We Have Moved on From the Basic “Big 3” Colleges and Now Have CBE Big 3 and Others

[SophiaPrincess]

I love the flexibility of Sophia and am torn between UMPI and UC. Any suggestions?

Which programs (major, minor, concentration) are you looking at?

A YourPace bachelor's in business at UMPI vs a BAS in business management at the University of the Cumberlands. UC has agreed to take 90 credit hours of Sophia transfer credit. Uncertain how UMPI treats Sophia courses. I applied at each of the Big 3. Excelsior and TESU accepted seventy something credits. COSC only forty something credits. I can't even apply to UMPI for several months at UMPI because I am not yet 20.

[ss20ts]

UMPI's degree is actually a BA in Business Administration with a Concentration. UMPI will accept as many credits as you want to transfer. You can transfer 244 credits. Only 90 will apply to your degree as you are required to complete a minimum of 30 credits at UMPI. This will be significantly faster than UC as they do not have a CBE program. Also, in UMPI's YourPace program, your tuition is $1500 for 1 8 week term. Many students have completed their degree in 1-2 terms at UMPI so it will be cheaper than UC and TESU as well.

[Jonathan Whatley]

A YourPace bachelor's in business at UMPI vs a BAS in business management at the University of the Cumberlands. UC has agreed to take 90 credit hours of Sophia transfer credit.

Are you excluding the UCumberlands BS in Business Administration? It's a more conventional degree title for what doesn't seem like a much heavier lift in coursework than their BAS BM.

[LevelUP]

UC has agreed to take 90 credit hours of Sophia transfer credit. Uncertain how UMPI treats Sophia courses.

Can you post a pdf/spreadsheet of what UC took as Sophia credit?

I don't see a Sophia or Study.com equivalency page.

[midnite123]

The Big 3 is still there due to the 113/114 possible credit transfers into COSC/Excelsior/TESU.  The main difference now vs then is the extra requirements each institution has added which make them less desirable (especially COSC, as there are 80%+ requirement for ACE, dropping NCCRS, change in Study.com UL equivalency options, etc).  Excelsior has made a few changes as well, main drawback now is the transfer of credits, each batch is $300 for each additional evaluation.  TESU is probably the best of the three at this time... for those who can complete competency based degrees, that is a very solid alternative for those who have the energy/experience/time...

How would you compare UMPI to TESU,
as far as ease in completing a BA?
THANKYOU!!

[ashkir]

The Big 3 is still there due to the 113/114 possible credit transfers into COSC/Excelsior/TESU.  The main difference now vs then is the extra requirements each institution has added which make them less desirable (especially COSC, as there are 80%+ requirement for ACE, dropping NCCRS, change in Study.com UL equivalency options, etc).  Excelsior has made a few changes as well, main drawback now is the transfer of credits, each batch is $300 for each additional evaluation.  TESU is probably the best of the three at this time... for those who can complete competency based degrees, that is a very solid alternative for those who have the energy/experience/time...

How would you compare UMPI to TESU,
as far as ease in completing a BA?
THANKYOU!!

TESU shines when you have 114 credits and many of them are from past colleges (not alternative sources like Sophia, Study, etc) or they have a degree you want and UMPI doesn't offer it. If you're starting with nothing or just a few college credits, UMPI lets you quickly outpace TESU.

[bjcheung77]

How would you compare UMPI to TESU,
as far as ease in completing a BA?
THANKYOU!!

BA, BABA, BLS @ UMPI 30 credits minimum, 2 sessions or 3 max by taking say 5/session, you'll need 3 sessions for a total of $4500.
If you're fast, you can probably finish in 2 sessions for just $3K, depending on the degree, as BA/BABA may require more classes.

BA @ TESU is 15 credits for residency, take cornerstone/capstone, PLA-1010, two easy e-packs, total $4299.
Option to change to a double degree for the same price, change the PLA-1010 or e-pack to the second capstone.

[striker321]

@LevelUP Thanks for posting this. I am new to this forum — and new to hacking my education. This is informative.

[bjcheung77]

@LevelUP Thanks for posting this. I am new to this forum — and new to hacking my education. This is informative.

Take your time reading the forum messages and the WIKI, there are plenty of informative pages and posts to go through, especially helpful if you do a search as well.

[LevelUP]

Added: 
Liberty University Online
University of the People

All these colleges have unique things they are good at.

For example

• If you are from Texas and want a basic major and a cheap degree, then TAMUC is a good choice.
  
• If you want to major in Graphic Design, then SNHU is a good choice.
  
• You're an international student and want a cheap IT degree, then PUG is a good choice.
  

and so on...