A few questions

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by scm1721, Sep 18, 2012.

Loading...
  1. scm1721

    scm1721 New Member

    Hello everyone,


    I've been lurking on this site for a few weeks and decided to post with a couple questions. I'm looking to get an online degree in accounting or finance. I have been looking at several schools and was wondering what would be the quickest and cheapest. I have some credits from a community college, but not very many and a very low gpa. I've read about the clep exams and was wondering how difficult they are. With clep and the fema courses, would it be possible to finish a degree rather quickly? Thanks for all the help and advice ahead of time.
     
  2. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Hi scm1721. A warm welcome to Degree Info! Here is some info for new members about the timing of their posts showing up: http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/35100-new-users-ask-where-did-my-posts-go.html

    I would think that one of the Big 3, Excelsior College, Charter Oak or TESC, also TUI, would be a good choice for an online degree in accounting. I haven't actually checked, but it is likely that all of these schools offer accounting degrees.

    Accounting is also a very good degree for landing solid employment. The starting salary is sometimes not so great, but the employment stats are good and the job security is good. There is is also significant potential upward mobility in the accounting field. There are, of course, exceptions to these sunny predictions, but I have seen accounting degrees work out well for a number of friends and associates.

    _______________________________
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 19, 2012
  3. TonyM

    TonyM Member

    A very cheap route would be to take an AS in accounting at Penn Foster or Ashworth and then transfer to WGU or Liberty for a BS in accounting. Liberty and WGU are RA and take NA credits. Penn Foster and Ashworth are quite inexpensive but are only DETC accredited. That is a limitation, but once you transfer to WGU or Liberty the issues with DETC are gone and your BS will be RA and you've saved quite a lot of money.
     
  4. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator


    Brilliant. :iagree:


    ______________________
     
  5. scm1721

    scm1721 New Member

    That sounds like a terrific idea. I'll look into it. I was interested in wgu, but became discouraged when they told me to look into straighterline first. Thank you for that idea.
     
  6. TonyM

    TonyM Member

    Thanks Surfdoctor and scm1721!
     
  7. scm1721

    scm1721 New Member

    Has anyone had any experience with Penn foster or ashworth? Or any experience trying to transfer credits? It seems like a great idea, however upon speaking with both schools they seemed rather sales like. That kind of made me a little uneasy.
     
  8. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    I think the PF to WGU/Liberty is an OK idea.

    As to your question on testing out I would look through some of the degree plans here to get an idea how you could do it. Degree Forum Wiki I don't know if there is a specific page on accounting or not.

    TESC does offer the degree: BSBA in Accounting Degree at Thomas Edison State College At a glance I see about 100+ hours that have a testing or alternate method of achieving the credits, FEMA/Straighterline/CLEP/DSST/TECEP/Excelsior exam. The great thing about this method is that you move as quick as you choose...2-3 years should be easy to achieve, if you want it done in a year to 18 months it's entirely possible. Since you would be testing out the cost would be minimized. I suspect you could pull it off for less than $10K.

    Be sure the degree/school you choose will prepare you to meet any state licensure your going to encounter.

    Best,
    Reb
     
  9. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    the big three (like TESC) will accept many credits from PF...but most go through the con-ed dept. and just pick the specific courses they need. All colleges are a little "sales like" these days...PF/Ashworth maybe a little more so. Wait till WGU gets your number...they will give you a new life long best buddy that calls every week.
     
  10. TonyM

    TonyM Member

    Yeah, those folks are just sales people. I enrolled in Penn Foster to get some accounting credits without financial aid and to move along without deadlines. I'm basically using them to see how I like that field. I decided to go with Penn Foster over Ashworth because Penn Foster's credits are mostly ACE approved, so I should be able to put them on my Exceslior transcript (although I don't think Excelsior would let them be part of a business or accounting major). PF is also much cheaper than Ashworth right now, because of the special they are running. Still, with cheaper comes limitations. One is the sales pitch. Two is the limited transfer possibilities for DETC. Nevertheless, for accounting and other business degrees there seems to be a clear cut path, especially to WGU. Basically, if you get a nationally accredited associate's degree in business you can transfer into WGU with most core requirements waived. Here is their policy:


    If you hold an Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS) degree or Associate of Applied Science (AAS) from an institution that is recognized as nationally or regionally accredited by the U.S. Department of Education, you should clear most of the lower-division general education requirements for a bachelor’s degree in Business or Information Technology. For Health Professions and Teachers College programs, a course-by-course evaluation is typically required. See a list of USDE-recognized national and regional accrediting agencies.
    If you earned an A.A.S. (or other applied associate’s degree), you may be able to clear a significant portion of WGU’s lower-division degree requirements.
    If you have completed college courses but not earned a degree of any type, you may also be able to clear some degree requirements through a course-by-course transcript evaluation.



    Of course, the safer route is to enroll in a regionally accredited business program and have no transfer limitations. For me, though, the savings and convenience of Penn Foster or Ashworth was worth the limitations. Right now PF is about 3 to 3.5K for an entire AS degree with payments of $23.50 every two weeks or a monthly payment of $47. There is no interest, no Title IV financial aid needed, no time restraits (all self-paced), no book purchases and so forth. The moment I enrolled, which took all of 10 minutes, and paid $1 I had access to my entire semester all laid out and neatly organized. It looks like I'm taking the class from a machine with little human interaction, which I prefer anyway.

    There is always the worry that WGU or Liberty and any other RA school might suddenly change their policy toward DETC, although that's unlikely. If that were to happen then Grantham, another old DETC school, has a nice accounting program. If grad school is the goal there are quite a lot of business grad school opportunities for DETC degree holders. Liberty, for example, accepts DETC applicants into its accounting and MBA grad programs. So, if a student were to go straight through at places like Ashworth, Penn Foster and Grantham they could go on to a master of accounting and be quite qualified for an accounting or business career.

    Here is what I know about Ashworth and Penn Foster courses. I was a paper grader for Ashworth's CJ master's program and, like I said, I'm taking some accounting classes at Penn Foster. They are both basically canned and you work on your own, but you can get help if you need it. They are, however, definitely not handholding schools and you really need to be a self-helper. Both schools seem to have spent a good bit of money developing their courses. Ashworth, for example, paid top scholars from big name schools like Emory to write their graduate courses which include detailed instructions for graders, all of whom must have a master's in the appropriate field. Penn-Foster's undergrad classes have a lot of online testing and textbooks and if you're in a degree program you have to take a proctored exam at the end of each semester.

    Here is the short of it. No one will ever do back flips for these schools and they do not carry the clout of traditional RA schools. They probably never will. They are Big Lots or Dollar Tree, while the RA schools are Macy's and Neiman Marcus! Still, just like at Big Lots you can get what you need there but you have to do a little more sifting without much help. For accounting and business there seems to be a inexpensive and convenient path. A good way seems to be to take Penn Foster to an AS degree in business or accounting and then transfer into the accounting BS at WGU. The second safest way is to take a complete BS from PF or Ashworth and then apply to Liberty's accounting or MBA program or any other grad school that takes DETC degrees.
     
  11. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    I see your argument, you make some good points...but for $3500 you could test out of an associates at Charter Oak (RA) then essentially test out of the bulk of the rest of it at TESC...in the actual accounting degree for an additional 3-5K.

    I just don't see the value in NA when there are so many options for something similar that's RA...accounting is to highly regulated to mess around with NA...I know there are exceptions, but for me NA like PF are for select courses to move the process along at a RA school. YMMV
     
  12. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Here's another option:

    Business Administration

    Cost per credit hour: $66.50 (Out of state - not a typo)

    Tuition, Fees & Housing

    Oh by the way...the quarter starts October 1, so you could still enroll for Fall Quarter:

    http://www.southeast.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/Media/ClassSchedules/CreditFall12_web.pdf

    And while the AAS degree would be a bit "Gen Ed" light, a few strategic CLEPS would take care of that.

    Take your CLEP, FEMA, and Southeast Community College credits - transfer to one of the Big 3.

    Shawn
     
  13. TonyM

    TonyM Member

    I don't think you can test your way through an accounting degree.

    Testing out is great but it's not for everyone and I don't think you can test out of an entire accounting curriculum. In my case I tested out of about a year's worth of college, but could never quite learn my sciences well enough to test out. Strictly speaking, Charter Oak doesn't have a BS in accounting, but a general studies with a concentration in accounting. Excelsior College does have an accounting degree/CPA path, which is excellent, but it will be more expensive to take than a PF to WGU route. Once you've paid the Excelsior fees you'll have to find the credits somewhere else. The regulation issue becomes moot once you finish at the right school. I think WGU or Liberty will fit the bill in most cases. In my state, Georgia, for example, the CPA rules allow for an NA degree:


    In order to be eligible for examination, an applicant must have received a baccalaureate degree conferred by a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting organization recognized by the Board with a concentration in accounting or, with a non-accounting concentration, supplemented by what the Board determines to be the substantial equivalent to an accounting concentration. Applicants must have completed 30 quarter hours or 20 semester hours in accounting subjects above the elementary level at a four-year accredited college or university which offers a baccalaureate degree. ​


    Like I said, though, the truest way to go is to simply enroll in a traditional school from the start and slog along. You will pay much more though for a standard accounting degree. There are a lot of routes, but I figure you can save a bunch of cash a cheap DETC school if you play it correcting, especially if you finish with an RA accounting BS or master's. It's not for everyone, though, and has a lot of cautionary points for sure.
     
  14. TonyM

    TonyM Member

    Slick!! That's a nice plan!
     
  15. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    Man that is a sweet looking deal! Nebraska and New Mexico both have colleges that are far below the national average regarding cost, even for out of state students...some are a remarkable bargain! Sweeter still that these are regionally accredited community colleges...no one will ever bat an eye at them. I'm curious at some of the credit requirements though...why is a CC requiring 100+ hours for some programs?


    UGGH...Southeast is on quarter hours...brings the cost up to that of NMJC/Clovis....but still really good!
     
  16. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

  17. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/42870-southeast-community-college.html

    Doing a straight class by class comparison, Southeast is less expensive. A 3 semester credit course at Clovis, including all fees, is $347.00, A 4.5 quarter credit course at Southeast, including all fees, is $304.25.

    The OP has some options with NMJC and SCC.
     
  18. TonyM

    TonyM Member

  19. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    Nice break down...NMJC comes to about $89/credit...if you take advantage of the fact that they max out tuition at something like $720 and then just charge fee's you could take up to 24 credits...12 per 8 week mini-mester and arrive at something just under $60/credit real cost...but I admit that would take a particularly dedicated student with plenty of free time. Since NMJC is very CLEP friendly one could take somewhere between 12-24 credits per semester, add a few hours in the summer, and take say 12-24 credits worth of clep and pretty easily swagger in an AA/AS in under a year though. I don't know where else you could do both that fast and that cheap.

    But again...not for everyone. :)
     
  20. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    Agreed! As would the TESC option...I think COSC is a poor choice for this one.
     

Share This Page