OK, after much thought and deliberation (too much, really), I have narrowed down my choices of schools to two: Thomas Edison or City University (the one in Washington state). I need a DL program in Journalism or Mass Communication. It can't be a "concentration" or "emphasis". It needs to be a BA or BS in Journalism or Mass Communications. I have noticed that a few of the people who post here are graduates of City University. Any thoughts on the school you could pass along? Which one is likely to be the most generous with credit from military training? Speed is also an issue with me. I'd like to get the degree as soon as humanly possible, although I expect to work for it and learn something new even though I have worked as a journalist for more than 20 years. I keep reading horror stories about TESC's customer service, so I'm trying to decide between it and City University. Oh, cost is also an issue with me. I don't have a lot of extra money to throw around, and I do need to get financial aid.
Go with TESC I'm not a grad, but City U is right here in my backyard, and I looked at them for a while. They are not anywhere near as flexible at TESC. You need to get the last 60 semester hours through them, and you work at their pace. It will take 2 years if you enter with an Associates degree. They are a fairly aggressive marketing operation. I think that they are expensive compared to other options I checked with. Most people who go to City U have tuition assistance from employers. However, they are RA, and you can do pretty much any degree they offer online with them (there are exceptions). Note that anything I wrote that I didn't qualify as my own opinion came from research that I conducted with the City U staff. I'm not a City U basher, but I didn't think they would meet my needs, so I looked elsewhere.
TCord1964, I have an AS from City University which was obtained through a combination of military credits and in classroom college courses. They were very liberal with the military credits they awarded back in 1992, however, when they did up my degree plan for my bachelor’s degree (10 years later) they said I had to take some general education classes which I had already been given credit for on my AS. This makes me think that maybe they are not as liberal with military credits as they once were. I considered City University for my MBA but several who have attended their program said it is not very flexible and is very expensive.
City U In my admissions interview with them, they encouraged me to get evaluated for various sorts of credits that could transfer in, but I couldn't really think of anything that would apply in my case. I did my City U degrees by night school, but my recollection was that, back then, they made the DL students stick to the same schedule as the B&M students. But you might check to see if that's still the case. If it is, you might see how many of your classes you might take on five-week fast-track schedules (which would allow 10 classes in a year, i.e., your remaining 18 classes in 1 year and 10 months). On the financial aid issue, City U's website www.cityu.edu does say that as of April 1, 2001, their DL courses are eligible for financial aid. Undergraduate tuition is $220/qtr. hr. x 90 qtr. hrs. = $19,800 to complete your BS in Mass Communications and Journalism (given that you already hold an associate's degree).
Re: City U That is a lot of money for the final two years of a distance learning undergrad degree program in my opinion. There are better programs out there which are cheaper.
I have researched it quite a bit, and looked at a number of schools, but I keep coming back to one that best suits my needs: Thomas Edison State College. I'm in the process of filling out my FAFSA, and I'll be submitting my application to them shortly. In the meantime, I'm studying for the CLEP general subject exams.
