? about Big 3 and Assoc. degree

I posted before about my aspirations, now this post is for my brother. He would like to become a police officer in our hometown. Since he knows most of the cops, including the chief, he is basically guaranteed the job. But he needs to have an associates degree. And quite frankly, he doesnt care what it is in. So I told him about this site, and bain4weeks and 123degree. So after looking through it, the question is this - What would be the absolute easiest degree to obtain through testing? The reason I picked COSC is because they are very lenient in there giving credit for GRE in relation to a passing score. But in reality this could be any of the big 3. There sites dont really speak about Associates all that much, so I thought I would ask the questions here. Also, in regards to Assoc., are there majors or concentrations to consider? He does have about 30 credits from the now defunct Computer Learning Center, which was ACICS accredited. Also, because he is a firefighter, he has a lot of courses in the fire service. Any telling if one or the other may count towards a degree?

 

I would guess the easiest would be an AA degree. It is mostly general education classes. You could earn 30 credits in gen ed with just the general CLEP's and all would count toward an AA.

Have you looked at TESC? I really don't like the staff (very rude) but they offer credits for FEMA courses. I am sure Hillie can give more info about TESC.

As far as 18 credits for a GRE. I think you have to obtain a cretain score to get 18 credits. It is all or nothing. Excelsior gives credit on a sliding scale. For an associates degree, I would not look at the GRE, I would look at CLEP / DANTES exams. They are easier.

When you look at the BA in 4 weeks website, look at the "Who has done it" section. I listed the exams I took and most of them were very easy.

Good Luck.

 

Or.....

Why would your brother not go to your local community college?

If worst comes to worst, then he could still go to COSC or TESC, but an AS from your local CC might be better regarded.


Just a thought.

 

I presume that when one chooses D.E. they do so in order to cut down the time. Also, there isn't any reason to believe that a COSC, TESC, or Excelsior A.A. would be any less regarded than a B&M school.
I would choose TESC for FEMA credits, and then use instantcert.com to prepare me for 10-20 Dantes/Clep exams if money was no object.
If money DOES matter, then I'd probably study hard for the GRE in order to get that 85% ranking and get the full 30
s.h. from Excelsior.
Also, TESC will allow financial aid but you have to actually take their classes in order to qualify, which really bites. But, that's better than Excelsior which has no financial aid at all.
So, much depends on your brother's personal situation. Also, it depends on whether he's good at studying on his own and is a good test taker. Some people do much better in a traditional classroom.
I like http://www.123degree.com for a bit more realistic outline on testing out than http://www.bain4weeks.com
Lawrie's outline is possible, but I don't think it's probable for most students.
JMO

 

Sorry, OKAY in answer to your question I checked my TESC catalog. They have an A.S. in applied science with an applied computer studies degree.
You are required to have
21 s.h. in the degree option
18 s.h. free electives I imagine that his Fema and Computer education would cover those
Then you need 21 general education s.h.
6 in English Composition (CLEP English Composition with Essay 6.s.h.)
3 Humanities (I'd take the CLEP for this and use the 3 extra s.h. for General Ed electives)
3 Social Science (Personally I'd take Psychology or Sociology Clep 3. s.h.)
3 College Math (College Math Clep 6.sh)
Then it says you need 6 General Ed electives but the Humanities 6 and College Math 6 would cover those)
So that means, and granted I'm not a counselor over at TESC your brother would have to take
1.CLEP English Composition With Essay
2. CLEP General Test Humanities
3. CLEP Sociology or Psychology
4. CLEP General Test College Math
in order to get his Associates. BTW www.instantcert.com has test prep for all those tests HTH

 

I don't agree. I think time spent on the five 6-credit General CLEP's is time and money better spent.

 

Well money wise and credit wise you get more bang for your buck with the GRE. But, since most Associates require a general ed. component you'd be right.

 

I was also going to say that since the person needs an associates degree they probably don't have the gen ed class and CLEP's would serve them better but you beat me to it.

 

If there is a local community college which offers a major in criminal justice, he might be better served taking classes there.

There are also some online programs listed here:

http://www.worldwidelearn.com/online-associate/criminal-justice-degree.htm

If DETC accreditation is acceptable,Ashworth College offers an AS in Criminal Justice.

http://www.ashworthcollege.com/academic/uj/

 

TESC

Hi, Contact me directly via e-mail in reference to TESC. Hille

 

Hi again all. Just checking back after the weekend. Lauradglas, that computer studies option sounds great, assuming they will accept the credits from an ACICS accredited school. For those wondering about the community college - he simply doesnt have the time. He is working 2 jobs, and has a few mouths to feed. And frankly, he isnt worried about how he the degree is regarded, he just needs those 60 credits. The job is basically his already, but they cant fake the 60 credits. I will tell him to talk to someone at TESC, assuming they will allow him to transfer the ACICS creds.

 

If getting an AA or AS fast and relatively cheap is his only goal, then I would echo the previous advice to have him check out Thomas Edison State College, Charter Oak State College or Excelsior. He should also check out the BA in 4 Weeks website. He could knock out a very fast 30 credits just by taking the CLEP subject exams.

 

I have never taken one but I would guess the subject exams are pretty tough. I would much rather knock out 7-10 regular CLEP/DANTE tests especially since several are give-mes for many adults.

 

That's certainly an option. I suggested the subject exams because they are six credits each.