Need a fast degree, please help.

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by SalB, Nov 26, 2017.

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  1. SalB

    SalB New Member

    Hi everyone

    Can anyone suggest where I can study online for a degree of any description. Sounds odd I know. I've moved to the Middle East after 30 years in business management and I'm unemployable here without a degree. I can literally have a degree in playing hopscotch and will find well paid work here tomorrow but I don't have a degree.

    I'm British and have looked at UK courses but they are incredibly expensive. It needs to be a recognised university, not mom and pops basement degrees for $10, but as I'm not going to use the degree can anyone suggest the quickest and cheapest way to study for that magic certificate? I realise I'm probably asking the impossible but any help would be appreciated. Thank you
     
  2. nyvrem

    nyvrem Active Member

  3. SalB

    SalB New Member

    Thanks Nyvrem, will check those out but as a housewife at the moment its a bit above my budget.
     
  4. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Have you checked out the Assam Don Bosco University (DBU Global) or the University of Mysore? Both are low cost, accredited universities in India and they offer online programs.
     
  5. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

  6. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    Amity MOOC
    Amity University in India has a free BA in Sociology. However, because they do not return any inquiries, you will have to treat them with caution. Amity does have campuses in the Middle East but fairly expensive. If you can get to communicate with them on the free BA, then it’s a great deal.
     
  7. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Whoops, sorry, I PM you earlier, anyways... I would really try to "fork" out the cash for a BALS (Liberal Studies at Thomas Edison State University). That program would be the cheapest/easiest/fastest as it will allow you to transfer in 117 credits out of 120, the capstone is required by TESU.

    Review my spreadsheet templates in the Beginners guide: Here is the breakdown of the cost, if you can finish it "quickly". Do you know another language besides English? Maybe French? Spanish? Italian? You can get credit for an ACTFL test, up to 24 credits for $150USD, a CLEP or DSST for a language as well.

    Take as many Shmoop courses you can in a month, it's only $88 USD/month and you can net 30 credits+ a month. Their courses are non-proctored, so have the coursework open while you do your exams. You may want to copy/paste, type notes into a word document or pdf file as well, you just need 70%+ to pass the courses.

    Finish your required courses through Straighterline and Study.com, or any other ACE/NCCRS provider such as Saylor/Davar (I prefer SL/Study.com) and have everything transferred over. You can then finish your final course at TESU, pay the rest of the fees. Note: At most, you can take at any one source is 90 credits - so, take up to 90 credits from Shmoop.

    Application fee: $75
    Residency Wavier fee - Study.com discount: $1800 (Regular $2500)
    TESU Capstone - Study.com discount: $1098 (Regular $1500)
    Graduation fee: $332
    TESU Total: $3305

    Study.com - $199/month, 2 exams provided (6 credits), if you need more courses it's $70/exam for 3 credits.
    You should at least take the first 3 courses from them (English Comp I, II, Communications) to get the discounts.
    Shmoop - I would recommend taking at least two months with them for $88/month, to get about 90 credits total.

    After all is said and done, you can get a Regionally Accredited US BA Liberal Studies for under $5000 USD ($3700 British pounds), and if you're fast and have "some time", you can finish it in under 1200 hours. Review my PM and the Beginners Guide, it has a lot of info in there...

    Lastly, if money was an issue, there are Nationally Accredited degrees that can be had for $2500 or so, it depends if your country or company will accept a nationally accredited USA degree or not, in the USA they are second rate - Regional Accreditation is the gold standard.
     
  8. SalB

    SalB New Member

    Gosh thank you very much everyone, that's a lot of options to work through. I shall get started researching now.
     
  9. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Really? Where? Tuition-free University of the People comes in at around $4,000 for a Bachelor's but yes, an Associate's there is possible for ~$2000. I know of a DL school in India that offers a fully (Indian) accredited business Bachelor's for around $2,500, but... that's not here.

    AsianStew, I acknowledge you as King of the Bargain-Degree-Mart. You've held the title a while, I believe. Can you please tell us where these $2,500 NA degrees are to be found? I hope we don't have to stay up all night for four months and complete a degree in one semester at an "all-you-can-eat" college, or credit-cram @ 30-a-month via Shmoop? :smile: Or do we have to move 2,000 miles to get a super-low In-State rate at a CoCo? ...No, I guess not. they're RA.

    Even an Associate degree at low-cost NA schools, e.g. Ashworth or McKinley College costs ~6K these days. Close to double that for a low-end NA Bachelor's. Please tell us what only you appear to know.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 27, 2017
  10. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    ...Or is one compelled, by low price, to choose a NA religious degree, e.g. Nations, regardless of one's chosen heathen/infidel status? I hope not ... and I guess the religious schools do, as well. :shock:
    AsianStew, I am really eager to hear what you have to suggest, re: $2,500 NA degrees. Sounds amazing.

    J.
     
  11. sideman

    sideman Well Known Member

    Perhaps you meant to say that NA degrees come in "second place" when compared to RA degrees. Without getting into the ad nauseam RA vs. NA debate, "second rate" can be interpreted to mean something else entirely when used in the context in which it was used.
     
  12. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I agree with you 100%, Sideman - but as a Post-Black-Friday special, today (only) I can let it go. I just want to know where (he says) a NA degree can be had for $2,500. :question: :question: :question: Or was that a Black Friday special? :smile:

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 28, 2017
  13. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Johann, you're so smart. You covered a few of the NA's that I wanted to point out. There are a few RA/NA that can be had for about the same price - roughly $2500 to $3000. Basically using Free Credits, Saylor $25 each course, Shmoop $88/month all you can take non proctored exams.

    For transfer credits, they're all ACE/NCCRS credits, and to get a maximum of about 90 credits total as the following schools will allow up to 75% transfer of credits into their programs. Let's start with the RA's and then move to the NA's... I would also refer you to COSC, Excelsior, TESU as they allow up to 117 credits tranfer - pricing is similar to what I entered above for TESU.

    Amity, mentioned already - RA, BA in Arts 3 year - total cost should be $5/exam or retake as per their webpage, scary point is that it will take 3 years and it may not be fully recognized as equivalent to a US/UK degree, otherwise, this is a great deal if you have 3 years to spare.

    Patten U - RA, take 10 courses in a 4-month term = $1316, if you take two terms for 8 months it's $2632. Transfer in the rest for a BA Management, Leadership, Psychology. Not a bad deal if you can cram everything into one month, but acceptable in 8 months for a competency based degree.

    Brandman U - RA, take 10 courses in 6 month term = $3000, it is possible to finish if you have time on your hands. They have several Bachelors options and the programs are competency based.

    Hodges U - RA, take 8 courses in 6 month term = $3000, finish each course in 3 weeks and you're good to go! They have several Bachelors, but mainly all in IT, I would highly recommend the CIT as requirements are less and like Patten/Brandman, Hodges is also competency based.

    Nations U - NA, take 10 courses at $960/year. They only have a Bachelors of Religous Studies, you can transfer all 90 credits and finish the final 10.

    UofPeople - NA, take 10 courses at $1000, Bachelors of Business, Comp Science, or Health Science, again transfer 90 credits and you're good to go, I'm not sure how "hard" these courses are, but it's just 10 courses, I would take your time and try to finish it in 10 months or if you're quick in 5 months.

    New Charter U - NA, BA Communications, BS Business, Criminal Justice, Education, take 10 courses at $299/month or $897/3 month term, for 2 terms/6 months it's $1794. The pricing is great if you can finish 10 courses in 1 term, meaning in 3 months. 3 course a month at roughly $300 and the final month take 4 - take the easiest courses last. You can get this at $897/3 months!

    Penn Foster - NA, BS Business Management, Criminal Justice - take 10 courses at $1069/term, if you take two terms it's only $2138. Again, the faster you finish these programs, the cheaper, these are all competency based.

    For the OP, decide if a NA degree is OK in your country/company of work, if it is, great - reap the benefits of slightly cheaper degree. If your country doesn't recognize NA degrees as well as RA or think of them as equivalent, then go for the RA degrees for slighlty more - most of them are at $3000-$3500 like the Big 3 and the RA Competency Based Degree providers above. Both RA and NA degrees are recogized by the USDOE and CHEA, internationally - it may be different for each country and workplace. Good luck!
     
  14. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Since you mentioned Ashworth, they have a great set of NA programs as well. I think they allow up to 75% transfer into their program from ACE/NCCRS sources. Their fee is $1089/semester, finish the BA (they have several, Business, Education, Legal Studies, Healthcare) in two semesters at $2178. Essentially, it's all about transferring 90 credits into their 120 credit program and finishing each of the 10 required courses ASAP, that's competency based!
     
  15. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    That was your statement. I took it too generally, I guess. Yes, the OP has earned many credits - and I'm sure SalB could earn the remainder of an NA degree for $2,500. But I was thinking about people that don't have this going for them.

    I guess with 75% to 90%(!) transfer credit, anything is possible. With less, or without any, it's a different story. Not the amazing one I was hoping to hear. Silly me! :sad:

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 28, 2017
  16. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member


    Actually, it is possible for those who are starting from scratch. Take as many Saylor exams at $25/each for 3 credits, 30 of them is $750 for 90 credits. OR for Shmoop, it's 3 to 4 months at $88/month for 90 credits. If you add that amount to the $ I quoted for 8-10 courses at the respective schools, a degree can be had for roughly $2500 or less starting at 0 credits.
     
  17. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    90 credits in 3-4 months! Now that's a quality education! Right after, most of it would (mercifully) fade to a blur. All that would be left is the diploma! Have we come to this? It's not education - not even training. It's commoditization and force-feeding! School by waterboarding! What's next? Insta-Bachelor's by electroshock? Reminds me of that awful Keanu Reeves movie of 20-odd years ago. Electrodes wet-wired into his head, to implant data: "Load me up! AAAARGH!"

    Perhaps there's a PhD thesis here, for a survivor: "Towards a bigger, cheaper, faster degree."

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 28, 2017
  18. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Now, what was it called? Oh, yes ... "Johnny Moronic," I think. Or maybe "Mnemonic." Not sure.

    J.
     
  19. mintaru

    mintaru Active Member

    I think you understand some German Johann, right? Well, the German language has a word for this type of learning. It is a relatively new word, less than 20 years old. It's called "Bulimielernen", literally "bulimia-learning". That term was coined by critics of some recent trends in German (higher) education, and it seems these trends are not limited to Germany.
     
  20. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    It's amazing, some people are extremely bright and they use the "Laurie Miller" test-taking technique to get a BA in 4 weeks, I've stretched it further to say 4 months. I guess some people who "have it, do flaunt it", I don't have it, and I need to "do something similar" about it.... anyways, here's a thread from a few years back, he took 22 exams in 4 days.

    The "Laurie Miller" technique still should work for COSC as they accept CLEP/DSST/FEMA and other testing methods for credit. Link below: 22 exams in 4 days
     

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