AJU Credit Evaluation - Less Than I Expected

I received my credit evaluation today from Andrew Jackson University. I have about 110 credit hours under my belt so far, mostly in communication, journalism and radio/TV broadcasting courses. I earned most of those during my military service, and they are all ACE-reviewed credits.

AJU is willing to take 56 credit hours in transfer, leaving me with 64 credits or about 21 more courses to complete my BA in Communications.

As I see it, here are my options:

1. Enroll at AJU and take the 21 courses. If I take four courses per semester (I don't even know if that is possible studying part-time), it will take me about five semesters to finish, at a cost of $2,279...and that does not include books.

2. I could continue at Penn Foster College, where I have about 2 1/2 semesters and 14 courses to go to get my AS in Marketing. This would cost me about $2,540...and books are included.

3. I could apply to Excelsior College with my 110 credit hours. When I had a credit evaluation done by Excelsior a couple of years ago, they said I had about 33 credit hours to go to get my BA, but that was before I started taking courses at Penn Foster College. I have earned an additional 17 credit hours since then. The downside: I don't have any upper-level credit to speak of. I think it would cost about $750 to get enrolled as a military veteran, but I would then have to pay for courses and/or CLEP/DANTES exams (which I think I could get reimbursed for, as a veteran). It would probably cost me about as much as the other two options.

Feedback? Advice? What would you do?

 

Negotiate for more credit. I went back and forth with CCU, until I got the credit I felt I deserved. I had to justify it, but it worked.

Abner

 

Do you plan to continue on with a Masters at some point in the future? If so, given your options I'd probably recommend either Excelsior or one of the other Big 3 to complete a RA bachelor's, IF you are comfortable with doing CLEP/DANTES/ECE/TECEP exams. Note that CLEP won't give you any upper level credit (at least for Excelsior) so you'll need to check the # of exams you'd have to take.

The other consideration is the proximity of testing centers to you. If it's convenient (as it was for me) you can knock out exams as soon as you're ready and you'll set your own pace.

 

I do plan to get a masters, most likely at Heriot-Watt, which has a MSC in Marketing via DL. Since it is a UK school, RA/NA doesn't matter.

 

Check your PM

 

I would be inclined to say that going with EC would be the better option.

Going that route still gives you a great deal of latitude and control over how you chose to study.

IMO, having to take 56 credits vs. 20 something is a step backwards.

Unless there are some courses that you feel that you would enjoy or greatly benefit from taking.

 

When I transfer at my bachelor's level from one university to another, in the first institution I did 88 credits the receiving institution only took 33 credits and the new degree required 132 credits so I had 99 credits to go. What I did was, I took 7 classes (flat fee after 12 credits) at a time while holding a job( night) took classes in the summer, so anywhere I could squeeze a class I did it. So , I finished in about 2 1/2 years, it was not easy and did not had much sleep( about 3 hours, I guess I was young), so it can be done.

 

Being so close to an RA degree with Excelsior, I would really go that route. Have you looked to see if TESC would work for you because of the upper credit issue? TESC will also take 25 hours of FEMA credit at no cost.

Pug

 

If I went the EC route, I would probably still have to get about 30 upper division credits, or at least 10 courses.

TESC would be a minimum of $2,445, and that's not counting the cost of CLEP/Dantes or any courses I would need to take. Cost is an issue for me, so that is why I did not consider TESC.

Charter Oak would be cheaper, at $1,335 before factoring in the cost of exams, but it looks like they only require 15 upper level credits.

 

You can a good shot at one of the big 3, might as well take it when you can get it relatively easily. Grade "A" is always better than grade "B" even when you or anyone you know doesn't care, maybe someday unforseen, someone you will run into will. That's why I am also going the PFC -> EC route.

 

Could you post the transfer credit breakdown for courses that Andrew Jackson University accepted for transfer and those which were not accepted? Also, provide the degree requirements for AJU.

If you complete the AS (Marketing) and Penn Foster College, would that enable you to apply to the graduate programmes you previously mentioned in the UK?

 

Hi Sentinel,

I'll try to post the credit breakdown on here later.

Heriot-Watt does not require any undergraduate degree at all, so I could enroll there now if I wanted to. I just saw the AJU "no tuition" deal as a great way of picking up an undergrad degree before doing so. However, since they will only accept about half of my transfer credit (admittedly, I still have general education requirements I need to complete), I will have to weigh all of my options.

I noticed in looking over the degree requirements that AJU appears to be more stringent than any of the Big 3 in terms of the courses you need to get a BA.

 

Ah, the missing general education requirements makes AJU's decision more understandable. TESC, for example, requires about 60 general education credit hours and in many cases this is the equivalent of an associate degree.

So, it basically comes down to a choice between

Andrew Jackson University:
Bachelor of Arts in Communications
5 semesters (64 credit hours) for USD2279.00 (tuition only)

Penn Foster College:
Associate of Science in Marketing
2.5 semesters (42 credit hours) for USD2540.00 (tuition and books)

The cost difference is 2.5 semesters and USD261.00. Do you think you could test-out of the 20 credit credit hours (7 courses)for that price? Even at USD70.00 per examination that only gets you 3 examinations, leaving you with 4 examinations to complete.

Given that you want to pursue a graduate degree at Herriot-Watt, presumably in marketing and/or communications, which degree would help prepare you to achieve your educational and career goals most expediently? If you decide a bachelor degree would be most beneficial, perhaps Thomas Edison State College with its flexibility is a route worth considering. On the other hand, if the courses at Penn Foster are providing, in your assessment, a solid foundation for the graduate degree at Herriot-Watt, you could have a graduate degree by the time you normally would have completed a bachelor degree at AJU.

Now, if you want to teach at some point there are colleges and universities that require an undergraduate (bachelor) degree in addition to the graduate (master) degree. My sister ran into a similar issue when she approached a university in Canada about teaching part-time. Now she is in the midst of a doctorate degree and working as a consultant based on her masters degree and the in-progress doctoral degree.

 

As I look at it like this, it seems I have a choice between an associate degree or a bachelor degree for about the same price. The only real issue facing me is time toward completion of the degree. With that being said, I'm probably leaning toward AJU. I could knock out some of the general ed requirements along the way through CLEP/Dantes and speed up my time toward completion of the BA through AJU. I can still transfer 34 credits into the program.

 

With all things being equal (both schools being NA), I would always choose the Bachelor's over the Associate's degree.

Things not being equal (NA vs. RA), I would always go RA.

 

Thomas Edison State College:

1. You have 110 Credits already

2. You can take about 25 to 30 credit hours of FEMA courses within a 3 week period upping your credit total to 140 Credits.

3. You can take CLEP and DANTES tests for free as a veteran? If so, you would be able to complete your entire degree at TEST without having to even take a single class at all.

TESC Degrees:

MARKETING
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
• Undergraduate Certificate

COMMUNICATIONS
• Bachelor of Arts


BA in Communications Credit Distribution




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Heavin School of Arts and Sciences

What You Can Study

Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Programs







Subject Category Credits I. General Education Requirements 60 A. English Composition 6 B. Humanities 12 Must include at least two subject areas C. Social Sciences 12 Must include at least two subject areas D. Natural Sciences and Mathematics 12 One college-level mathematics course required (3) One computer science course strongly recommended (3) Other natural science/mathematics (3) Must include at least two subject areas E. General Education Electives 18 II. Area of Study: Communications 33 A. Required Courses 6 Select two of the following courses for the Communications Theory requirement:

• Fundamentals of Speech

(3)

• Interpersonal Communications

(3)

• Mass Communications

(3) B. Communications Electives* 27

• Broadcast and Cable Promotion
• Broadcasting in America
• Cinema Theory
• Communication Law
• Communication Research
• Debate
• Film Styles and Genre
• Interviewing
• Journalism* *
• Media in Communication
• Motion Picture Productions
• Non-Verbal Communications
• Oral Interpretation of Literature
• Public Relations
• Public Speaking
• Radio News
• Radio Production
• Radio-Television Policies, Laws and Regulations
• Small Group Communication
• Survey of Cable Communications
• Technical Writing
• Telecommunication Processes and Policy
• Television News
• Television Production
• Theories of Persuasion
• Video Communication Theory
• Voice and Diction
• Voice Production

III. Free Electives 27 Total 120*This list is a guide. Other communications courses may be appropriate for this area of study.
Note 1: **Limit of 6 credits of courses relating to journalism and/or mass media writing (e.g., Introduction to Journalism, News Reporting, Newswriting, Magazine Article Writing, News Editing).
Note 2: Courses in speech needed to prepare students for college-level studies CANNOT be accepted toward Thomas Edison State College degree requirements.
Note 3: Courses in "Speaking English" for foreign students or students with disabilities may be free electives or remedial courses (developmental). Course descriptions will need to be reviewed. If course is remedial (developmental), it CANNOT be accepted toward Thomas Edison State College degree requirements.

 

All 27 of those free electives would be taken care off with FEMA courses BTW.

 

At this point, finishing a bachelors degree as fast as you can so you can enroll in a masters program as soon as possible would seem to be your best option, when speaking about your resume at least.

Are any of the 110 credits that you currently have NA? If they are all RA TESC seems like the answer to the fastest degree completion. It could take you a year or two to complete upper level courses through excelsior if you do not have any junior or senior level classes already completed.

With TESC you can apply associate level courses accross the entire degree.

 

OK, aparently as a Military Veteran, you can take Dantes, CLEPS, and Excelsior exams for free.

Free Exams for Military Personnel Excelsior College Exams Are FREE to all Military Personnel
DANTES funds most Excelsior College Exams taken at authorized DANTES test centers for all active duty military, National Guard, and Reserve Component personnel, which makes taking Excelsior College Exams one of the best ways to advance toward your degree and keep moving up in the military. Excelsior College Exams are accepted at hundreds of SOC colleges and universities and at nearly 900 institutions of higher learning around the world. Choose from 40 examinations in the arts and sciences, business, nursing, and education, many offering upper-level credit.






It might be best to take all the exams you can, Dantes, CLEP, ECE's for free that meet the TESC requirements along with all of your transfer credits and the 27 credits of FEMA courses.

TESC is looking cheaper and cheaper....

 

Does TESC have a payment plan, or does the entire enrollment fee have to be paid up front? That would really determine if TESC is for me.

I've also been taking a hard look at COSC. They require fewer upper division credits than EC, and I think that, unlike AJU, they would accept almost all of my 110 credit hours. The cost would be comparable to AJU, even after factoring in the CLEP/DANTES/Excelsior exams.