AA or AS General Studies? Help needed ASAP!

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by saharapost, Jun 25, 2013.

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  1. saharapost

    saharapost Member

    First of all I owe the guys on this forum a very big thank you for their selfless service(s) in answering questions from confused folks like me.
    My relative who wanted a cheaper than Peru State school just got contacted by New Mexico Junior College and was asked to apply for admissions. The plan is that ''we'' intend using an Associates from NMJC towards the prestigious TESC degrees. But we are confused. Would an AA in General studies fulfill the same place as an AS Gen studies would when it comes to TESC BSBA? I was thinking whether the AA is appropriate for BA programs while the AS is for BS programs. Am I right? Should one wants to go for any BA, wouldn't an AS fit into it as well as an AA? We are on the website filling the form now. Please help us. Thanks a lot.
     
  2. saharapost

    saharapost Member

    This is a part of the mail we got: Who knows, it might be useful to some newbie someday...

    We are excited that you have considered New Mexico Junior College as an institution to fulfill some of your learning needs. At this site, you will find information about the fully online degree plans the campus offers New Mexico Junior College - Distance Learning. NMJC is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate degrees and certificates which include online courses and degrees.

    Registration for the Fall 2013 has begun. The schedule is available online at New Mexico Junior College Course Schedule. Also by visiting this link now, you can get a feel for the types of online classes that are generally offered each semester and then visit with a counselor for assistance with specific courses. NMJC has 8-week and 16-week courses available.

    The NMJC homepage under “Future Students” Future Students - New Mexico Junior College provides information for prospective students. If you decide to become a NMJC student, you can apply for admission online at the above website. After receiving notification that your admission was received, first time students must contact a counselor by phone at 575.492.2577 (toll free 1-800-657-6260) or by e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected] to complete the admissions process and register for classes. In your correspondence with the counselor, you will want to include your interest in online classes.


    Important notice: NMJC has begun a new 48-hour payment policy. Once you register, you have 48 hours to pay for your course(s) or make arrangements for a payment plan. Otherwise, you will be purged and not have a spot in the class without re-registering. Late registration at NMJC is not available.

    We look forward to the possibility of having you as an online student at New Mexico Junior College. If the distance learning team can be of further assistance, please contact any of us at New Mexico Junior College - Distance Learning
     
  3. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Well....TESC is not prestigious, but at least it's regionally accredited and doesn't come with the stigma that for-profit colleges have. You can also get an associates cheaply at Charter Oak State College. But if you're looking for cheap courses that will count toward a bachelor's (considering that there are issues with taking CLEPs, FEMAs, and DSSTs), then NMJC might be the better option. TESC does give UL credit to community college courses if they have a similar title and course description to an UL course in TESC's PLA database.

    TESC is not one of those schools that accepts whole associate's degrees as automatically fulfilling the general education requirements. They will evaluate each course individually to see if it fits into one of their requirements. The general education requirements between the BSBA and BA degrees really aren't that different at TESC. The BSBA just has more specific requirements on some areas. Since TESC requires a lot of credits for general education and their new GE requirements will have more of a focus on the humanities and social sciences, the AA might be better.
     
  4. saharapost

    saharapost Member

    Wao, thanks a load, Sanantone. You are one of my heroes on this forum. I am better informed than I was. I love this forum. :)
     
  5. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Probably. With an AS fewer courses may apply to general education requirements and more to electives, but even then not necessarily.

    Usually when there is a distinction, AA programs are meant for later transfer to four year programs of all kinds, and AS and especially AAS programs are not. But since the final destination is TESC, which is so liberal in accepting transfer credit, it shouldn't matter much.
     
  6. novadar

    novadar Member

    With a user name like "Sanantone" there is no way to go wrong.

    Disclaimer: I live in San Antonio so I have a vested interest in Sanantone's heroship!
     
  7. saharapost

    saharapost Member

    :laugh: I absolutely agree with you. You guys don't know how happy I am this evening. I think there are lots of nice people here on this forum who, though aren't paid, yet take their time to respond to tens or hundreds of questions here weekly. We look forward to sharing our US degrees (especially from TESC) with you guys. Way to go, yes we know. :)
     
  8. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    That's flattering. I credit the completion of my BA to forums like this, so I'm just giving back.
     
  9. lawrenceq

    lawrenceq Member

    This forum helped me a lot. I went from getting ready to blow the last of my GI Bill at the UoP to completing a bachelor's at Liberty.
     
  10. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    I'll agree in general - the AA tends to be the better transfer degree since there are more gen ed/liberal arts classes. AS degrees tend to be more specialized.

    That being said, if you have your sites set on a particular BS degree and you can earn a related AS degree, that would be the 1st choice. If you are not sure, then go with the AA.

    Good luck!
     
  11. saharapost

    saharapost Member

    I was wondering how it works with ACE transcript report when one has courses from different providers. For instance, should I want to transfer ACE credits from PF, Aleks, Saylor and so on, would all the courses be transcribed on a single transcript report detailing name of provider and grade or they send transcript for each school one attends even though I am requesting the ACE transcript for all courses on the same day or at the same time? Thanks for the response.
     
  12. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Saylor courses are approved by NCCRS and NCCRS does not send transcripts. You'll have to get one from Saylor. I don't know if TESC requires a PF transcript, but they definitely require an ACE transcript to prove that the PF courses were approved at the time you took them. With Straighterline, you can just have them send a transcript since TESC is a partner college. All of your credits should be on the same ACE transcript with everything detailed except for the grades maybe.
     
  13. saharapost

    saharapost Member

    Thanks for your detailed response, Sanantone. I am aware that Saylor is not an ACE partnering body but not that NCCRS doesn't send transcript. I appreciate your response.
     

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