking 30 credits at UMPI requires about the same amount of writing as the TESU capstone by itself, if that is a factor for you.

TESU was much more writing for me, and it took longer. However, maybe don't go by me because I completed my UMPI degree before the switch to Brightspace, when there were still exam finals for a lot of courses. But then again, yeah, the TESU liberal arts capstone is a lot of writing.

[daydream]

The choice between UMPI and TESU boils down to what you care about the most. If you care about cost the most, UMPI will be cheapest and possibly the fastest by calendar time. You will have to take 30 credits from them, but their courses are self-paced and might suit your idea of self-study.

If you care the most about taking as many courses as possible via alt-credit, TESU will let allow you to transfer everything in except the cornerstone and capstone. The cost difference is substantial, although TESU is still a bargain compared to most butt-in-seat schools.

Note: many members of the forum have opined that taking 30 credits at UMPI requires about the same amount of writing as the TESU capstone by itself, if that is a factor for you. I will also note that UMPI is cheaper if you are able to work through the courses quickly. If your study time is limited such that it would take you 4 or more UMPI sessions to finish, then TESU might be more to your liking.

Sorry it took me forever to respond. I've been preoccupied with a new side project as of late. Bill C-3 passed a month after I made my initial post, which opened up a lot of opportunities to immigrate outside the US. Much of my free time has been consumed by acquiring documentation, attending genealogical society meetings, reaching out to distant cousins, and so on. It's been an interesting journey. YMS and IEC visas will be an option for me after obtaining my Canadian passport. I might start up a Citizenship by Descent wiki like the Degreeforum one.

Given my existing credits, do you know if TESU or UMPI offers more flexibility in terms of major options? Also, how much does a credit evaluation cost? I would be open to pursuing an online general studies degree here and then enrolling in an MLIS program after moving to Canada. I think pursuing archival work would be a very satisfying career path. Due to costs alone, getting an MLIS within the US is not an option. Grad school always seemed like a pipe dream, but it's surprisingly affordable in Canada as opposed to the US. 

My sole focus and rationale for majoring in accounting was driven by income. Accounting is not my passion, but I wanted to get the most out of my degree. Ironically, I work as a delivery driver. I shouldn't apply the sunk cost fallacy to my education any longer. 

[SteveFoerster]

Sorry it took me forever to respond. I've been preoccupied with a new side project as of late. Bill C-3 passed a month after I made my initial post, which opened up a lot of opportunities to immigrate outside the US. Much of my free time has been consumed by acquiring documentation, attending genealogical society meetings, reaching out to distant cousins, and so on. It's been an interesting journey. YMS and IEC visas will be an option for me after obtaining my Canadian passport.

At the risk of being a thread hijacker, I've been told that it's likely I qualify for Canadian citizenship by descent and would love to know more. Can you recommend resources?

I might start up a Citizenship by Descent wiki like the Degreeforum one.

I've used https://www.proboards.com and it works and is free.

Edit: Oh, you said wiki, not forum. Never mind!

[daydream]

Sorry it took me forever to respond. I've been preoccupied with a new side project as of late. Bill C-3 passed a month after I made my initial post, which opened up a lot of opportunities to immigrate outside the US. Much of my free time has been consumed by acquiring documentation, attending genealogical society meetings, reaching out to distant cousins, and so on. It's been an interesting journey. YMS and IEC visas will be an option for me after obtaining my Canadian passport.

At the risk of being a thread hijacker, I've been told that it's likely I qualify for Canadian citizenship by descent and would love to know more. Can you recommend resources?

I might start up a Citizenship by Descent wiki like the Degreeforum one.

I've used https://www.proboards.com and it works and is free.

Edit: Oh, you said wiki, not forum. Never mind!

Hi Steve! In respect to Canadian citizenship, I would be glad to help out. Do you have a biological and legal ancestor that was born in Canada? Also, when were they born and what province were they from? That will help me pinpoint what archives you should refer to.
As for the process of applying for your citizenship certificate, I would start here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCljXgIC...Z5w/videos
It's important to obtain birth (or baptismal) certificates for everyone in your line. The IRCC will accept other documents if you're able to prove that you can't obtain birth and/or baptismal certificates. A letter of explanation is necessary in these instances. If you are new to genealogical research, I would recommend checking out the books Long-Distance Genealogy and Finding Your Canadian Ancestors.
I have heard of some people applying for Canadian citizenship via an ancestor that naturalized post-1947, but it's far more common to apply based on birth. If you have multiple ancestors that were born in Canada (like me), I would document whatever line has the strongest information available.
On a similar note, I am going to start a remote Zoom group for Section 5(3) and Bill C-3 cases soon. It comes down to when my local genealogical society approves of it. Obtaining documentation can be a very lengthy process, so I recommend getting started on it ASAP.