Deciding on a school... NA or RA for my needs

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: call me crazy...

Gosh! I'm vaguely remembering a time when I had just posted news articles on "Viagra Causes Blindness" and "Rapists Get Free Viagra" and suggested that rapists should be required to take Viagra and then released into the general prison population once blind. Then there was the time I suggested that if Clinton were a real man, he would have hidden under the Oral Office desk and let Miss Monica sit in the executive swivel chair. But I'm forgetting which was the occasion for your spitting all that good Sam Adams all over your dog. I also remember she (your dog) took to hiding behind your chair after that.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: call me crazy...

If I recall correctly, it had to do with Viagra! My little "Kiki" happened to be lying beneath me when I accidently spit beer out onto to her. After that, she layed behind me very carefully.

take care Ted!

Abner

 

Re: Re: Re: call me crazy...

Thanks for your kind words and I am sorry to hear about your dog.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: call me crazy...

Yeah, those were good times!


Abner

 

RA, NA

What does RA and NA stand for?
Pat in Alaska

 

Re: RA, NA

Hi Pat:

RA is regionally accredited. NA is nationally accredited. RA and NA are "Recognized". By recognized I mean they are accreditors acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Education, and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

In some limited cases, NA can be an issue. For instance, one cannot usually teach in a public institution with a NA degree. Also transfer of credits are not as widely accepted as RA credits. Having said that, sometimes RA to RA credits can be an issue as well.

I hope this helps,

Welcome! Abner

 

Is CCU RA?....

I thought they were part of DETC. California Coast is accredited, but not regionally....Also, when my work evaluates degrees or units from CCU, we don't count anything before 2005, because at that time, they were not accredited through DETC.

 

You are correct, SactoMike, CCU is DETC and does not have regional accreditation.

Abner, you are quite right about the possibility of RA to RA transfers having issues, too. I know my former RA school was horrible about transferring in credits from other RA schools. A friend of mine tried to transfer 2.5 years worth of major requirements to my school from a more prestigious division I school. They only awarded her elective credits for for it within the very same program. And THEN they told her that she could test out of the general requirements she'd already taken, but she would have to pay the full amount for the credits as well as the testing fees. Nice!! Non-profit my ...!

 

Tylin,

Why did you settle on CCU and AMU? It seems like Charter Oak would be in this price range.

Dave

 

I decided to go both RA and NA. Right now I'm starting a psych degree at CCU. Once I've taken most of the core classes there and feel comfortable with the material I will take the psychology GRE test. Hopefully I will score high enough to get 30 psychology credits to use (as electives) at Excelsior, along with a few more RA credits that I will test out of. With that, I hope to complete a Liberal Arts BA with depths in Sociology and History.

I think the tricks to getting this to work will be: 1) doing very very well on the GRE and 2) not having a "first degree" with CCU before graduating from Excelsior, otherwise they will require 30 more credits. I hope I haven't overlooked anything... someone please tell me if I am!

So that's my latest plan anyway.

 

How about the LSU independent study Psychology courses? They are cheap and would transfer into Excelsior.

Dave

 

I thought about that, too. I guess I came to the conclusion that it didn't matter to me if my psychology degree was RA or not, since I won't be pursuing clinical practice. The Excelsior Liberal Arts BA would just be icing on the cake for me- a second degree on my resume or an extra edge to get me into a RA graduate program if I decide to go that route later on. Granted, if an employer asks for transcripts, they will notice that most of the classes are the same on each degree, but I think I want the option of using one or the other or both depending on my unknown future circumstances. Does that make any sense, or would I actually have the same utility by just doing an Excelsior psychology degree alone?

 

Since the practical side of higher education is about creating employment options, I would advise you to concentrate all your resources on getting an RA degree in your chosen field. Later on, you can do a NA or State-Approved masters or doctorate for "enlightenment", but don't short change your basic education. You say that you won't need an RA BS in Psychology because you won't pursue clinical practice. However, the reality is that you don't know and can't know that now. You may take to your upper division psychology courses like a duck to water. Heck, you might be the next Sigmund Freud for all I know. Don't limit your options! The tuition pricing is too close for NA and RA BS psychology courses. The CCU MS in Psychology looks like a good deal though.

Have you thought about buying all the text books only for the CCU courses and taking the GRE exam for transfer into Excelsior?

Dave

 

Gah, these choices are overwhelming me! Choices are a good thing, though.

I see your point about getting an RA degree in my chosen field instead of the secondary one... perhaps it would be better to pursue RA Psychology and I can do Liberal Arts (or even Business) NA if I still want that second BA. I hadn't thought about trying it that way.

As for the psych GRE... it seems down right scary to me at this point, but I guess it wouldn't matter if I studied for it in courses or by myself if I used the same texts as the classes.

 

Sounds like a good plan.

Dave

 

Update:

Well, it has been over a year now, and I want to say thank you to everyone here that helped me find my degree path. I did end up going with Excelsior College and it was a wonderful experience. I switched my major halfway through to Liberal Studies with Psychology and Health Profession focuses and graduated on the 16th of this month. Now I have been accepted into CalCoast's MS Psychology program, which I can't wait to begin. I'm also very close to a new career in federal law enforcement, where I think my degrees will serve me well.

Again, thank you all so much for your help. This forum has been and continues to be a treasure trove of distance ed information and advice for me.

 

Good job Tylin!!!!!!! Congratulations.


Abner

 

Good job Tylin, congratulations!

 

Congrats. Good luck at CalCoast.

 

Excellent choice, you will enjoy the CCU program!