How has degree planning changed over the years?

[Mint Berry Crunch]

It seems to me whilst the top notch players like study and Sophia have grown that choice has reduced. Over the last few years Excelsior got out of challenge exams, players like Penn Foster gave up ace accreditation and RA credit requirements have grown that choice may have diminished.

I do worry these types of things have made in harder in the last 7 or 8 years unless you are happy with the big two players for alternative credits and taking the final year all at final college or university.

Ebb and flows. As sources for credits have grown a bit more abundant, previous sources have been scrapped. For example, since you mentioned Excelsior, they remain in the big 3 simply because of max credit transfers, not because its easy to transfer all credits to them. In the past, they use to take FEMA certs for alt credits with a great deal of pain and difficulty. Now, not anymore. But for as many things as they "crack down" on, people discover equally new ways around it. Back then, Excelsior, COSC, and TESU were the top ones (TESU probably being the best of them all) as they accepted a bunch of different ways to complete Gen Eds, Electives, and courses satisfying program Majors. The shift in that challenge has changed in that we now have more ways to bring in credits then ever before, but these institutions have limited what courses come from where and what they come in as. Then again, there has been a rise in the amount of institutions that we have discovered that enable savings in both cost and speed. In sum, Alt sources have grown, Schools/Programs have grown, and the challenge has grown to coincide with the change. It's equally easier and harder at the same time.

Schools like UMPI, WGU, HAU, ENEB, and others have grown.