Southern Utah University - $9000 (RA) B.G.S.

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by twentyseven, May 5, 2022.

Loading...
  1. twentyseven

    twentyseven Member

    I did a couple of searches and didn't see this, so I thought I'd throw it out there in case anyone might be interested. If someone's mentioned it already, feel free to ignore. :)

    Their "Speedway" Bachelor of General Studies is listed at $75 per semester credit hour. They don't specify, but I wouldn't expect it to include books. You have to take set classes available only through this campus (they're still adding courses), but from what I can tell, they likely have a couple of tracks available within the degree plan.

    General education courses are also available. They accept transfer credit, offer PLA, and accept alternative credit (CLEP, DSST, etc.). From what I can see, they likely take ACE credit as well, but I cannot confirm that.

    I've been hard-pressed to find actual online classes at an RA school for $225. Even community colleges here in Texas don't accomplish that most of the time even for in-district students after all of the fees get tacked on. Regardless, I thought it was a pretty good deal for an RA university.

    Edit: I suppose this could have gone in General Discussion. If it needs to be moved there, feel free.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2022
    Maniac Craniac, Dustin and JBjunior like this.
  2. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Yay. Of course, this has been done since the early 1970s.
     
    twentyseven likes this.
  3. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    IIRC, this was discussed in the sister forum and the conclusion reached was that they seem not to take ACE but they take CLEP. That's something, I suppose.
     
    twentyseven and Maniac Craniac like this.
  4. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    If that's the case, it's ironic since CLEP doesn't make credit recommendations on their scores. ACE does that.
     
  5. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    Not super surprising. It seems like most schools accept CLEP, some accept DSSTs, and most don't accept ACE or NCCRS. If they do, it's usually very limited. Northern Arizona University, for instance, only accepts SOME CLEP exams and the only ACE credits they accept are ones from the now-defunct Alternative Credit Project. Mostly from providers that haven't been around in 5 or more years. They accept something like 5 StraighterLine courses, if that.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    So, the accept some ACE recommendations but not others.
     
    Maniac Craniac and SteveFoerster like this.
  7. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    That's true, but in higher education, herd mentality usually beats consistency.
     
    Maniac Craniac and Rachel83az like this.
  8. twentyseven

    twentyseven Member

    I guess I need to find out from them for sure. I'm in the process of finishing up the AAS from Pierpont, and was considering doing this BGS. If they don't accept general ACE recommendations, that's gonna add about $1300 to the total cost. Oh well. Either way, it's still pretty cheap.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  9. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    If they don't accept most of the credit you use to get the AAS, then it might still make sense to earn some credit from this program, but then to wrap up all your credit somewhere else like Excelsior, Thomas Edison, or Charter Oak, that is more liberal than most institutions when it comes to this sort of thing.
     
  10. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I was just going to suggest The Big Three. Much cheaper, quicker, and more flexible.
     
  11. Rachel83az

    Rachel83az Well-Known Member

    Charter Oak, maybe not. They seem to be leaving the big 3. According to a post on the sister forum in March, in July they may stop taking any ACE course that they themselves offer as a class. At least for UL classes, not sure about LL ones.

    Excelsior, TESU, and UMPI are all still great options, though!
     
  12. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Having completing my Bachelor's through COSC and my eldest having done the same, the prospect of sending my two remaining alt-credit kids to Excelsior or TESU instead makes me a little sad. But if that's what it takes, then so be it.
     
    Rachel83az likes this.
  13. twentyseven

    twentyseven Member

    I emailed admissions at SUU about ACE credit.

    Rama Hemphill, one of the admissions advisors responded:

    I saw your email and verified your questions with the registrar's office. We accept ACE credits, but because ACE credits come from a variety of sources and systems they may transfer into SUU in a variety of ways. For example, some ACE credits will count towards specific classes and others will count as elective credit. There might even be some situations where the credits don't transfer at all.

    Rama recommended submitting transcripts and applying so that the registrar's office could fully evaluate the credit. Rama said that they'd waive the application fee so that only cost would be the transcript submission.

    So, they apparently accept ACE credit; however, how much of and what they accept is still a little vague.
     
    Rachel83az and Dustin like this.
  14. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Here's an Excelsior twist: they accept ACE recommendations for military credit, except from the Air Force. They accept Community College of the Air Force credits instead, which will often vary. (For example, some Air Force courses have upper-division credit recommendations, but CCAF, as a 2-year school--will not issue upper-division credits.)

    Most things about transfer credit can be known. But some must be experienced.
     
  15. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    twentyseven and Maniac Craniac like this.
  16. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    That's an interesting take. I have seen schools that will only accept certain CLEPs that are considered course equivalents to classes that ARE offered by the school, but never a school rejecting them for being the same courses they already offer. This is like the movie theater banning outside food. I get why they do it ($$$$) but man, that's a bummer.

    There are more and more schools out there that, while not on the same level of flexibility as the classic Big Three, are closing the gap and presenting themselves as viable alternatives. The exact numbers escape me, but I probably paid more for my last 30 alternative credits + annual fee with TESU than it will cost a student doing their last 30 credits with the SUU BGS. That was even without needing to pay for the TESU capstone at the time.

    Not to be lost in all this is that the Hope Tax Credit will cover the first $2000 and 25% of the next $500 for up to four years for students who have not yet received a bachelor's degree. That means that a student could do four years of SUU's BGS at (1-.25)(9000 - 2000*4) = $750 or one year at (1-.25)(9000/4 - 2000) = $187.50 + cost of transfer credits.
     
    Rachel83az, twentyseven and Dustin like this.
  17. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    When I was 18 and a very junior airman in the Air Force, I started racking up a lot of CLEP credits. The school on base limited you to 30 credits earned by examination. I asked the administrator from the school what made the 30th credit good and the 31st credit unacceptable? I got a mumbled answer about that being the way it was.

    Fortunately, a colleague in the office--a contractor--knew about the Regents program and handed me the catalog. I had an associate's degree a couple of months later and a bachelor's in business in 18 months, total. Her name is/was Julie (withholding last name) and I will forever be in her debt. It transformed my life (from the degrees I earned) and interest (eventually becoming a PhD in this stuff).
     

Share This Page