Online Degrees and CLEP and DSST Exam Prep Discussion
Is TESU the best choice for my son? - Printable Version

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Is TESU the best choice for my son? - MaMichelle - 02-27-2021

Trying to decide which online degree program is best for my son. He has outsourced research into which is the best fit for him to mom...I'm glad he trusts me but want to make sure I'm picking the right option.

Factors that I understand:
1. TESU's BSBA in Finance is the perfect degree for his career path.
2. He has several FINRA certifications that will give him 12 credits in his major.
3. His only other transfer credit is a passing score on the AP Geography exam--I'm assuming that's 3 credits that will fit into his GE as elective credit if nothing else.
4. Speed, not cost, is the most important factor to him. That said, less cost is better than more. But his employer offers some tuition reimbursement. This benefit will not be available to him for 7 more months.
5. He is 23 years old, married, no kids. He's smart, works hard, and motivated. He consistently has the best metrics in the nation in his job. Most of his peers are degreed but he is not; his boss told him that he must have a bachelor's degree to get the promotion after his next promotion so he should finish one asap because they want to fast track him into that role.
6. He likes study.com's format and wants to maximize use of SDC credits.
7. For the RA credits he prefers the exam format so once he has his 90 non-RA credits, TECEPs are a good choice.
8. He is nervous about English/Composition requirements--would like to avoid CLEP/TECEP for those.
9. Consistency is good for him. Doing as many courses as possible in the same format is better than a buffet approach utilizing lots of providers

Factors that I don't understand:
1. What counts towards the "residency" requirement? Do TECEPS count? What is needed to get a fee waiver? 
2. I don't know what I don't know! Help me understand whatever else I need to be thinking about.


Is TESU the best choice for my son? - BrianFallon - 02-27-2021

(02-27-2021, 04:16 PM)MaMichelle Wrote: Trying to decide which online degree program is best for my son. He has outsourced research into which is the best fit for him to mom...I'm glad he trusts me but want to make sure I'm picking the right option.

Factors that I understand:
1. TESU's BSBA in Finance is the perfect degree for his career path.
2. He has several FINRA certifications that will give him 12 credits in his major.
3. His only other transfer credit is a passing score on the AP Geography exam--I'm assuming that's 3 credits that will fit into his GE as elective credit if nothing else.
4. Speed, not cost, is the most important factor to him. That said, less cost is better than more. But his employer offers some tuition reimbursement. This benefit will not be available to him for 7 more months.
5. He is 23 years old, married, no kids. He's smart, works hard, and motivated. He consistently has the best metrics in the nation in his job. Most of his peers are degreed but he is not; his boss told him that he must have a bachelor's degree to get the promotion after his next promotion so he should finish one asap because they want to fast track him into that role.
6. He likes study.com's format and wants to maximize use of SDC credits.
7. For the RA credits he prefers the exam format so once he has his 90 non-RA credits, TECEPs are a good choice.
8. He is nervous about English/Composition requirements--would like to avoid CLEP/TECEP for those.
9. Consistency is good for him. Doing as many courses as possible in the same format is better than a buffet approach utilizing lots of providers

Factors that I don't understand:
1. What counts towards the "residency" requirement? Do TECEPS count? What is needed to get a fee waiver? 
2. I don't know what I don't know! Help me understand whatever else I need to be thinking about.


With all due respect, this is what he needs to do on his own - not “outsource” to you.

The umbilical cord was cut at birth - remind him of this. As HE researches HIS degree...


Sent from my iPhone using DegreeForum.net


RE: Is TESU the best choice for my son? - rachel83az - 02-27-2021

Questions/comments about what you understand:
1. I think TESU is the only one that specifically has BSBA Finance. Others have Accounting or something along those lines but not finance.
2. Which certifications? It looks like some are UL credit and some are LL credit.
3. This is okay. You don't need to have a bunch of transfer credits. But the AP exam will count as non-collegiate credits. I think he can use this in his gen eds.
4. Full tuition reimbursement or partial? What kind of limit? This is important!
5. How soon does he need to get his degree by? Is his employer expecting him to take the full 4 years in order for him to get a promotion or do they expect him to have it more quickly? To some extent, the faster he wants/needs his degree, the more expensive it could be.
6. SDC is good but Sophia is recommended for most courses because it's both faster and cheaper than SDC (unlimited courses at Sophia for $79/mo. vs. 5 per month at SDC). If he goes entirely with SDC, his degree could wind up taking longer than expected.
7. He should figure out which TECEPs he'd want to take first and then fill in the rest from SDC/Sophia. In general, you want to fill out your gen eds first and then go from there. See https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sample_TESU_General_Education_Requirements_Roadmap
8. The TECEPs for English Comp are actually easier than the courses! But, if he wants to avoid the TECEPs then he can get those classes at SDC, Sophia, Olivet Nazarine, or TEL Learning (RA credit).
9. The roadmap/plan is written to mostly utilize SDC and Sophia.

Things you don't yet understand:
1. Unless your son qualifies for the military plan, TECEPs do NOT count towards the residency requirement. However, ePack courses do. These are essentially TECEPs but you pay full tuition rate for them: https://www2.tesu.edu/listallc.php?type=EP

Depending on tuition reimbursement + timeline, one possible route would be to register for 2 ePack courses + the cornerstone + the 1-credit Jane Austin course ( https://www2.tesu.edu/course.php?CourseCode=ENG-298&sem= ) for one term and then the capstone + another ePack course later. This would bring your son up to 16 residency credits and avoid the residency waiver. Tuition reimbursement does not usually cover the residency waiver, though it wouldn't hurt to ask. The remaining 14/15 RA credits could come from TECEPs/TEL Learning/Olivet Nazarine University/etc.

If he needs a degree as of yesterday and doesn't want to wait for tuition reimbursement and then do two terms at TESU, paying the residency waiver is likely going to be unavoidable.

Again, you need to figure out which RA credits to use first before filling in the remainder of the degree with alt credits. Doing it backward could result in the duplication of credits/classes and a longer time to completion. This is especially important for a BSBA degree because there are very few electives compared to other degrees.


RE: Is TESU the best choice for my son? - MaMichelle - 02-27-2021

(02-27-2021, 04:51 PM)rachel83az Wrote: Questions/comments about what you understand:
1. I think TESU is the only one that specifically has BSBA Finance. Others have Accounting or something along those lines but not finance.
2. Which certifications? It looks like some are UL credit and some are LL credit.
3. This is okay. You don't need to have a bunch of transfer credits. But the AP exam will count as non-collegiate credits. I think he can use this in his gen eds.
4. Full tuition reimbursement or partial? What kind of limit? This is important!

5. How soon does he need to get his degree by? Is his employer expecting him to take the full 4 years in order for him to get a promotion or do they expect him to have it more quickly? To some extent, the faster he wants/needs his degree, the more expensive it could be.
6. SDC is good but Sophia is recommended for most courses because it's both faster and cheaper than SDC (unlimited courses at Sophia for $79/mo. vs. 5 per month at SDC). If he goes entirely with SDC, his degree could wind up taking longer than expected.
7. He should figure out which TECEPs he'd want to take first and then fill in the rest from SDC/Sophia. In general, you want to fill out your gen eds first and then go from there. See https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sample_TESU_General_Education_Requirements_Roadmap
8. The TECEPs for English Comp are actually easier than the courses! But, if he wants to avoid the TECEPs then he can get those classes at SDC, Sophia, Olivet Nazarine, or TEL Learning (RA credit).
9. The roadmap/plan is written to mostly utilize SDC and Sophia.

Things you don't yet understand:
1. Unless your son qualifies for the military plan, TECEPs do NOT count towards the residency requirement. However, ePack courses do. These are essentially TECEPs but you pay full tuition rate for them: https://www2.tesu.edu/listallc.php?type=EP

Depending on tuition reimbursement + timeline, one possible route would be to register for 2 ePack courses + the cornerstone + the 1-credit Jane Austin course ( https://www2.tesu.edu/course.php?CourseCode=ENG-298&sem= ) for one term and then the capstone + another ePack course later. This would bring your son up to 16 residency credits and avoid the residency waiver. Tuition reimbursement does not usually cover the residency waiver, though it wouldn't hurt to ask. The remaining 14/15 RA credits could come from TECEPs/TEL Learning/Olivet Nazarine University/etc.

If he needs a degree as of yesterday and doesn't want to wait for tuition reimbursement and then do two terms at TESU, paying the residency waiver is likely going to be unavoidable.

Again, you need to figure out which RA credits to use first before filling in the remainder of the degree with alt credits. Doing it backward could result in the duplication of credits/classes and a longer time to completion. This is especially important for a BSBA degree because there are very few electives compared to other degrees.

THANK YOU! This is exactly the kind of info that is incredibly helpful. 
1. He has his SIE, Series 7 & Series 66 (the 66 is the 63+65). Found the matrix showing which credits are granted for which exams.
2. I think the Human Geography AP will count for elective LL, non-RA credit. I couldn't find a course code or number of credits granted for this exam though.
3. Tuition reimbursement--we don't know, but I believe it is partial, and capped at a certain amount. He is working on getting details.
4. Company policy is that he must spend six months in his current position and then six months in the next one before he can be promoted to the next rung on the ladder. They would like to advance him as soon as possible, but can't do that last step before he has the degree. So once another eight months has elapsed the only thing keeping him from the next promotion is the paper. There is heavy pressure on him to get it done as fast as he can. 
5. The pay bump from moving into the degreed position is nearly $100K/year so having to pay even a fairly large sum like the residency waiver is well worth it to him.
6. THANK YOU for pointing out Sophia is cheaper and possibly faster. I think even on SDC he won't be able to plow through more than five courses per month, but on the off chance that he can, Sophia doesn't limit him. I'll look into that. He really does love the SDC format--he needs to take a look at Sophia and see what he thinks.
7. I think we've worked out a pretty good plan using mostly SDC for GE and TECEPs for the finance/business courses, but taking another look at it the other way around is a good idea. 
8. GOOD TO KNOW on the TECEPs fo English comp.; once again, THANK YOU!!

(02-27-2021, 04:33 PM)BrianFallon Wrote:
(02-27-2021, 04:16 PM)MaMichelle Wrote: Trying to decide which online degree program is best for my son. He has outsourced research into which is the best fit for him to mom...I'm glad he trusts me but want to make sure I'm picking the right option.

Factors that I understand:
1. TESU's BSBA in Finance is the perfect degree for his career path.
2. He has several FINRA certifications that will give him 12 credits in his major.
3. His only other transfer credit is a passing score on the AP Geography exam--I'm assuming that's 3 credits that will fit into his GE as elective credit if nothing else.
4. Speed, not cost, is the most important factor to him. That said, less cost is better than more. But his employer offers some tuition reimbursement. This benefit will not be available to him for 7 more months.
5. He is 23 years old, married, no kids. He's smart, works hard, and motivated. He consistently has the best metrics in the nation in his job. Most of his peers are degreed but he is not; his boss told him that he must have a bachelor's degree to get the promotion after his next promotion so he should finish one asap because they want to fast track him into that role.
6. He likes study.com's format and wants to maximize use of SDC credits.
7. For the RA credits he prefers the exam format so once he has his 90 non-RA credits, TECEPs are a good choice.
8. He is nervous about English/Composition requirements--would like to avoid CLEP/TECEP for those.
9. Consistency is good for him. Doing as many courses as possible in the same format is better than a buffet approach utilizing lots of providers

Factors that I don't understand:
1. What counts towards the "residency" requirement? Do TECEPS count? What is needed to get a fee waiver? 
2. I don't know what I don't know! Help me understand whatever else I need to be thinking about.


With all due respect, this is what he needs to do on his own - not “outsource” to you.

The umbilical cord was cut at birth - remind him of this.  As HE researches HIS degree...


Sent from my iPhone using DegreeForum.net

You don't know my son's history and background. If you did, I suspect you would be a little less judgmental and a little more supportive.


RE: Is TESU the best choice for my son? - rachel83az - 02-27-2021

With the $100k/year pay bump, I would definitely NOT worry about the residency waiver or tuition reimbursement at all. Even with the waiver, he'll quickly earn back the whole cost of the degree in just a couple of months! He can use tuition reimbursement for something like an MBA from WGU or UMPI's MA in Org Leadership.


RE: Is TESU the best choice for my son? - natshar - 02-27-2021

I think the best option would be to do as many courses as possible through study.com, and others first then do the TESU portion last because maybe by that point the tuition reimbursement would kick in. And then do the final 16-18 credits at TESU that way the employer could pay for it and you wouldn't have to pay the waiver.

He is a basic plan:

3 credit prior credits (AP GEO). However, this might be more trouble than it's worth. If the test was taken more than 5 years ago, you have to fill out a form to get the archived scores and it costs $25 to send them. Depending it might be easier and less headache just to do a quick easy course on sophia or study.com instead.
https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/sending-scores/send-or-get-archived-scores


16 -18 credits at TESU
This includes 3 credit Cornerstone, 3 credit capstone. The rest can be whatever fits. It might be easier to just to the UL finance at TESU since Idk if there are enough other options available for cheap, but it all depends on the FINRA cert The employer should pay for these if the timing is right. This all could be done in 1 or 2 terms depending. And TECEPs can't count towards the 16-18 here.

12 - 15 credits RA credits (meaning through an actual college and not ACE. For these you can use TECEP, Community College, ASU, Olivet, or anything that fits) Just make sure your total courses taken from an actual college equals at least 30 with 16 of those 30 at TESU as actual courses at not TECEPs.

88 - 91 credits through Sophia, study.com, CLEP, StraighterLine, etc. And I'm including whatever the FINRA might get him in this so it could be less than he thinks. This would equal around 30 courses/exams but could be less depending on FINRA.

Info on Finra certification: https://www2.tesu.edu/oplr/client.php?client=FINRA

Actually, if he has all of them done he would have over 20 credits done with FINRA certs.


RE: Is TESU the best choice for my son? - MaMichelle - 02-27-2021

(02-27-2021, 05:35 PM)rachel83az Wrote: With the $100k/year pay bump, I would definitely NOT worry about the residency waiver or tuition reimbursement at all. Even with the waiver, he'll quickly earn back the whole cost of the degree in just a couple of months! He can use tuition reimbursement for something like an MBA from WGU or UMPI's MA in Org Leadership.

That's exactly what he said!  Big Grin
Is there a list somewhere of which Sophia courses TESU accepts and how they're transcript at TESU?


RE: Is TESU the best choice for my son? - rachel83az - 02-27-2021

(02-27-2021, 05:40 PM)MaMichelle Wrote: That's exactly what he said!  Big Grin
Is there a list somewhere of which Sophia courses TESU accepts and how they're transcript at TESU?

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sophia.org_Equivalency_List

Also of interest: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sophia.org#Course-Taking_Strategy


RE: Is TESU the best choice for my son? - natshar - 02-27-2021

(02-27-2021, 05:40 PM)MaMichelle Wrote:
(02-27-2021, 05:35 PM)rachel83az Wrote: With the $100k/year pay bump, I would definitely NOT worry about the residency waiver or tuition reimbursement at all. Even with the waiver, he'll quickly earn back the whole cost of the degree in just a couple of months! He can use tuition reimbursement for something like an MBA from WGU or UMPI's MA in Org Leadership.

That's exactly what he said!  Big Grin
Is there a list somewhere of which Sophia courses TESU accepts and how they're transcript at TESU?

Oh I didn't even see that part. 

Good point you don't have to do 16 at TESU. You only need to do 6. But idk if all the UL finance courses can be found for cheap anymore. So that might make 9 credits at TESU. But 6 you can't avoid.

Just be sure to have 30 RA credits total then and yes TECEPs count for that.


RE: Is TESU the best choice for my son? - bjcheung77 - 02-27-2021

I'm popping in to say "Hi", basically because the "With the $100k/year pay bump" got my attention... so, what are we having for dinner, exotic expensive truffles as dessert?   Anyways, he's practically starting out.   If he's into ACE credits such as Study.com, I would recommend completing the AOS with Study.com but start off with RA credits through classes at TEL Learning/NOU or from exams such as TECEP/UEXCELS.   He can work on other general education/free electives with Sophia.org... then finish off the degree with the cornerstone/capstone.   Note: TESU is a good option, but not the only option, he can check other schools...