Looking for 2nd degree using non-credit courseS?

I have a B.S degree in Liberal Studies from the University of the State of New York ( over 130 credits) (now Excelsior -1979) and have done some non-college credit courses since then. These include
A.40 + FEMA EMI courses (last 5 years)
And from the US Fire Administration (FEMA) self-study courses, Q118 & Q318

B.A 915 hour paralegal certificate program (homestudy) from The Blackstone School of Law ( then in Dallas -now at http://www.blackstonelaw.com/) graduated

C.three-course series in Principles of Political Economy from the Henry George Institute.
A certificate is given at the end of each course. (Note: the Henry George Institute is not authorized to grant academic credit. Any granting of such credit for our courses would have to be taken up with the accredited institution with which the student may be associated. Information on our courses will be provided to such institutions upon request.) last 4 years

D. 369 credit hours from the Nonresident Instruction Branch AMEDDC&S > I have a trasnscript from them (Academy of Health Sciences US Army ) These were done in the years 1984-1990)
Not ACE evaluated)

I know the FEMA courses can be converted to college credit though the TESC credit bank -does anyone have a direct link to this site- I can't seen to find it and the costs involved.

Is it possible to get credit (and a 2nd Bachelor's degree) using these other courses?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

Many will reply with "why not get a master's?" In answer to your question:

Excelsior won't allow you to earn another degree from Excelsior at the same level in the same general program -- that means if you have a BS (LS) from Excelsior, they won't allow another BS/BA in the Liberal Arts college even if it's a different major.

They will allow you to earn a bachelor's in the schools of Business, Technology, or Health Studies and will apply all of the credit you already have as long as it is applicable.

The Excelsior 2nd degree rule requires 25% new credit for the second degree. Assuming 120 hours, that's just 30 hours. This is a pretty common requirement among RAs but varies slightly in number of hours.

You could also consider a BA/BS from COSC or TESC, either of which might raise an eyebrow if you wanted another Liberal Studies concentration degree unless you were less than honest and didn't tell them about the USNY degree, but they might not be overly concerned if you wanted a specific major such as emergency management.

TESC would be the easier to apply those FEMA credits according to discussions on these boards.

Consider whether there are any B&M schools from which you have completed a large number of hours. It is possible that you are closer to meeting their 2nd degree rules than you think provided they will accept transfer in of your prior credits. Most RAs limit transfer to 90 hours of 120 -- but as a second degree student, you're going to have to do 30 new hours anyway... Local B&M may be the route to go.

You can use that experience at Academy of Health Sciences as the basis for credit by exam, I did two non-resident programs at AHS and they did in fact prepare me to do well on several exams (Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, ECE Nursing)

Whichever way you go, it's reasonable to expect that you'll need in excess of 150 transcripted hours somewhere to justify two bachelor's degrees. That's simply 120sh + 25%. The assumption would be that these are going to have to relate to the new major entirely since it's expected that if you have a BA/BS, you've already met all of the gen.ed. and core type courses. (I'm over 200 hours to accomplish the two bachelor's task but now meet the requirements for a third)

30 remaining hours makes TESC look like a good route since their defined majors in the arts and sciences are generally right around 30 hours.

You have a 130 hour degree but it only required 120. Remember to argue that those extra 10 hours are "in addition to the <i>requirements</i> for the first degree" and you may be as close as 20 hours from another.

Just a few ideas

 

CoachTurner
Thanks for your reply. I was thinking more in line with a degree in Emergency Management or Human Services if I could convert the FEMA or Blackstone Certificate to College credit. The EMI courses though are mainly considered lower level and would not satisfy the major requirement. I don't know if the Army (AMEDD) courses can be converted-maybe through a PLA.
TESC looks like the best option at this point.