Questions about previous credits

I posted this on the elearners site, but thought I would post here also to get some advice. I'd like to take the credits I've earned (most are almost 30 years old), if possible, and get an Associates.
These credits come from a RA college - Tarleton State University. I got very sick at the end and was not able to finish (take my finals) so I do have a few "D's", but saw that some schools accept them. I then on went to raise kids, work, etc. I looked at the Big Three schools. There confusion sets in! My kids are out of college (one just finished Master's) so I thought I might see if I could do something with my credits.

English 1113 - B (3)
English 1123 - B (3)
English 2013 *Lit - B (3)
English 2023 (Logic & Tech) - D (3)

Math 1013 (Fund of College Alg) C (3)

Home Ec classes (now known as Family & consumer sciences)
Intro to Home Ec 1011 - B (1)
Princ of Design 1023 - B (3)
Fund. of Cloth Sel 1083 - B (3)
Personal & Prof. Dev. 1073 - B (3)
Costume Design 1033 - B (3)
Food Prep 1053 - B (3)
Nutrition 2103 - D (3)
Home Management 2143 - B (3)
Adv Clothing 4023 - C (3)
Child Dev 3003 - B (3)

Anatomy & Physiology - D (4)
Gen Psychology 1013 - B (3)
History of US 2013 - D (3)
Am Govt System 2013 - B (3)
Am Govt System 2023 - D (3)

Into Sociology 2013 - A (3)

*College Choir (3 semesters) - (3)
*PE (3 semesters) - (3)
*I realize these probably won't count for anything!

More recently, I obtained a PLS certication through NALS..the association for legal professionals. It is ACE reviewed. According to the ACE site, it gives me these credits:
Office Mgmt - (3)
Computer Lit - (3)
Ethics - (3)
Business Communcation - (3)
Intro to Law OR Business Law - (3)

I have worked as a legal secretary/assistant for about 20 years. I am thinking of taking a paralegal certificate course that is done through Adams State College in CO. That course also counts for 6 credits. I would have the certificate AND 6 credits to go towards a degree. Cost is right at $840, plus books for this certificate course.

Any help is appreciated. I enjoy reading the posts on this forum. A very helpful board!

Nana in Texas

 

From the credit hour and course breakdown you provided it appears you have 24 courses that could transfer into an associates degree depending upon the exact credit distribution in the degree.

I suggest you print a copy of the degree plan from Thomas Edison State College (TESC) and from Charter Oak State College (COSC) and fill-in those course you have taken and that would apply to the degree. I expect you could earn an associate degree from TESC merely on the basis of existing credit hours. The courses with grades of 'D' will not be accepted if they fail within your area of study or concentration. With some additional work you could have a bachelor degree by next summer. How is that for motivation?

 

Take a look at the CLEP exams - you might have acquired enough knowledge in those 30 years to pass some of them - American Government for example.
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/exams.html

 

Thanks so much for your help. I will compare the programs at both colleges. And I'll look into the CLEP exams. It is very motivating to see what I might could do in a relatively short period of time.

Nana in Texas

 

Good news, even though your classes are older, TESC only requires your courses be up to date in some majors- so this won't apply to you.

The associate of arts degree is the most straight forward and doesn't have a concentration- just general courses. I think it is the easiest because all of the remaining requirements can be completed quickly using a CLEP exam! I appreciate that you have a lot of applied technology credits, but the best fit will be to put them into the free electives since TESC doesn't have a consumer science option.

I don't know if "D" grades transfer, so to be on the safe side, I left them off. Here is what I get just quickly looking at your list:

www.tesc.edu


AA REQUIREMENTS
I. General Education 48

A. English Composition 6
English 1113 - B (3)
English 1123 - B (3)
DONE

B. Humanities (must include two subject areas) 12
English 2013 *Lit - B (3)
9 CREDITS NEEDED

C. Social Sciences (must include two subject areas) 12
Gen Psychology 1013 - B (3)
Am Govt System 2013 - B (3)
Into Sociology 2013 - A (3)
3 CREDITS NEEDED

D. Natural Sciences 9
One college-level mathematics course (required) (3)
Math 1013 (Fund of College Alg) C (3)
DONE

One computer science course (strongly recommended) (3)
Computer Lit - (3)
DONE

Other natural sciences/mathematics (3)
Must include at least two subject areas
3 CREDITS NEEDED

E. General Education Electives 9
9 CREDITS NEEDED

II. Free Electives 12
Intro to Home Ec 1011 - B (1)
Princ of Design 1023 - B (3)
Fund. of Cloth Sel 1083 - B (3)
Personal & Prof. Dev. 1073 - B (3)
Costume Design 1033 - B (3)
Food Prep 1053 - B (3)
Home Management 2143 - B (3)
Adv Clothing 4023 - C (3)
Child Dev 3003 - B (3)
*College Choir (3 semesters) - (3)
*PE (3 semesters) - (3)
Office Mgmt - (3)
Ethics - (3) **THIS MIGHT END UP HUMANITIES**
Business Communcation - (3)
Intro to Law OR Business Law - (3)



Total: 60 credits


By my calculations, you can use 4 CLEP exams and be finished! Fewer if they take your D grades. These tests, in my opinion, can all be completed in one or two months.
CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature, 6 credits
CLEP American Literature, 6 credits
CLEP Social Science and History, 6 credits
CLEP College Math, 6 credits

 

Would TESC accept a college math CLEP after taking an algebra class? I took three of the four above (not American Literature) and they can easily be done with about a week of prep for each.

 

>>


Yes for sure. TESC does not have a progressive level of difficulty requirement.

 

After years of not really doing math, per se, I bet I would have to really study for that CLEP test to even begin to pass it. I wasn't ever good at math.

Nana in Texas

 

Hi Nana,

Don't forget about Exclesior College. Exclesior is one of the "Big 3". The other two schools have already been mentioned in this thread (Charter Oak and Thomas Edison). Excelsior is significantly less expensive than TESC (not sure about COSC). With Excelsior, you pay a $75 application fee, $995 enrollment fee, and $500 graduation fee. With TESC, this will run you well over $2000. Of course, there are other factors involved when selecting which school to attend.

I agree with the others that you either have enough credits (or are very close) to obtaining your AA/AS degree.

Good Luck!

Tom

 

With any of these schools - COSC, TESC or Excelsior - when you apply and pay that fee, do they then evaluate your credits; or do they do that only after you pay their matriculation fee (or whatever they call it)?

Nana in Texas

 

They give you an unofficial evaluation on receipt of the admission application and fees. You will need to wait a few weeks for them to complete this. Upon enrollment, they will complete the official evaluation.

 

Excelsior also offers exams to gain credit
https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/Excelsior_College_Examinations
Check the listings on the left of the page.

 

UPDATE: transcript evaluation

I took the advice of many of you and had my transcript evaluated at TESC. I received the evaluation today. I need 5 credits to have my Associates in Arts. 2 hours in Natural Sciences; and 3 hours in General Ed Electives. I will probably take another History course for the GEd elective (or any suggestions?). What about Natural Science? Any suggestions?

I got credit for BIOL2194-Anatomy/Physiology - 4 credits. So I need another natural science course.

Thanks so much for all the help that was offered here.

 

Take a statistics course for the natural science requirement. Since you plan to take a history course towards the remaining general education requirement, maybe you are open to CLEPs for both the math and history credits.

 

Penn Foster/ACE reviewed courses, Clovis Community College and LSU Independent Study courses are all dirt cheap and will transfer to TESC. CLEP and DANTES would be even faster and even cheaper if you wanted to go that route.

Pug

 

If I did the CLEP Natual Sciences test, and got 6 credits, would that satisfy both my 2 credits that I'm lacking in Natural Science; and my 3 credits needed for Humanities?

 

Very unlikely

 

First I want to mention how proud I am of this board and the people that contribute to it. It's great to see ordinary people willing to help someone to achieve a goal of getting a degree. It goes to show that it's never too late to get an education. The question about the CLEP natural science test is that this would fall under the umbrella of natural science requirement. Humanities is a total separate discipline. Courses such as English Literature, Philosophy, or something to do with humanities subjects would fall under humanities. If you really get a chance I always recommend that you take an Introduction to Philosophy course because its a subject that can be applied to most anything. I'm really happy to hear that you're really close to getting your degree and hope that you make out well. Please let us know what you decide to do. Many times you can take an Introduction to Philosophy class at your local community college.

 

Well, I made a mistake in my prior post about what I needed for completion. I do need 2 hours of Natural Sciences; but I still need 3 hours of General Ed electives, not Humanities like I posted. So it could be from Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences or Mathematics. That's what happens when posting in a hurry.

Thanks again for the help on this board.

 

Nana, thanks for sharing your questions and the outcome with this board. I personally learned a great deal from your experience. I'm sure I'll have some opportunities in the future to encourage others who are trying to complete their degrees.

Tom