Need a plan for my Bachelors. TESU? COSC? Other?

[sanantone]

TESU and Excelsior's health programs are not test-friendly. Excelsior will charge an annual enrollment fee of over $1,000. COSC charges a student service fee of over $200 per semester. You only need to pay the student service fee while you're taking the cornerstone and capstone.

Technically, you can enroll at TESU by taking a TECEP (they are not getting rid of TECEPs; they might be getting rid of the TECEP that covers the BSBA capstone). This will lock in the current catalog. However, you either need to pay a residency waiver of $2500 or take 24 credits in TESU courses at $499 per credit hour in order to graduate. To be honest, COSC does not change degree requirements nearly as often as TESU. Most of their degree programs have stayed the same since I discovered the school in 2010. I wouldn't even worry about locking in the current catalog at COSC. They could stop taking FEMA credits, but you will likely still save money since you can test out of almost all the requirements.

TESU is extremely picky about what you can create with the Learner Designed Area of Study. If the area of study you design is anything like one of their majors, they will not approve it. If you create a health or human service AOS, they will tell you to just enroll in the human service or BALS with a concentration in health and wellness program. The capstone and residency waiver at TESU will cost you $3,997. The cornerstone, capstone, and two semesters of the student service fee at COSC will cost $2,796. So, even if you couldn't use FEMA credits at COSC in the future, COSC will be over $1,000 cheaper for the required tuition and fees, alone. And, if you choose a TESU degree that requires several courses that you can't cheaply test out of, the difference in cost will be even greater.

A lot of students naively put a lot of emphasis on BA vs. BS when no graduate school or employer cares. All they care about is that you completed the desired coursework. I can guarantee you that no one cares that Harvard University only offers ABs (BAs) for their science and computer science majors.

TESU's portfolio assessments are cheaper than COSC's, but PLAs require a lot more work than people think. It is usually much faster to test out or complete an ACE or NCCRS-approved courses.