Online Degrees and CLEP and DSST Exam Prep Discussion
Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - Printable Version

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Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - ajsteven5 - 06-16-2011

I have been lurking for years but finally registered. My employer has informed me that I must have a degree completed by August 15th to keep my job. I am now rushing to find the best option to do this. I think a BA in liberal studies may work from TESC. It looks like I may be a little short and some of the classes may not fit where I put them. I would really appreciate any input on if something is out of place, how to complete in time and is there a better degree option for me.

TESC BA in Liberal Studies
General Ed – 60 Credits

English Comp – 6 Credits
• Eng 100 – 1 credit – Fundamentals of English
• Eng 101 – 2 credits – Fundamentals of English
• Eng 105 – 3 credits – Freshman Writing

Humanities - 12 Credits
• Mus 106 – 3credits - Art of Rock Music
• Com 105 - 3credits - History of speech & decision making
• Mus 125 - 3credits – Jazz: Listener Guide
• TAR 101 – 3 credits – Theatre Workshop II

Social Science – 12 Credits
• Com 101 – 3 credits – Intro to speech communications
• Geo 111 - 3credits – Man’s physical environment (Geogrophy)
• Com 102 – 3 credits – Communication theory
• HPER F255 – 3 credits - Human Sexuality

Natural Sciences and Mathematics – 12 credits
• Phys 101 - 3credits – Intro to physical science
• Lifs 112 - 3credits – Human Aspects of Biology
• Mmt 110 - 3credits – Environmental science & business
• Math class needed

General Education Electives – 18 credits
• Geo 113 – 3 credits – Intro to earth & sky science
• Coun 135 – 2 credits – Career & Life planning
• RLS 160 – 3 credits – Leisure & Society
• Need 10 hours

Liberal Studies – 33 credits
• Libs 306 - 2 credits – Libraries & their use
• Eng 330N - 3 credits – American Litature & Film I
• Coun 317 - 2 credits – Student Leadership Education
• BUS R300 - 3 credits – Principles in real estate
• BUS Z302 - 3 credits – Managing & behavior in organizations
• Edu 409 - 3 credits – Sociology of education
• Edu 451 - 3 credits – Contemporary topics: multicultural education
• Edu 350 - 3 credits – Educational research
• Edu 205 - 3 credits – Human development & learning
• Com 261 - 3 credits – Small group communications
• Hlth 111 - 3 credits – Personal health & behavior
• Hper A361 - 2 credits – Coaching of football
Free Electives – 27 credits
• Completed with FEMA courses

Unused classes
• PE 137 - 1credit – Racquetball
• PE 155 - 1credit – Softball
• PE 133 - 1credit – Bowling
• PE 103 - 1credit – Jogging & fitness walking
• PE 104 - 1 credit – Weight training
• RLS 124 - 1 credit – Basic sailing

Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - LaterBloomer - 06-16-2011

Ajsteven5. When I first read your post, I was worried for you, but just for a second. Then I thought, "wow, what a great way to focus one's attention." You'll get loads of good advice from others who know a lot about the process and requirements, but I wanted to chime in with a "good luck."

Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - durandtheman - 06-16-2011

I'm curious about the legality behind "needing a degree to keep your job." That seems more like a threat than an actual job-function issue.

I would possibly consult your HR rep and a lawyer regarding this. If you have already been hired and trained to do a job, you should not be required to get a degree AFTER the fact that all paperwork has been processed.

If you are already fully trained, no degree will train you more to do the specific job tasks.

That all being said, great to hear you are motivated to get your degree completed! There is no "easy" path to getting a degree. Your best bet is to apply to the Big 3, compile 3 official copies of all your transcripts and wait for your acceptance letters, then immediatly Priority mail the transcripts in.

Then comes the hard part of waiting. You never know how many of your units will be received, and which school will receive more.

Good luck!

Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - alleycat - 06-16-2011

ajsteven5 Wrote:I have been lurking for years but finally registered. My employer has informed me that I must have a degree completed by August 15th to keep my job. I am now rushing to find the best option to do this. I think a BA in liberal studies may work from TESC. It looks like I may be a little short and some of the classes may not fit where I put them. I would really appreciate any input on if something is out of place, how to complete in time and is there a better degree option for me.

TESC BA in Liberal Studies
General Ed – 60 Credits

English Comp – 6 Credits
• Eng 100 – 1 credit – Fundamentals of English - Indiana State
• Eng 101 – 2 credits – Fundamentals of English - Indiana State
• Eng 105 – 3 credits – Freshman Writing - Indiana State

Humanities - 12 Credits
• Mus 106 – 3credits - Art of Rock Music – Umass
• Com 105 - 3credits - History of speech & decision making – Indiana State
• Mus 125 - 3credits – Jazz: Listener Guide – Umass
• TAR 101 – 3 credits – Theatre Workshop II – Umass

Social Science – 12 Credits
• Com 101 – 3 credits – Intro to speech communications – Indiana State
• Geo 111 - 3credits – Man’s physical environment (Geogrophy) – Indiana State
• Com 102 – 3 credits – Communication theory – Indiana State
• HPER F255 – 3 credits - Human Sexuality – Indiana University

Natural Sciences and Mathematics – 12 credits
• Phys 101 - 3credits – Intro to physical science – Indiana State
• Lifs 112 - 3credits – Human Aspects of Biology – Indiana State
• Mmt 110 - 3credits – Environmental science & business - UMass
• Math class needed

General Education Electives – 18 credits
• Geo 113 – 3 credits – Intro to earth & sky science – Indiana State
• Coun 135 – 2 credits – Career & Life planning – Indiana State
• RLS 160 – 3 credits – Leisure & Society – Indiana State
• Need 10 hours

Liberal Studies – 33 credits
• Libs 306 - 2 credits – Libraries & their use – Indiana State
• Eng 330N - 3 credits – American Litature & Film I – Indiana State
• Coun 317 - 2 credits – Student Leadership Education – Indiana State
• BUS R300 - 3 credits – Principles in real estate – Indiana University
• BUS Z302 - 3 credits – Managing & behavior in organizations – Indiana Univ
• Edu 409 - 3 credits – Sociology of education - UMass
• Edu 451 - 3 credits – Contemporary topics: multicultural education - UMass
• Edu 350 - 3 credits – Educational research - UMass
• Edu 205 - 3 credits – Human development & learning - UMass
• Com 261 - 3 credits – Small group communications - Indiana State
• Hlth 111 - 3 credits – Personal health & behavior - Indiana State
• Hper A361 - 2 credits – Coaching of football – Indiana University

Free Electives – 27 credits
• Completed with FEMA courses

Unused classes
• PE 137 - 1credit – Racquetball – Indiana State
• PE 155 - 1credit – Softball – Indiana State
• PE 133 - 1credit – Bowling – Indiana State
• PE 103 - 1credit – Jogging & fitness walking – Indiana State
• PE 104 - 1 credit – Weight training – Indiana State
• RLS 124 - 1 credit – Basic sailing – Indiana State


Wow you have alot going on. They will not take your Health, Business (not the real estate credit, they will probably tranfer the other business credit as Org Behavior) , Education, HPER, or Library credits in your area of Liberal Studies. Those will go under free electives. Same goes for your Gen Ed's they will not take the aboved mentioned for those either. PE credits could go under Gen Ed's. I only see three courses in the area of study that will probably come in. Don't take my complete word for it have an eval done and that take 4 to 6 weeks.

You still have alot to do. You will have to start testing right away. Now the problem is going to be for Sept graduation you have to have everything in by July 1. You probably will not be able to make that. The next graduation would be Dec 1. Everything needs to be in by Oct 1.

Math can be done with Aleks. If you are fairly good at math then you could do Aleks Interm Alg, Alg, and what ever other math classes you can manage. My son did 3 in less then a month.

For upper level classes in your area you will need 18 credits, 9 credits in 200 and 6 credits in 100. You have a possible 6 credits done in upper level which leaves you 12 more. DSST Substance Abuse will fit, DSST Business Ethics, DSST World Religion and one other upper level history exam or upper level social science.

9 credits in 200 or above could be A&I lit for 6 credits and DSST Tech
Writing for 3 credits. 6 credits in 100 can be anything that is a math, natural science, art, humanities, lit, or social science.

You are looking pretty good in your general electives. It is really just your area of study.

Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - alleycat - 06-16-2011

There have been people on this board that have lost their jobs because they do not have a degree. I think this is happening more and more and they are using it as a weeding tool. I would contact HR and possible an employment lawyer. Sometime company policies change and then they mandate having a degree. But you really should just get it done so you never have this problem again. I have a question for you, could you at least have an AA done on your way to the BA to cover you? Just a thought. At least an AA proves you are at least half way there.

Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - ajsteven5 - 06-16-2011

They are requiring a BA or BS. I just spoke with TESC and was told I would probably have a problem with the Liberal Studies degree but could possibly apply for a Learner Designed Area of Study. I am an athletic coach. Would it be a reasonable proposal to use the following for a degree in coaching? These classes would give me most of my upper level classes needed and I could move some of the others to gen ed.

• Hper A361 - 2credits – Coaching of football
• Coun 317 - 2credits – Student Leadership Education
• BUS Z302 - 3credits – Managing & behavior in organizations
• Edu 409 - 3credits – Sociology of education
• Edu 451 - 3credits – Contemporary topics: multicultural education
• Edu 350 - 3credits – Educational research
• Edu 205 - 3credits – Human development & learning

Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - alleycat - 06-16-2011

ajsteven5 Wrote:They are requiring a BA or BS. I just spoke with TESC and was told I would probably have a problem with the Liberal Studies degree but could possibly apply for a Learner Designed Area of Study. I am an athletic coach. Would it be a reasonable proposal to use the following for a degree in coaching? These classes would give me most of my upper level classes needed and I could move some of the others to gen ed.

• Hper A361 - 2credits – Coaching of football – Indiana University
• Coun 317 - 2credits – Student Leadership Education – Indiana State
• BUS Z302 - 3credits – Managing & behavior in organizations – Indiana Univ
• Edu 409 - 3credits – Sociology of education - UMass
• Edu 451 - 3credits – Contemporary topics: multicultural education - UMass
• Edu 350 - 3credits – Educational research - UMass
• Edu 205 - 3credits – Human development & learning - UMass


Looks good to me. I hope TESC looks at it like that also. You can go on there website and look at LDAS and they show a example of how to write it up and what they want in it. I think this could be a good way for you to go. But the problem is going to be August 15.

Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - alleycat - 06-16-2011

Here is the TESC LDAS file:

http://www.tesc.edu/files/ldassample.pdf

Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - burbuja0512 - 06-16-2011

I didn't go to TESC and can't be as much help with a TESC degree plan, but I would like to offer some advice. As Alleycat says, the date is an issue. With the credits you've already got, you can probably finish the LDAS if you're very motivated. I did 30 credits in just around 30 days this year for my toughest courses, so it is possible to rush. (And I work full time, travel for work and have 5 kids, so yes it's absolutely possible)

SO, my advice is this. You need to get it in writing from your boss or HR department that you will be able to retain your job if you have your degree requirements completed, but are awaiting conferral. COSC gave me a "letter of completion" that I used to apply to my MBA program before I actually graduated. I would assume that TESC can do this as well. You'll need to make sure that your employer is ok with this.

In the meanwhile, before you even design your LDAS, get your transcripts to TESC NOW. You can generally pay an extra 15-20 bucks to get them rushed, so do that to get the official evaluation. Then, quickly design the LDAS and don't hesitate to ask for help here. You'll want to have the LDAS in place ASAP so that you know which test to study for first. You don't have time to waste. CLEP and DSST can take a few weeks to be received by the school. however they can also be rushed for a fee, but you'll want to have as many tests completed in as little time as possible just to play it safe.

Let us know what your first test will be so we can help give tips to get through it as quickly as possible. Hang in there!

Help...Employer says I must have a degree completed by 8/15 - bricabrac - 06-16-2011

ajsteven5 Wrote:They are requiring a BA or BS. I just spoke with TESC and was told I would probably have a problem with the Liberal Studies degree but could possibly apply for a Learner Designed Area of Study. I am an athletic coach. Would it be a reasonable proposal to use the following for a degree in coaching? These classes would give me most of my upper level classes needed and I could move some of the others to gen ed.

• Hper A361 - 2credits – Coaching of football – Indiana University
• Coun 317 - 2credits – Student Leadership Education – Indiana State
• BUS Z302 - 3credits – Managing & behavior in organizations – Indiana Univ
• Edu 409 - 3credits – Sociology of education - UMass
• Edu 451 - 3credits – Contemporary topics: multicultural education - UMass
• Edu 350 - 3credits – Educational research - UMass
• Edu 205 - 3credits – Human development & learning - UMass

If they approve the LDAS degree plan you will be in awesome shape and come out with a degree specific to your career. Look up any BS in Kinesiology & Exercise Science program to use as a guide/language/attachment. One of my coworkers in the medical affairs department did his undergrad in Kinesiology before going on to PharmD. If memory serves he went to one of the boston universities.
*It wasn't boston it was Upstate NY...Ithaca College Exercise Science (B.S.) - Exercise and Sport Sciences - Ithaca College


What you would then need do is backfill the remaining GenEd and NatSci/Mat credits:

gened credits -
CLEP A&I Literature LIT291/292 (6 cr),
DSST Technical Writing ENG201 (3 cr),
CLEP Intro to Sociology SOC101 (3 cr).
You can have these completed in one-two weeks.

To fill Math requirement sign up for ALEKS intermediate algebra MAT115 (3 cr). you can get his done in 4 hours with your calculator and mathway.com (free online resource) do a search on the forum for details.

Also, if you have any computer experience another pretty fast exam is DSST intro to computing (COS101) it would fill both NAT SCI/MAT or GENED credit.

Okay, my thoughts on the timing challenge. If you can get the degree program approved, complete the credits and get the transcripts mailed, evaluated and posted. You can then apply for graduation. What will happen is as soon as your file is audited and certified you will receive two letters within 7-10 days confirming your graduation date. This certified letter along with a print out of your academic evaluation serves as proof that you have met all degree requirements. I would hope your employer would accept this, in lieu of degree conferral, as meeting your cutoff date; actual diploma to follow.

Good Luck!!