Cheapest, yes that's what I said, DTEC School for BA

I'm not comparing Penn Foster with UniSA, but let's face it: they are both DETC-accredited. Nobody tries to compare Harvard with Charter Oak State College, but they are both accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Does one degree carry more weight than the other? You bet it does...and they both have the same accreditation. However, COSC students should not be belittled because of their education choice.

 

Actually, it would help if we knew which state the original poster calls home. Out of state tuition is almost always higher, even at the community college level. In-state tuition at some California community colleges barely cracks the $25 per credit hour level. Here in Oklahoma, you can attend some community colleges online for about $50-$60 per credit hour if you are a state resident. After you get your AA in Liberal Arts or General Studies, then you can transfer that to one of the Big Three, and knock out the rest of your courses there. It doesn't have to be done by CLEP or DANTES tests.

 

Good analogy.


Abner

 

Very well put, TCord. As for being a snob, I can understand it from someone attending an Ivy League school, but in regards to accreditation, please, it leaves a lot to be desired.

Pepe

 

True. I assumed he would have looked at local, in-state options already.

Pug

 

Just call me broken record

St.Jayne

If we can assume that cost is a primary constraint, have you considered the 40 Free Fema courses (with college credit awarded by TESC or Excelsior)?

e.g.

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18705)

While this may not be the subject matter of interest, the tests are online, free, unproctored and easily transcripted into 40 college credits via TESC and Excelsior (via TESC credit bank for $380). As I recall, the cost is under $10 a credit and seemed do-able in < 1 month (I passed one in 45 minutes with zero prep).

IMO, this should be on any adult learners 'short list' if they want a cheap, fast, legitimate college degree.

Hope this helps.

Greg

 

I live in Northcentral Arkansas. A beautiful place to live, just very limited in about everything else.

No I had no idea about the FEMA classes/courses. I will have to look into that. That may be a big help. Thanks.

Is the "(via TESC credit bank for $380)" per course or how does that work?

 

St. Jayne:

The $380 figure relates to a TESC credit bank fee if you wanted to apply all 40 credits to Excelsior.

e.g.

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23821&highlight=Michael+Gates

However, if you were to attend TESC, it's covered by the enrollment fee (so no additional cost).

Use the degreeinfo search function (FEMA) for more details (or just call tesc or excelsior):

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24919&highlight=fema
http://www.instantcertonline.com/forums/showthread.php4?t=216&highlight=fema

As you can see, several people have used this method to 'jumpstart' their degree program. With good reason; many find it easy to bang out 10 credits over the weekend (try one yourself-it's free).

I think you'll find the open-book, unproctored nature of the exams (e.g. keyword search in pdf study guide/google) to be very accomodating towards your academic endevours (satisfying almost all of your criteria of 'online', 'inexpensive', and 'timely').

And to top it off - learning about emergency situations is pragmatic...you never know when you're going to need it (hopefully never).

Hope this helps.

Greg

 

Fema Degree Options at TESC

For what it's worth, TESC offers an AS and BS in Emergency Management that leverages the 40 free FEMA courses.

http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/collegelist/embadegree/EM%20Programs%20-%20Associate%20and%20Bachelor%20Level%20-%20Thomas%20Edison%20State%20College%20-%20AD%20and%20BA.doc

 

They do. But some states offer even less expensive rates than that if you are a resident. Clovis is $110 per class no matter where you live.

Pug