I am only a few classes away from earning my associates degree at the university of phoenix, but the tuition is high and I would like to find another school. Does anyone know if their credits are transferable? And If so, what other online schools do you recommend ?
UoP is regionally accredited and their units should transfer with little problem. We often recommend Excelsior College for those with credits to transfer because that school is among the most liberal with accepting transfer credits and the prices are low. UoP is outrageously expensive and their reputation has suffered in recent years, but they are still fully accredited. You are probably wise to go somewhere else. Here's why your posts don't show up right away: http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/35100-new-users-ask-where-did-my-posts-go.html (that is, if you didn't already know this)
I don't know who "we" are, but I would recommend Charter Oak State College in Connecticut over Excelsior in this case, because it has the same advantage of accepting transfer credit liberally (especially since in this case it sounds like all the incoming credit is from a regionally accredited school), and since it has a well deserved reputation for being friendly and informative to prospective students who have not yet applied. (Well, that, and I'm on the Alumni Association Board. :smile: )
Besides Excelsior College, Charter Oak State Collage; Thomas Edison State College is another consideration. Just choose the cheapest one since all (The Big Three) have the same reputation.
Yeah...everything Steve said! In my opinion, COSC is much more friendly and easy to work with then the other two.
But if you want a liberal arts degree then I believe Excelsior is the most flexible degree because of the large number of electives that can include professional courses (such as business, education, engineering, and medical)
Charter Oak State College has the BS degree for those with fewer liberal arts credits and more professional credits, and the BA for the opposite situation. And you can do a concentration there in anything, because you can design your own.
It is always up to the receiving institution to decide whether your credits will transfer. Usually, if you are transferring from one regionally accredited school to another, there should be few problems getting your credits to transfer.
Steve, Although my daughter has a COSC degree, if we had to go down that road again, we would choose Excelsior over COSC. The reason is that COSC now requires a cornerstone course: Charter Oak State College - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Admissions and Online Courses Excelsior does not. I can see the cornerstone course for those adults who have been away for a long time, but I have a difficult time seeing the need for a self-motivated learner who is banging out exams, etc for a degree. Since you are on the alumni board, thought I would point that out to you. Shawn
Thanks for that. They didn't have this requirement when I was a student there, and I agree that at first glance it doesn't serve a purpose that couldn't necessarily also be met by other means, particularly since the explanation concerns writing, and someone might be transferring in all sorts of writing courses. Now that you have me curious, I will ask the staff for more information about the rationale for this. All that said, however, it's just one course, one that bears credit, and their courses are inexpensive. Unless someone is trying to transfer in all 120 credits, I wouldn't expect this to be a deal breaker, especially since Charter Oak really has earned its reputation for responsiveness, and that's critical for distance learners.
Don't question SurfDoctor, once the recommendation has been made "we" (the dog, the imaginary friend, and all members here) must follow it to the death. I finished at TESC, they are not known for their customer service but I never had an issue connecting with someone by phone or getting an email back promptly.
Excelsior does not require a capstone course for their AS but does require a 1-unit information literacy course. Excelsior now requires a 3-unit capstone course for their BSLS: https://my.excelsior.edu/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=f9efcdb6-2dad-4c83-b2e0-43725d335e94&groupId=78666
<BUZZ> I disagree with all of that. For cheapest? Your local community college offers an AA degree. Also, your local community college also probably requires only 15 credits be done in-house, will accept all of your UoP credit, and likely offers distance learning for your remaining courses. Knowing what you've paid for most of an AA, I kinda feel bad sending you to your own CC, but really it's a win. PLUS- if and when you're ready, you'll likely be able to transfer seamlessly into your state university with a 100% transfer guarantee and cheap tuition. Most state universities offer multiple degrees online now too, and at in-state tuition rates, you could get 4 or 5 of them for the same money you're paying now.
He loses a whole semester that way. Better to transfer it all to Charter Oak and get an Associate's from there, then go back to searching for a four year state school near him that does distance learning. Although Charter Oak's courses aren't bad for out of state students, so depending on what state he's in, it might not be worth it to do it that way, it might be just as good to do things through Charter Oak. Well, not every state offers that transfer guarantee, although I agree that someone who's completed an Associate's degree with a good GPA from a state community college should be pretty competitive to transfer to four year state schools there even in those states that don't. Perhaps the position between ours might be that this person should consider many scenarios, figure out which is the cheapest (or otherwise best meets his needs) and proceed from a position of information?
I do not know which in which state the OP lives but the CC tuition costs in some states is quite high (California is amongst the lowest). The OP could perhaps earn credit at Clovis CC (or similar low cost tuition institution) or pass CLEP/DSST exams to minimize cost and finish his AA quickly assuming he needs only a handful of courses.
Really? Which one doesn't? I'm pretty sure they do. Not being argumentative, but seriously, I'd send you a nickle if you could find a state that CC doesn't have an articulation already in place between CC and their state uni. In any event, I think that you and I agree that OP needs to explore all options. Coming here was a start.
I personally have enjoyed Liberty University. I transferred from my JC and received all the unit as either GE or elective classes. I'm now on my last year and it's been a nice road. The tuition is pretty cheap $304 a unit when doing full time. Full time is very due-able since each semester you can do 2 eight week classes for the first term and another 2 eight week classes for the last term in the semester. It's Christian school, so there will be some requirements to learn Christian Theology.