I am thinking of attending California Coast University. Bachelors in business. Since I am starting from square one, no credits to transfer, I need to take 42 courses. That means 42 proctored tests. Wow! I admit I was a little unsure after I found that out but they seem to have an excellent rep. Any one here going to CCU? I am giving myself 5 years to finish. Is that realistic?? I can devote 15 or more hours per week towards studying and projects. Any thoughts on this school? Thanks Pat
It is realistic! Perhaps you can do it in less! I did 99 credits in 2 1/2 years in my Bachelors in accounting.
I completed both my BS and MBA with CCU and enjoyed the program whole heartedly. From reviewing your past posts and inquiries of RA to NA accreditation questions, we can make assumption you have an understanding from the previous posts of yours of the differences, utility etc., so if you are seeking a NA school and it will meet your current and future needs, then CCU would definitely be a good school to consider. You will find many CCU grads on this site as well. Good luck on your decisions and studies. JNelson
As a grad of both CCU and EC, I would recommend either one and suggest that you use as many test-out options (CLEP, DANTES, ECE) that you can. Forget the 5 year plan, you can get it done in half that time or less if you apply yourself. I completed my BS and MS in under 3 years (I did have 45 credits going into my BS) so it can be done. For more test info check out www.instantcertonline.com/forums . Good Luck!
It should be easy to finish quickly. I went from an AA to BS in nine months before the tests were proctored. You can do it if you set your mind to it. I would also recommend getting as many CLEPs done as possible.
Nothing against CCU, and $110 per credit hour is hard to beat, but have you looked at some of the other DL RA bachelors degrees in business: ($130 per unit) http://www.peru.edu/offuttafb/degreeprograms/onlinelearning.htm ($250 per unit) http://www.ncu.edu/info.asp?i=25 ($250 per unit) http://www.tourou.edu/cba/bsba.htm And there are others... Dave
I agree with Dave; there is nothing wrong with CCU, but for $20 more per credit, you can get an RA degree from Peru. And, while I don't personally have anything against an NA university, time and again people discover their NA degrees come up short in terms of utility.
Bingo. It might be worth a look into the RA options. I forgot to mention Park, which asks for $242 per unit for non-military students and $166 per unit for military students: http://www.park.edu/online/degrees.aspx Dave
An RA will not work for me very well. I need a school that is self paced. I can finish this degree faster. I would be looking at 10 years or more in a school with traditional semesters. I am 49 and not willing to spend that much time to get a degree. I can only be part-time in those schools because of my heavy work schedule and 5 hour commute. I also do not have a big support system at home. A lazy husband who will not help around the house. I think CCU will work well for me. Thanks again for all your input. Patricia
I support you decision to forge ahead with CCU, I enjoyed the experience and took advantage of the self-paced programs. Consider however the self-paced approach and flexiblity with a (RA) degree from EC too. To me, both offer self-paced warp-speed advantages, yet depending on your program, EC might be considered a better value if you take advantage of the test-out options that can reduce you final bottom line in the end. Again, as a grad from both EC and CCU I recommend them both but also know that EC was a terrific value via testing-out. Good Luck!!
Louisiana State University (RA) has an Independent Study program that is self-paced and their classes will most likely transfer into any school you want to attend. www.is.lsu.edu
Reality Check . . . Yep, gotta watch out for those lazy husbands . . . But seriously, Patricia, you can do better - in terms of schools, if not husbands. I did my RA BA at TESC in a year and a half, starting with only six credits. Granted, I was a bit compulsive, but you certainly don't have to do 10 years to get an RA degree. Do a long-term search on CCU - a lot of us still consider them a degree mill (they've been discussed on this and other fora for many years) - remember that the only people who advocate for CCU have the vested interest of having graduated from CCU. In academic circles on the whole, CCU is a joke. Always has been, always will be. And with so many cheap RA options available, I wouldn't advise getting a degree that anyone (like me) can laugh at.
Long term searches will reveal many varied opinions from the past, not the present and/or future. CCU has come a long way since its inception as have many other schools. As for handing out unsolicited marital advice, Patricia I'm sure that you can follow your own heart and not someone else's opinion. Good Luck!
Hi Patricia, It seems to me that you understand the accreditation idiosyncracies in terms of the options available to you. You should know, however, that there are self-paced schools in both the national and regional accreditation arena. Ultimately, it comes down to what works for you. I am a current student at CCU and my experience has been great. As Mr. Levicoff stated, the greatest advocates of this school are its current students and alumni, as it should be. After all we have first hand experience with it. Furthermore, you will find that a number of regular contributors to this forum have gone on to Graduate school both at national and regional accredited schools on the basis of their CCU degree. Also, some of these alumni have very successful careers enhanced in part by their degree. In the end, Patricia, my advice is to investigate all of the options available. There are many excellent schools both NA and RA; look at your goals and at what you want to accomplish with the degree, then, move forward from there. I will take Mr. Levicoff's advice further: do a long-term search at the schools you’re considering and also at the posters whose opinions may influence your decision. Look at where they are now; look at how successful they are (or not), and where their degrees have taken them, then make your decision. Good luck, Pepe
As Randell notes, NCU has flexible starts and terms, as I understand it, but is more expensive that CalCoast. You could also consider doing general education work at BYU or LSU (both cheap but flexible terms) and then transfering into NCU, Excelsior, Thomas Edison or Charter Oak (Touro, too, but no flexible terms). By the way, I'm not trying to dissuade you from your choice of CalCoast, but to reinforce what others have mentioned: you have several choices on flexibility within the regionally accredited schools. Dave
I was looking at CCU for my BS around this time last year. They are a great school, but in the end I went with Excelsior because I found them to be even more flexible, plus they are RA. I like how flexible they are with their degree core requirements and credit transfers. I've also tested out of several courses now in a fraction of the time it took me to complete a somewhat easy LSU independent study course. I was actually very leery of testing out until I found the Instantcert forums that Shoto mentioned, and I've found that Instantcert works very well for me. I will probably go with CCU for my masters, as I think very highly of them, but I am glad I chose Excelsior for my BS. I checked out all of the schools listed in this thread and more while I was researching schools for my BS. I would encourage anyone to do the same so they can find one that fits their needs exactly.
Even though I graduated from CCU, I would urge you to be sure the savings is worth it. An RA degree will give you more options down the road (yeah I said it). What if you want to go to law school or teach? I used the knowledge from CCU to pass several CLEPs and DANTES to earn an RA BS degree. NA degrees are wonderful and provide quality education BUT be sure you know what you are getting. I never had a problem with my CCU degree but I never thought I would want to teach either (hence the need for an RA degree).
