COSC and transferring to a M.Ed program

First, let me say that I tried to search for my answer to no avail, so forgive me if this is answered elsewhere. My brother and I are about to begin a common journey with separate destinations. He is looking to get 60 Credits so that he can apply to be a police officer in town. My ambitions are quite different. I am looking to earn a Bachelors degree, probably from COSC. I won't go into why I chose COSC right now, but it seems the best fit for me.

I currently have 9 credits from a local CC. I would like to get my degree from COSC with a concentration in either History or Poli Sci. Of course, I will be looking to test my way through. After I complete my Bachelors, I would like to apply to earn a Masters degree in Education, and would ultimately like to teach. So what I am wondering is this - What are my chances of the COSC degree being applied to a B&M school for a M.Ed, and then earning my teaching certificate?

 

A question very similar to this has already been asked and answered, and recently, I might add. Though there are still some professors ignorant enough to equate DL programs with low quality, for the most part what is most relevant is accreditation. I think that you will find that the Big Three (COSC, EC, and TESC) are very well regarded in academia. By the way, congratulations on having the good taste to pursue a history/political science degree! (If you work it right, it should be possible to get both majors within your 120 requirement for your BA.) Another thing I would consider if I were you would be getting your teaching certification at the master's level, which is usually called an MIT (Master's in Teaching) at the B&M schools, though you can do such a program at Liberty University (www.liberty.edu), University of Maryland University College (www.umuc.edu), or University of South Alabama DL(http://usaonline.southalabama.edu). Killing the teacher certification and master's degree requirement birds with one stone will stand you in good stead if you either live in, or move to, a state that requires teachers to have master's degrees.

 

Ted - Thanks for the information. Sorry to post a redundant question. So if I do this and get my Bachelors from COSC, that degree will be enough to get me into a Masters program? Even if 90% of the credits are by examination? My wife is having a hard time believing I will get into a Masters program by taking CLEP's and similar tests...

 

Yes. You might send a PM (private message) to Rich Douglas and Steve Levicoff (if they don't chime in here), both of whom started out with Big Three BAs and ended up with perfectly respectable Union Institute PhDs. At least one of these guys, if not both, can claim to have never received a graduate school rejection letter, IIRC.

 

Even if 90% of your credits are PEP and CLEP and DANTES and whatever else is in the "alphabet soup" of testing out procedures, Charter Oak (and the others in the Big Three) can translate your test score into a letter grade, so figure on how to keep that GPA up and find yourself a grad school or two or three to apply at.

 

No problem. http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19841

 

It can be done. My wife finished at COSC with a concentration in Individualized Studies, did an alternative licensure route with a local university (East Carolina University), earned her NC teaching license and then went on to complete a Masters in Elem. Edu. from Nova Southeastern University.

It can be done but be careful of the red tape in your state for getting a teaching license. Make sure you check on the alternative routes for licensure.

Also, Nova has some Masters degrees that lead to licensure in FL but you have to be licensed in your state first. I think they also have a program that leads to licensure in FL even if you don't have a license in your state. I think it is called the ICP (Initial Certification Program) Masters program. It is only for certain disciplines.

Duff

 

Is there any particular reason why you're insistent about a B&M for your credential? Why not go to http://www.wgu.edu ?
Also, TESC is a Title IV school but it has majors as opposed to concentrations. That may matter to some schools. Tell your wife not to worry, the big 3 are real schools and most Master's programs require a Bachelor's from a RA school as their admission requirements w/o caveat

 

Gmattox,
I tested out of 25% of my undergrad degree requirements ( Dantes; that was the max they allowed, it has not hindered me in any way of graduate school choices.
The University Of West Alabama has a MAT cert/non cert program that may be of some use to you in the distant future. It is very well run and organised...no loose ends for you to chase!10 week sessions!
Best,
Gavin

 

An MEd is probably not the degree you will be looking for after your BA -- you'll want to find an MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching).

There are some MEd programs for initial certification though and you'll need to read about each teacher ed program you're interested in to determine whether a current teaching certificate is required for admission.

I've never seen a single graduate bulletin that said "degrees earned by DL are not acceptable for admission". I'd be interested in seeing one if it exists...

There are some very very well respected grad schools that have accepted BA degrees from the Big Three -- but, it's not the BA that gets you into grad school, it's the quality of your application. The BA is only a part of that application. You have to put together a strong package that includes great work, strong test scores, good references, some experience, ....

Your wife can be reassured by showing her the program catalog from any state university. There will be a few paragraphs about CLEP, DANTES, ECE, and Departmental examinations. The only thing that makes Excelsior, COSC and TESC stand out is that they will allow 100% of a program transferred in -- State U probably won't. But that has nothing to do with credit by exam -- it has to do with residency requirements....

 

(1) The Liberty and South Alabama master's level credentials are MEds and the UMUC one is an MAT. Most B&Ms use the term MIT (Master's in Teaching) for their master's level credential, though some use MAT.

(2) My old California State University, Dominguez Hills HUX catalog does say that Regents (Excelsior) compilation-style transcripts are not acceptable, but that, I think, only means that you need transcripts from all prior schools. And that would be the case regardless of where the final award of the degree was from.

 

I agree, I think that was their way of saying "we want to see every transcript from every school 'cause you can hide things with an Excelsior transcript..."

It would seem very odd for CSU/DH to not accept a DL undergrad as admission pre-req into their own DL grad program.

 

Yes. There was a lady named Cass from Seattle who in 02/01 posted this thread on HUX and transcripts http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=863 and it was quite clear that she was very aggrieved.

 

There is a college in Arizona - Called Rio Salado that has an agreement with COSC alowing you to start their DL accredited teaching certificate whilst still studyíng for your degree. I am following this path.

So far so good in my case, they are pretty good.

 

One thing you might want to do as you move through your program of studies. Be aware of what it is specifically that you want to teach and be certain to earn enough credits in that specific area to allow you to teach that specific subject. You can earn your COSC degree and even go on to earn you MEd (which is entirely possible) and still not be considered to be qualified to teach History, or Physics or what ever you're hoping for, unless you've accumulated the required number of credits in that area to qualify (according to the jurisdiction of the place that you want to teach/live). Your goal and your method of reaching your goal are clearly possible. Plan well. Good luck.
Jack

 

Rio Salado offer you the chance to bolster your credits for your subject, they have 24 points available for subject specific stuff, if you need it. That at least is my understanding.

 

Exactly so.

While working on my English doctoral dissertation in West Virginia, I considered teaching high school English temporarily. The WV Department of Education informed me that I'd practically have to start college over to get certified:

My 30+ Education credits from Regents (via GRE) were worthless. Furthermore, I'd have to take the exact English courses specified by the DEd, including English Comp I and II, which I had indeed never taken, but which I had in fact taught.

(You might check with your state's department of ed on the requirements for "highly qualified teacher" status in your field, as that's widely desirable and for some positions essential.)

 

Actually most states don't give two craps what your Bachelor's is in. Here in CA you can have a doctorate in the subject matter but you still have to prove subject matter competency via the subject matter exam for teachers.