Just to get the basic details out of the way: Age: 52 Occupation: Semi-Retired Location: Thailand (US Citizen) Background: Military Vet (3 years - US Army), 25+ years working in technology (software development) on the business side as well as in more business-centric functions such as VP-level of product with P&L responsibility (exposure to marketing, forecasting, budgets, communications, regulatory compliance, etc). Previous College: About 68 units (half community colleges and half state university) Certifications: PMP (expired), SixSigma Green Belt, Series 7 Registered Rep (expired), Master Scuba Diver Trainer (expired) Objective: Just complete some sort of degree. Some jobs in the country I live in require a degree for a work permit regardless of the amount of experience. I basically want to check the box that says I have a degree and figure business, for me, would be the easiest path. Desires: Something I can do entirely online from outside of the US (there is a CLEP testing facility here in Bangkok but I don't know how long I want to live in Bangkok). Also, I would like something where I can get as much credit as possible for my previous experience and-or test out of as many classes as possible. ----- I've looked at GWU but I keep seeing that they are a bit stingy on offering credits for certifications older the 5 years so I'm wondering if it might be better to go with one of the "Big 3" that people seem to feel is more generous with credits. I like their setup mostly because it seems like you can cram in as many classes as you can pass in a semester. But, I haven't seen enough info from other programs to be able to tell if they're the only ones that will let me do that. Any recommendations on where I should dive deeper into? Thanks!
Welcome, thank you for your service. Of the 68 'units' that you have from community colleges and a state university, does that include your joint services ACE recommended transfers? You almost certainly have a large pile of credits from your service time. Are you insistent on a business degree or would you consider something that may be possibly be faster but with a more ambiguous title such as an interdisciplinary degree?
Hello - We have several colleges here in Columbus, Ohio besides OSU, and one that specializes in business and technology degrees for working adults is Franklin University. It is non-profit, regionally accredited and has been a leader in online and virtual instruction for a long, long time - they are a very practical school, and they have a very good reputation regionally - especially in the business world. They offer a Bachelor's in Business that you can customize to fit your path/interests and you can transfer up to 94 previous credits! depending on their evaluation. I think it's worth a look: https://www.franklin.edu/degrees/bachelors/business-administration
Welcome to DegreeInfo! There are MANY schools that are going to be able to offer a degree in which could be considered a "check the box" type degree. I have the same question as Vonnegut: are you open to any other degree other than business?
Before you dive into anything deeper, you should list your credits from college & university and your JST. Expired certificates mostly won’t transfer. I just need the name of the course, course number, amount of credits and grade. The latter two won’t matter as much. We can then estimate if the courses transfer and how many credits you will possibly get from each of the Big 3, I would recommend them over anything else at this point because you can transfer 114 credits to them.
Here's the way I generally think of it You've got two main ways of going about earning a Bachelors. One is to CLEP everything in sight. Take every test possible because it's the cheapest and potentially the fastest way to go. Grab every free credit possible, take every FEMA, Straighterline course, etc. You may have to take a course here or there and then you transfer the entire conglomeration to one of the Big 3 and there you are, you've got a perfectly serviceable degree. The other way is just to take courses and take them and take them and take them. Personally, I prefer that way but it probably takes longer and costs more. I think that some of the decision relates to whether you want a specific degree or just, as you said, a check the box "I've got a degree" degree. I always thought, if I've got to read books then they might as well be ones that interest me. Also, I think that enrolling in an established degree program is easier in the sense that it's all mapped out for you. The route through the program is quite clear and there is enough wiggle room with electives so that you can follow an interest or just take an easy available course to take a break. If time and money are substantial factors then people tend to move toward option #1.
Actually, according to COSC website, PMP can be accepted for credit if expired no later than January 2008. And it is worth 9 upper level business credits - in fact, their entire PM specialization in their BBA program. My friend is doing this (her PMP was current though).
Wow, thanks for all of the responses. I guess I would be open to something other than Business. I just figured with BLaw, Stats, and Accounting already out of the way, Business might be the cleaner path. But, I'm open to suggestions too. Also, no the 68 does not include anything from the military. Here are my previous college credits:
Hmm, it's pretty much a "tie" right now between a BSBA and Liberal Arts/Studies as you have about 63-68 credits usable in either degree. I think the Big 3 will give you practically the same amount of credits. Generally, the Liberal Arts or Liberal Studies degree and the BSBA can have about the same 90 credits, the remaining 30 credits can be the difference in either Liberal Arts or Business related courses. My suggestion is to do the following: 1) Create an ACE credit registry account 2) Sign up for Sophia.org and do all the courses that do not have the same name as the ones you have taken (do all of them!) 3) Apply to the Big 3 (all 3 of them) and transfer in all the Sophia.org credits as well. 4) When you get an evaluation, make sure they give you both a BSBA and a Liberal Arts/Studies evaluation. 5) Finish all the upper-level requirements to the degree of choice. 6) Complete the cornerstone/capstone at the Big 3 and you're done!
From what you're saying, it sounds like I would be at the same place whether I pick one of the Big 3 or if I went with GWU. GWU seems like I could hammer out more and test out more than at the Big 3 (and it might be potentially cheaper), but I'm just guessing that based on what I've researched so far. Am I correct in thinking that?
Perhaps I'm wrong but I suspect that thefarang made a small typo and meant to indicate Western Governors University.
WGU doesn't have a liberal arts degree, they only have Business, Education, IT, Nursing - those are the only 4 areas. Now in regards to "being in the same spot of choosing between the schools", hell yeah - you would get technically the same 90 credits before you decide on your degree concentration. All 3 and WGU have concentrations in their BSBA, those final 30 credits distinguish the area of study. The easy part is Sophia.org/StraighterLine/Study.com all transfer to the Big 3 & WGU. Here is the WGU transfer guide, just work on my post#9 above. Look at the transfer guides, if Sophia has a course that is similar in name, take it at Sophia, if the course is not available, then take it a StraighterLine or Study.com later. Document that in a spreadsheet, it'll show you how many courses you have done and yet to complete, and what can be transferred in. If you want further assistance, you can Private Message me. I got a fellow member started at 6 credits earlier this year, in two months (to the exact 60 days) he has 105 credits, all he did was get started with a simple PM asking for advice/help on which courses to take for an Excelsior BSLS. The final courses he require is the Upper-Level Arts/Sciences. Create your own spreadsheet of required courses at WGU. Replace the courses you have completed in the template, also copy/paste the required courses you need at WGU into the template. Again, the links below are for WGU Business and their other program links, select the one you are looking into. WGU Partners Link (there is none for Sophia): https://partners.wgu.edu/ Saylor.org: https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/Transfer.aspx?iid=253&institution=Saylor%20Academy StraighterLine: https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/Transfer.aspx?iid=130&institution=Straighterline Study.com: https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/Transfer.aspx?iid=1218&institution=Study.com
