A quandary.... advice needed

I have an A.S. in Computer Info Systems from Ashworth College and am currently enrolled in CCU and working towards a B.S.

I'm currently (and will for the foreseeable future) work in an elementary school in IT as a Network/SysAdmin. I love my job and chose to get a degree so I wouldnt be the only one in the handbook without one. They did not require that I get one and have paid for all of my schooling thus far.

I have been asked if I would like to teach a class possibly beginning next spring, but more likely the following September. I never thought I'd be asked that but I do get along very well with the kids and the more I think about it, the more exciting it sounds.

As you can see, my degrees are NA, however, and I would have to transfer from CCU to an RA school if I wanted to teach. The school doesn't seem to mind that my degrees are NA I would not be comfortable teaching with an NA degree.

My CCU tuition is paid in full and I've reached the cap on tuition reimbursement until next May. I have approximately 12 courses left to do at CCU and am thinking that perhaps I should attempt to transfer to an RA school. I have a few questions about that though:

1 - If CCU will not refund any of the paid-in-full tuition, is it possible to transfer credits to an RA school and yet continue on at CCU and complete that degree program?

2 - Could anyone ballpark what it might cost to transfer to one of the least expensive RA programs (Excelsior maybe?) for the 12 courses? I only ask because I will most likely have to pay for that out of pocket and need to see if I can swing it.

3- Finally, is it likely that if I finish up with CCU that I can transfer to an RA Masters program with those credits?

Thanks so much for any advice.

 

Why on earth do you feel you need to get a regionally accredited degree to teach the class if the school doesn't require it? That doesn't make sense to me.

The least expensive RA programs are going to be one of the big three: Excelsior, Charter Oak, Thomas Edison. Unfortunately, none of the three will accept DETC undergraduate credits. Thomas Edison and Excelsior will accept them if they have also been ACE evaluated, but Ashworth has not been. I don't know about CCU.

There are a lot of RA schools out there that will accept DETC credit, but none are particularly cheap. Two that come to mind immediately are Liberty and Bellevue. Bellevue is partularly interesting because, having your associate degree already, they offer an excelerated 1-year BA completion program...but it's not cheap.

If you are only 12 classes away from the BA at CCU, why not just finish? There are a lot of RA schools that will accept you into their graduate programs with a DETC accredited degree. If you have to pay for 12 more classes, wouldn't you rather pay for 12 MBA classes?

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the reply, Pug.

The reason I am considering transferring to an RA school is because every board I look at-- this one included-- specifically says "if you want to teach, you need an RA degree." I'm concerned more about a parent reading the handbook and knowing the difference between NA and RA and if it's common knowledge that an RA degree is required to teach, I don't want to have to deal with that later. I don't know if the "if you want to teach, you must have RA" is carved in stone but it seems to be mentioned in many, many NA degree discussions.

I looked at Excelsior's web page and this is on the Admissions page: (the typo is theirs)

"Excelsior College accepts credit from accredited degree-granting institutions in the United States. These institutions must be approved by the U.S. Department of Education and hold either profesisonal or national accreditation, as verified by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)."

That statement implies that they will accept DETC credits. It doesn't make mention of ACE review.

 

You should give Excelsior a call. I've talkedto them and written letters a few times on this issue. They don't, or at least didn't, accept NA credit unless it was evaluated by ACE. I really went at it with them. I received a letter from their president stating they were reviewing their admissions policies regarding the RA/NA issue. It's possible they finally changed for the better. Please let me know.

 

Where on the admissions page do you see that paragraph? I just looked at the page and everything I saw states transfer credits have to be regional unless evaluated by ACE. Can you post a link?

Pug

 

I just found the statement. You're right. It absolutely says they will accept national credit. That said, I just spoke to them this morning about something for my wife and I was told, "Regional accreditation is what we look for." I need to call them tomorrow!

Pug

 

Glad you found it, Pug.

Please post back after you speak to them. I'm curious as to what they will tell you.

 

Ok, I will. I just found a post from earlier this year on the topic. Supposedly, the official policy for Excelsior is now to accept NA degrees into the graduate program. If this is the case you could complete your 12 classes at CCU and then do the masters at Excelsior on a provisional basis. I'm calling tomorrow and will update you.

Pug

 

You could finish your bachelor's at CCU, then go get your master's at a school which is both RA and NA, such as AMU www.apus.edu . Also, maybe our friend Jamie Gauthier (jagmct1) can give us a link to one of those old threads of RA schools that take NA credits.

 

I'm enrolled in excelsior and in May of this year when I ask if I could transfer a NON-ACE evaluated Penn Foster course I was told


"Unfortunately, Penn Foster is not a regionally accredited institution. Excelsior College can only accept tranfer credit from schools who have been granted regional accreditation"


gbrogan I'm not sure where your live but the requirements to teach differ from State to State...

For example in Massachusets where I live I don't think vocational teachers are required to a have a degree however they do need to pass a cerification test in there vocational area of expertise.. and a teachers certifications test ..

So if maybe if your only teaching a computer class the NA/RA wouldn't matter

 

American Military/Public Uni & Western Gov ... are both RA/NA schools and would be worth checking out ...

 

I wonder about this....

As most high schools are regionally accredited, I wonder if an NA bachelors would make a difference. Or, would it just be a provision of licensure for the state that is taught in to require an RA bachelors? I know that the state always throws in the phrase: " Graduate from a program that is acceptable to the state board of licensure", which can mean RA. In any case, I wouldn't feel guilty of having the NA bachelors if your employer accepts it. That is what really counts, and if you know your stuff it does not matter where your degree came from.

 

I agree. I really think your best bet is to finish CCU, then go after the graduate degree if you are so inclined. It will be easier for you to get a RA graduate program to accept an NA undergard degree than it will be to transfer you NA credits into an RA BA program. That said, I think Phoenix and Kaplan both accept NA at the undergrad level, but again, both are quite expensive. From an expense and a practicality stand point, finish CCU. I'll still verify with Excelsior this morning though.

Pug

 

gbrogan...I talked to Excelsior today. They begin accepting NA transfer credit July 1st. The details of the new policy are not yet published. I posted a new thread based on my conversation with the school this afternoon. http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24684

This may resolve your problem. Good luck.

Pug