My studies at Education Direct

I have finally taken the plunge and enrolled in a program. I have decided on Education Direct's ASB in Marketing degree. I will post messages here from time to time with information about the program in the hopes that it may help somebody else who is trying to make a similar decision.

I enrolled online, and the whole process took about 5 minutes. If you sign the payment agreement, you're in. The interesting thing about Education Direct was it allows YOU to chose the amount of your down payment and your monthly payment amount. It then calculates the number of months it will take you to pay for the semester. I made a down payment of $35, and will make monthly payments of $35 for 20 months for the semester. I have the option of paying off the total at any time.

ED says I will get my student ID by email by the end of the next business day, and I can then begin studying online. I'll let you know how it goes.

I eventually plan to transfer the ASB into an RA Bachelor's in Marketing program.

 

Congratulations!

I assume that ASB stands for Associate of Science in Business?

Have you already made arrangements for an RA school to accept your ED credits?

 

When you applied on line I asume that the aceptance is provisional.
didn't you have to provide high school diploma and transcripts?

Or they contact your school directly?

Learner

 

It stands for "Associate of Specialized Business Degree with an Option in Marketing"

I have not made arrangements for the ED courses to transfer, although others on this board and elsewhere tell me that TESC and Excelsior have accepted the credits in transfer because ED's courses are ACE-reviewed. That gives the courses more acceptability by RA schools, even though ED is DETC-accredited. I have not yet decided where I will go to get my Bachelors in Marketing Management.

 

Re: Re: My studies at Education Direct

The online registration form states a HS diploma or GED is required for acceptance, although is does not ask for an HS info. ED indicated I will be receiving another application by mail to sign and send in, so I assume I will need to provide info or transcript at that time. I have a copy of my transcript, so that is no problem.

I do have some previous college coursework completed as well. I wonder if any of that would transfer to ED? I guess that's a question I may have to ask them. Do any ED graduates here have any info about that?

 

TCord,


Congradulations on your decision.

Be aware that not all of the ED courses are ACE reviewed.

Confirm with ED that the courses that you take are ACE reviewed if you want to transfer them to one of the "Big 3"

 

According to the info I got when I registered online, all of the courses in the degree program are ACE reviewed. Courses in diploma programs and other individual courses may not be. I will double check that info.

 

Education Direct

I was enrolled in ED's Business Mgmt program for one semester. They will ask you to send them a copy of your high school diploma or ged within 30 days and they do accept credits from other colleges. If they take some of your other credits they will prorate your balance with them. They do it per credit hour. Also, as far as I know not all of the classes in a degree program are ACE reviewed. Usually the main ones are but definately double check. Either way, you will find a school that will accept an ED degree, many have done it already.

 

Re: Education Direct

This is from info ED sent my by mail:

"If you wish to receive credit for previous coursework, contact the college you attended and ask that your transcripts be forwarded to the Center for Degree Studies (ED) for evaluation. All previous college work must have been completed with a grade of "C" or better, and as much as 50 percent of the required credits may be transferred. We will also credit your tuition for all the courses that are acceptable. "

 

Congrats!!!! I don't think you could go wrong with that kind of payment plan. Good Job.


Abner

 

Congratulations! I know you've been looking around and were comparing ED with Ashworth and other places.

You seemed Ashworth-bound to me, so I'm a little surprised at your choice of ED (not that it's not just as good or maybe even better, mind you), but I'm just curious why you decided on ED instead of Ashworth; and, also, if you don't mind sharing, what other programs were seriously in the running for you and why you opted not to go with any of them.

I'm asking because from my witness of your posts over time I have come to realize that you're a pretty smart, level-headed and reasonable person who really seems to check things out thoroughly; and I think maybe others looking for an AA or AS program and who are willing for it to be NA (and who are planning on an RA BA or BS) could benefit from your wisdom.

Also, I know you haven't decided yet on where you'll get the BA in Marketing Management, but I'm curious to know which RA schools you're at least considering... and why.

Finally, as someone whose bachelors started out being in marketing/advertising, I'm curious to know why marketing.

Lookin' forward to your response... and, again, congrats! I know you pondered it long and hard. I'm glad you finally settled on something... and, moreover, something that seems as good a choice as ED. Good luck to you!!!!

 

You're right, DesElms, I did look around for a very long time, and Ashworth was definately in the realm of possibility for me. The reason I went with ED really came down to a couple of things: cost, and ACE evaluation.

As you know, I didn't really have a lot of money to play around with, so I had to find something that was as cost-efficient as possible. While the Big Three are still good options as far as that goes, their payment plans still require you to totally pay off tuition in a somewhat short amount of time. There is also the cost of CLEP and DANTES tests, and study materials.

I also considered a B&M local community college, but I would only be able to study part-time, and I have no interest in working on a 2 year degree for four years.

That left NA schools, which do offer monthly payment plans. While Ashworth seemed to have the lowest prices around, they have DETC accreditation and ONLY DETC accreditation going for them. ED is just as inexpensive, has the same type of payment plan, and most of the courses in their degree programs are ACE-evaluated as well ast being DETC accredited, making transfer of courses to an RA school much easier. I just think that I would have an easier time shopping around an Associates degree with courses that are ACE-evaluated than an Ashworth degree with no ACE evaluated courses at all.

After I get my Associates from ED, I am considering schools such as Bellevue, The Big Three, Baker College or perhaps a local state university which offers DL programs. The first three on the list have already demonstrated a willingness to accept ED degrees/courses, and are reasonable in cost. I haven't checked with the state universities yet to determine how acceptable an ED degree might be, but I know at least one of them tends to accept the ACE recommendations for credit transfer.

I plan to eventually take the plunge into Public Relations, and after a lot of research I find that most PR agencies are looking for someone with a journalism/marketing background. I have worked in journalism for more than 20 years, so I think the marketing education will make me a more well-rounded, and strong employment candidate.

I got my student ID number from ED, so I will log in tonight to take my reading and math skills assessements. I must also fax my high school transcripts to them to prove I am a high school graduate. After the assessments are completed, I'm ready to start the program. So far, everything has been handled in a very prompt and professional manner by ED.

 

I took the Math and Reading skills assessment test online at Education Direct. I scored a 100 on the Reading assessment, and an 80 on the Math, which is really saying something because I'm terrible at math. It was general, high school-level math.

According to the website, my first lesson will be shipped to me within 5 to 15 business days. I'm assuming they will wait for my high school transcript before sending me my lesson, so I will fax that tomorrow. My first instruction module is a one credit Business Orientation course. I'm looking forward to it.

 

Wow. Excellent! Thanks for the summary.

And now I understand why Marketing. You're logic is impeccable.

Do you happen to know: Does Ashworth have/require any reading and/or math skills assessments such as that which you describe?

Oh, yeah... I forgot to ask earlier: Did you take AJU seriously at all? If so, your thoughts?

 

As far as I know, Ashworth does not have skills assessment. It's not mentioned in any program or course description I've seen. You pay your money and you wait for your books and lessons to be shipped to you and start taking courses.

If you mean Andrew Jackson University, I did look at their BA in Communications program, but decided I could get an RA Bachelors for the same price or maybe cheaper from the Big Three. I would rather pick up the Associates from an NA school, and then transfer to RA down the road. I think an RA Bachelors would have more utility, while an NA Associates won't really hamper me all that much.

 

I received a message from ED last night that they needed proof that I am a high school graduate before I can take my first courses. They will accept either a copy of my diploma, my transcripts or a DD-214 from the military. They also accept the GED.

I faxed them a copy of my high school transcripts last night. When I checked my student homepage this afternoon, my lessons were waiting for me. Quick service. So far, so good!

 

I've started taking my business orientation classes online. The text is very easy to read, and their are self-tests every ten pages or so. At the end of each unit, there is an exam you can take either online, by phone, or you can mail it in. I choose to take mine online. They are graded instantly. All tests are open book, but for the first couple I chose to try do it by memory just to make sure I was grasping the concept. I have a 90 average so far.
At the end of the semester, there will be a proctored, open book exam. The semester covers a lot of material, so I will use the open book for that exam.

So far, no complaints about Education Direct whatsoever.

TCord1964
ASB Business Management/Marketing - Education Direct (in progress)

 

Way to go TCord! Glad all is going well.


Abner

 

I have hit one small delay in my studies. After completing two classes, I now have to wait to take my next class until my signed student agreement arrives at ED. After I took an exam online last night, I got a message which said my next course's materials would not be sent until they received my signed student agreement. I checked my mail today, and there it was, my student agreement. I signed it and stuck it right back in the mail, but it will likely be a week or two before I can take my next course. Bummer. I'm ready to go!

TCord1964
ASB Business Management/Marketing - Thomson Education Direct (in progress)

 

You say that you have taken two classes already. How long are the classes and where did you take the proctored exam.