Which bachelor's at TESC?

[RA808]

So, I'm rapidly approaching the 60 credits needed for the AA General Studies at TESC.

My next goal will be finishing a bachelor's sometime in late 2013/early 2014. What I might do is wait until I've collected, say, 90 credits, pay my tuition to get my AA degree, and then attempt to finish the bachelor's within that year so I only pay tuition once for 2 degrees. That is possible, right?

I work in marketing/advertising, so I would love something relavent to my field. That said, it seems like some of the degrees require a decent number of actual classes. Unfortunately, that might be a deal-breaker for me as my time is very limited and my test-taking and self-study ability is high enough that testing out has been super efficient for me.

My top choices would be BA in Communications, or BSBA in Marketing.

How much of these majors can be "tested out" and how much can't? Are there tests for any of the Communications electives? It seems like TESC offers tests for the marketing electives for the BSBA Marketing, is there a test for Market Research?

Any guidance would be really appreciated.

[burbuja0512]

Hi there!

If you aren't sure that you want to take the classes needed to get a marketing or communications degree, I would go for a BSBA. I've worked in sales for years.. never been in the marketing department, but have worked hand-in-hand with them in every company I've been at. I've seen plenty of people with business degrees in the marketing dept..

However, you may not get as far as you'd like in marketingwith only a bachelor's degree, depending on where you live. (From what I've seen where I'm at, it looks pretty competitive, though your experience may be different) So, to get the most bang for your buck, if you're going to spend a couple of years taking classes anyhow, I would recommend getting a BSBA, as mentioned above, or even just other degree that you could almost entirely test out of. Do this as quickly as humanly possible and then find a good Masters in Marketing program. If you do this, you would be a step above everyone that only hold undergraduate degrees AND you'd have the marketing degree to boot. It would probably take you about as much time and $$$ as it would to get an undergrad in marketing.. or at least I think so anyhow. I don't think that there are enough testing options for marketing to get that degree quickly.

At the very least, you could get a BSBA and then get a graduate certificate in marketing that specializes in the area you're most interested in. This would still allow you to get a much quicker and cheaper degree while showing that you have the knowledge to advance in your field. Not to mention that a degree + graduate certificate would still put you a step up from many other job applicants, though of course a masters is better if you have the time and interest.

I probably shouldn't say this, but I would totally forget the communications degree. Maybe this is bad advice, but I've heard it referred to as an "easy" degree or a "party" degree. Have no clue if this is true or not, but I'm a bit biased based on what I have heard....

Hope this helps!

[RA808]

Thanks so much for your reply.

I'm actually self-taught and in a very good position in my company making six figures in a director position (overseeing 7-8 employees at any given time). I've been in the industry for about 11 years total, started by forming a company when I was 17, and have worked for larger companies for the last 6 years. I've led multiple award-winning campaigns.

So career wise, I'm in a good place. I proved myself with my abilities and experience.

The reason for the degree is to have flexibility in the future, and also as it's a confidence boost as 99% of my co-workers have a 4 year degree.

The BSBA Marketing does seem like a better choice than Communications from a testing-out ability standpoint. I'm just curious what classes I'd HAVE to take if I went that way. I know TESC now requires one capstone course for 4 year degrees?

[cookderosa]

Hi there!

If you aren't sure that you want to take the classes needed to get a marketing or communications degree, I would go for a BSBA. I've worked in sales for years.. never been in the marketing department, but have worked hand-in-hand with them in every company I've been at. I've seen plenty of people with business degrees in the marketing dept..

However, you may not get as far as you'd like in marketingwith only a bachelor's degree, depending on where you live. (From what I've seen where I'm at, it looks pretty competitive, though your experience may be different) So, to get the most bang for your buck, if you're going to spend a couple of years taking classes anyhow, I would recommend getting a BSBA, as mentioned above, or even just other degree that you could almost entirely test out of. Do this as quickly as humanly possible and then find a good Masters in Marketing program. If you do this, you would be a step above everyone that only hold undergraduate degrees AND you'd have the marketing degree to boot. It would probably take you about as much time and $$$ as it would to get an undergrad in marketing.. or at least I think so anyhow. I don't think that there are enough testing options for marketing to get that degree quickly.

At the very least, you could get a BSBA and then get a graduate certificate in marketing that specializes in the area you're most interested in. This would still allow you to get a much quicker and cheaper degree while showing that you have the knowledge to advance in your field. Not to mention that a degree + graduate certificate would still put you a step up from many other job applicants, though of course a masters is better if you have the time and interest.

I probably shouldn't say this, but I would totally forget the communications degree. Maybe this is bad advice, but I've heard it referred to as an "easy" degree or a "party" degree. Have no clue if this is true or not, but I'm a bit biased based on what I have heard....

Hope this helps!

I second this suggestion. You can test out of almost the entire business degree and you can use your electives for marketing courses if you like. Since you are doing a basic AA gen ed now, you likely don't have any business classes done, so you can make a list of classes in that degree that WOULD count for just marketing or just communications if you opted to do either of those degrees instead of the business degree. (Business requires precal which is a deal breaker for some). Anyway, the maths, stats, micro/macro, etc are all gen ed requirements in the business degree that are also gen eds in other degrees- so an excellent place to start.
Good luck on deciding, AND good luck on nearing your first finish line!!

[RA808]

Hmm, you got me looking at Charter Oak! It looks like it's cheaper than TESC.

The only thing is it looks like I need a Capstone to finish my AA?

I'll have to see if my 60 credits I'm about to get toward my TESC degree plan will all translate to COSC or not.

[IrishJohn]

The BSBA Marketing does seem like a better choice than Communications from a testing-out ability standpoint. I'm just curious what classes I'd HAVE to take if I went that way. I know TESC now requires one capstone course for 4 year degrees?

Fortunately for you, at the present TESC doesn't require a capstone for the BSBA. Well, they do require Business Policy course which counts as your capstone but it doesn't have to be taken through TESC unlike the requirements for all BA degrees there now. You could take this course through TESC, or take the TECEP exam or take the course through Penn Foster College and transfer it in.

Here's the webpage for the BSBA in Marketing degree at TESC: Thomas Edison State College: Marketing

You just need to take the credits you have now and plot them into this, then figure out what you have left. I'm guessing that you'll need some higher math & stats, which you can take through ALEKS; Macro & Micro Econ, which you can take the CLEP exams or courses through Straighterline or Penn Foster College; almost all of the business requirements which you can take through CLEP, DSST, TECEP, Straighterline or Penn Foster in any combination you'd like. I'd strongly suggest that you knock out most of these before officially enrolling at TESC to give yourself enough time to finish. However, a note of caution: you may wish to enroll prior to July 2013. I have no inside information and TESC may not be thinking of doing this for all I know, but I suspect that since TESC started requiring all BA degrees to do a capstone through them this year, they'll probably do this for the BS degrees soon as well. The next catalog change is around July 2013, which is why I'd suggest enrolling before then so you are "grandfathered" in.

At any rate, there are plenty of threads here you can search for BSBA degree plans and of course many folks here will be happy to answer any questions you have to help. One place you can start looking on your own, besides other threads here, is the Degree Forum Wiki. Check out this page for BSBA degree plans: TESC Degree Plans - Degree Forum Wiki Although the ones here for the BSBA are in General Management, there's not too much to switch around to make it for Marketing.

Good luck!

[Lady Grace of Pemberley]

How much of these majors can be "tested out" and how much can't? Are there tests for any of the Communications electives?

In case you are interested in getting a Communications major, there are many courses you can test out of for your area of study. I am doing as many tests as I can (I think), and I will only have to do the Capstone and 4 classes that look pretty fun.

100-200 level:
Principles of Public Speaking DSST (not as hard as it's sometimes made out to be!)
Technical Writing DSST (a breeze for me)
Public Relations Thought and Practice TECEP
Introduction to News Reporting TECEP

300-400 level:
Marketing Communications TECEP
Interpersonal Communication ECE

For the communications majors at TESC, I think Public Speaking, Mass Communications I, Interpersonal Communication, and the Liberal Arts Capstone are required.

Have a lovely day!

[Rav]

Unfortunately I don't have much to add to this thread, but I can say that I've never met anyone who valued a Communications degree. You could consider a Social Sciences degree, for which you only have to take the capstone course. I'm told it's very relevant to marketing, and from the content of the courses I'm taking right now, I think that's true. There's a huge amount of focus on demographics, psychology, and how to analyse different populations. Sounds like something someone in marketing would value.

/my 2c

[RA808]

Alright, I'm going to shoot for the BSBA Marketing since it seems I can test it out. Going to register for several exams in the next few months and try to knock out a bunch of credits before I enroll. Going to try and enroll by July to avoid any catalog changes that might happen.

Since I already had a thread on my AA degree that was helpful in keeping track of this stuff, I'll use this thread for that same purpose.

Just to keep track of them, my next tests will be:

April
Principles of Marketing 3
Principles of Management 3
Introduction to Business 3

May
Introductory Business Law 3
Priniciples of Financial Accounting 3

June
Principles of Finance 3
Business Ethics and Society 3

July
Straighterline Business Communications 6
US History II 3

Probably ambitious, but if I can pull it off I'll have a 30 credit head start once I enroll.

[Yanji]

Unfortunately I don't have much to add to this thread, but I can say that I've never met anyone who valued a Communications degree.

I used to work in the newspaper business in Asia (English news) and we loved hiring people with Communications/English degrees to work the copy desk. With that being said though, a TESC BA Communications might not carry the weight necessary to open doors in the publishing industry.