? about DL degrees from "real" schools

I guess I should be clear. When I hear somebody say they are picking a school on reputation, I think of Stanford, Harvard, etc. Not a state school.

As it was outlined in a thread about 2 months ago. UC schools are considered higher tier than State Schools. When someone picks a state school, it is probably not on reputation per se.

 

Just a thought...ya'know, if you present a recognized degree to a potential employer and he decides not to hire you because he has some sort of bias against D/L, well, that's HIS loss as much as it is YOURS.

After all, getting a D/L degree is HARD. It requires discipline, dedication over a period of YEARS, and interest in one's field, things ANY employer should be thrilled to see in a potential employee.

If some outfit is too incompetent to see what an asset YOU would be, you don't want to work there! Go find someone more deserving!

Then help your company CRUSH the bozos!

 

Hi

I think it is wise to be pickie about a degree program. I personally would never enroll at a U of P and would be unlikely to choose an AIU or DeVry. I think the COSC/Ex/TESC degree followed by a master's is also a wise strategy. I probably would have already enrolled and graduated if Excelsior had a more traditional name. COSC is definately closer to where Ex. should be.

 

OK, let me propose this question. I have really just started my Assoc. degree at the community college. If I transferred the credits I have through the CC to one of the big three and somehow accelerated getting my associates, would those credits transfer to a program like the Bachelors program at Kansas State? After looking at K-States DL program, I was really impressed, and wouldnt mind moving up getting into that program. Just how transferable are these credits from the Big 3?

 

It depends, you should ask both of them. I know the big 3 have a good transfer policy, but other public schools it would depend.

It is good to ask all the right questions, it is a huge commitment.

 

Kansas State has a pretty liberal policy on credit by examination. You can transfer your community college credits plus any CLEP credits right to Kansas State.

If you want to get an associate's in the meantime, check with your community college about alternative credit. I think most CCs take CLEP and/or end-of-course challenge exams. Good luck!

 

It is likely that your new school will consider the credits from each school individually, rather than accepting them under some "blanket" associate's. But it would be prudent to check in with the new school; they might take your associate's at face value, but I doubt it.

 

I think an Associate's would lend your credits a lot credibility. I would email KState and ask if they would accept an Excelsior AA degree as satisfying all lower division requirements. Seems like a great plan.

Edited to add some links that will give you more info:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=clep+Kansas+State&btnG=Google+Search

http://courses.k-state.edu/catalog/undergraduate/he/requirements.html

Many schools limit test out credits to a total of 30. I am unsure if KUS does.

 

I guess you are limiting your DL options to American universities. In the likes of Australia, you would have no problems in doing a fully 100% DL undergraduate degree through a campus based university as Australia have no such thing campusless universities!

 

Wow, thanks for those links. I will have to talk to the rep at K State to see how much they will transfer. I guess I will take at least 30 credits through my CC, then see if I can transfer them to COSC or Excelsior and CLEP through the rest of the credits....

 

Here is a K-state list of accepted CLEP/DANTES/ECE exams and scores.
http://www.dce.ksu.edu/dce/forms/credit/CreditbyExam.pdf

 

COSC will likely take every credit you earn in the community college. They took my entire 80 hours of Associates in Applied Science in Nursing, even all the nursing which I didn't think they would give full credit for. Where they apply them may be your only concern. The example I can give you is that while they took my Mathematics for Science Professions, they plugged it into liberal arts but not to fulfill the math core, for that they want statistics or college algebra or their offering, Contemporary Math. I am protesting this and we shall see. The topics in their contemporary math is not as indepth in either algebra or statistic as my math was, as I have very politely pointed out to them in my letter along with a copy of my syllabus.

COSC is very good at helping you before you enroll though. Call them direct. They will be very responsive. Best wishes.

 

Thanks for the info about COSC. I sent for some info and no one has contacted me yet, so I may just give them a call. Here is my thing - A few years back, I went to the now defunct Computer Learning Center. I am completely clueless as to what their accreditation was, but they had to be recognized by the DOE as something because I received Federal Financial Aid. I earned over 30 credits from them, but (A) dont really want to apply them to a degree because they are in computer fields, and I am running away screaming from the computer industry and (B) dont think I can transfer them without reincurring all of the debt that I had. You see, I was a member of the last class to get out of CLC before they went bankrupt. So because we were literally 2 days away from being done, the school awarded us all of our credits and our diplomas. But because we didnt finish the calendar semester, we were eligible to have our federal loans discharged and the loans through the school discharged as well. But if I were to try to transfer that credit, they could renew the debt. And I dont want to go that route. So other than that, I dont think I really have anything that would equal easy credit in a place like COSC. I have several fire department classes, but none of them are NFA or FEMA classes. So I dont know if it would be worth it for me to try to get my degree through them, or just schlep through comm. college, and hopefully CLEP a few credits here and there....

 

You could always parlay your CLC credits into academic credits via portfolio. Your CLC transcripts & diploma, along with course descriptions from RA schools that closely match your CLC courses should be enough. Since you're not technically transferring the courses, I don't think past debt will be an issue.

 

True, but like I said, they are all computer related courses, and I dont want a degree in anything computer related....

 

Try University of Tennessee at Martin. I heard they transfer up to 60 credits of Associate degrees and 30 credits for life experience learning, and completely online.

The program is Bachelor of University Studies (BUS).

Regards,

 

You're missing our point. You may be able to take those computer classes and plug them into total credits needed for a degree. Your degree would be a BS in Individualized Studies with a concentration in whatever you want to call it - doesn't have to be computer anything. If you can get those computer classes counted, it means you will be closer to finishing because they will fill some lower end requirements. You can fashion the concentration after the upper level classes you take.

 

You're right, I was missing the point. That is excellent. I have been in contact with COSC, and I am looking to get some more information from them. Thanks for the help.

 

That's what I meant. Any undergrad program has a significant amount of "free" or "open" electives, which can be in any academic subject. Your CLC credits would fit nicely there.

 

Don't shortchange by not looking further into TESC. Their customer service is very lacking (many colleges are), but as an institution very qualified. They accept all credits that are ACE (American Council of Education) approved as being college-level. So CLEP, Dantes all you want. They also have their own testing that other universities accept. The tuition is on their website. It's $4775 first year for Comprehensive and gives you access to 36 credits of classes per year. They don't charge to receive your testing scores. You can even take classes at your community college while enrolled and send them the transcripts. They also have a pay as you go, but I don't have that here.

A DL degree is not easier than a land-based, just smarter if you have the discipline to do it.