My TESC Evaluation

I'm doing it with the essay. This weekend I'm going to do like Cook suggested and research the 5 paragraph essay and make sure I have it down.

Cookderosa, that's what I was thinking in regards to adding a bachelors to the plan. I like Bellevue and their accelerated program but I am curious as to where I would stand with TESC because I still have 8 FEMA credits to use before I max out what they accept.

 

Just wanted to drop an update in this thread so I don't hijack anyone elses like I think I did last night regarding the AS transfer. Anyway I took the CLEP A&IL and scored a 60. Good enough but I found it tough. I think I did well on the English Comp w/Essay but we'll see. All I have left are 3 hours of Social Science and 3 hours of a General Ed Elective. After reading here and on the Instacert forums it appears that Social Sciences and History will fulfill the requirements for finishing. It also appears to be the easiest route. If you disagree please let me know.

So far this time around is going great and I remain optimistic that this time I can finally finish and at least get through a bachelor's. This brings me to the next issue which is what I put in the AS transfer degree thread. I need to find a program that will allow an AAS in transfer and grant most (preferably all) the credits. I'm also looking to finish it up in about a year if possible. Pugbelly gave me some great advice about Bellevue and they are certainly on my short list but I want to make sure I research and make the right decision. My plan is still to move through the bachelor's and on to a master's. Cost is another option. I will be paying for this out of pocket just like I did with LSU and the rest of my classes so far. Loans simply are not an option. I received some information about Portland State University and its BS in CJ but I know nothing about it. According to the brochure it says with 40 semester hours in transfer the degree can be completed in about a year. However, I looked at the website and it says 2 years so who knows. I might call them tomorrow and see what they say.

So as a rundown I am looking for:

1. Accepting of the full AAS transfer
2. Fast (possibly one year to completion)
3. Inexpensive (notice I didn't use cheap)

Bellevue might ultimately be the way to go but like I said I always try and make informed decisions so I can't be close minded to other options if they exist and fit the bill. I had an eval through Mountain State and somewhere in another thread I have the credits granted. I can't recall how many but that evaluation was obviously before all these CLEP's so I wonder how they would view an AAS transfer.

Last thing is that I really don't know what major. I change my mind about major's every other day it seems. I like Homeland Security (but that might be a better choice for a master's), CJ (which would be easy since I've been doing it for 13 years), Digital Forensics (I also do this as well for part of my duties), Law School (a good possibility but still not sure), and possibly even Contruction Management (which seems unrealistic). So as you can see like many people I just have no idea. As always I am open to suggestions and appreciate the help. I wouldn't be here still trying to finish without all the sound advice from quite a few of you here. I'll owe you all a beer after I finally get done. Again thanks!

 

How about Columbia College:

Bachelor of General Studies

"Degree Requirements
A. General Education Requirements 38-41 sem. hrs

B. Ethics Course Requirement 3 sem. hrs
PHIL 330 Ethics 3 hrs

C. Electives 79-82 sem. hrs
120 sem. hrs"


Transfer policy:

"How much transfer credit will Columbia College accept?
We can accept any qualifying transfer credit. However, some of the transfer may not apply towards a specific degree. An associate's degree requires a minimum of 15 hours taken through Columbia College, and the remaining 45 hours may be transfer credit. A bachelor's degree requires at least 24 hours with Columbia College, and up to 96 hours may be transfer. No more than 60 hours of a bachelor's degree may be earned through non-college credit, such as military, CLEP, AP, DSST exams, or professional training."


Undergrad Degrees

Tuition

 

Thanks Kevin I will look into them. I may end up taking more CLEP's just to do it and see where they fit into a degree plan. This is where I need a bit more advice.

I've been studying this week for Social Sciences and History using REA and Peterson's. I got around 50% the first time around on the exams. The questions I got wrong I've used Google to read a bit on the subject to see why I answered the question wrong. My concern is that this test seems really broad and even though I am learning about the ones I missed I highly doubt these exact questions will be on the exam. I am learning valuable information about each question I get wrong but I just can't see how it's possible to pass this test (using this method) because of how many potential questions they could throw at you. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it. I had this test scheduled for Thursday but I may push it back to Monday.

This is my last CLEP for my AAS so I'm dead set on getting it done. I need 3 hours Social Science and 3 hours General Ed so I'm wondering if I should take something more specific like Sociology and one other one to cover the general ed credit. Any suggestions? As always thanks!

 

I know very little about the actual exams but just looking at the content areas the Sociology exam appears more narrowly focused than the Social Sciences and History (which seems weighted towards History). I would focus on as narrow topic as possible. Ensure you are looking at the CLEP site and studying the topics under "Study Resources" as the bullets seem to provide some guidance.

If you use Google, use the following with your search term Site:.edu to narrow your results to academia. You can also use Google Scholar:

http://scholar.google.com/

I'm sorry I can't help more but best of luck.

 

As always I must thanks all of you who helped me. I took the SS&H this morning and got a 61! Here is the crazy part. I studied for 2 weeks for around 2-3 hours a day. I used REA, Peterson's and the Official CLEP guide. During the test I only noticed around 15-20 questions max that were similar to ones I had studied. Most of the questions were ones I remember from courses I took in high school but it was strange seeing so many that I had not seen before. Like many have pointed out this test is very broad. I can also say that it appeared that around 50% of the questions were U.S. History. As far as the rest of the test learn the basic players in Sociology like Freud, Durkheim, Weber, etc. and also know the basics of Economics.

This test marks the completion of the requirements for my AAS at TESC! Now I guess I need to wait until TESC gets the results. Any idea how long it normally takes? All tests have been computer based. So now I need to start strongly looking at my bachelor's program. So far you guys have given me excellent suggestions. Right now TESC and Bellevue remain at the top of my list simply because they will accept the full AAS into a program. I'm also going to look at Columbia College which is one Kevin suggested.

So again thanks guys and if you have any more suggestions for an accelerated, self-paced, cheapest bachelor's that accepts an AAS in full transfer let me know. I appreciate all the help and guidance of this board.

 

>>

Whooo hoooo! I knew you could do it!! Great job, and congrats on your AAS degree!!

 

Excellent.

 

Congratulations! A final suggestion. In your home state look for any schools that have recently acquired 4 year status. Very often these folks will accept the associates to start building their four year programs.

Best wishes,

 

Soup -

Congrats to you! TESC took several weeks to receive and book my CLEPs, so be patient. I really like the school, but they move REALLY slow at times. So are you headed off to Bellevue?

Pug

 

Thanks everyone for the congrats! I couldn't have gotten to this point without this board and the IC board.

Pug that's the million dollar question. I like the fact that I can start Bellevue right now (correct?) and I like that they are accelerated. If I started this month I could be done by next March? I don't think there is any other program that I know of that is this accelerated except for Portland State University. However PSU is very expensive and even though self paced and no proctor is very attractive I just can't see paying that much. Bellevue won't be cheap at $330 a credit hour which will run me $1000 a month not including books.

Another option is to stay with TESC but they run 12 or 15 week classes I think. Not exactly what I would call accelerated. I don't really know their tuition rates but it would be easy to find out.

I had an evaluation from Mountain State and I might let them reevaluate my credits since I've taken these three CLEPS. They are very similar to Bellevue in many ways except the degree would take 18 months.

Other than that I really don't know of any more that fit my criteria (RA, Accelerated or self paced, acceptance of an AAS in full transfer). This is a lot to ask in a program so I have to choose the one that has the most.

Hopefully by next week I'll have made my decision. That's why you guys are very helpful. All of you give your honest opinion which helps me make informed decisions. Thanks again!...

Oh and I'll check into that Kevin. I don't think I have any new ones popping up but I'll check.

 

TESC is on 12 week semesters (4x per year). One thing that you can do, is use additional exams at TESC. Some of the CLEP, and many of the DSST exams would be considered upper level- that cuts costs and time. If you have additional time on your enrollment, add CLEPs now- there is no cost to you! At the end of your 1 year enrollment, see what you have and then compare. You are already paid up- so you have nothing to lose!

 

Thanks Jennifer! I would love to continue to test out but I have a few concerns:
1. I'm afraid that if I test out of most my degree I'll have issues getting into a masters program and even moreso for law school since I'm not sure where I'll ultimately end up.
2. Which CLEPS/DANTES are considered upper level credit? After these three I
sure can pass a few more.

Please excuse the typos. I'm on my iPhone.

 

>>

you'll have to work out the "if" i'm just giving you the "how"
I don't have time to pull it up- but go into the www.tesc.edu college catalog and near the back are 3 pages of exam equivalencies. (English Comp with essay = ENG101 and ENG102) This is what you need to have in front of you.
At TESC, it's not really "upper/lower" credit. Anything any level can be used for gen ed (some programs specify courses) but it's inside your major that only allows 2 ea 100 courses. There are a lot of exams at the 200 level, so those are considerations.

I used classes for my major, and exams for gen eds. You will still have some gen eds if you stay at TESC (I know- one of the main reasons you wanted a solid transfer agreement to a 4 year school). Like I said, you have to decide "if" that makes sense for you. I'm just showing you how to maximize your already paid enrollment fee!

 

Ok well I've pretty much narrowed it down to Bellevue and staying with TESC. I was looking at this link http://www.tesc.edu/5939.php and I am tring to figure out how my AAS would "transfer" into this program. I have 8 FEMA credits still not being used that TESC has on my eval. Is it possible that those would be applied toward more free electives? Using these 8 would put me at 25 of them being used. The thing that bothers me about TESC is this statement about the AAS :

"The Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Environmental, Safety and Security Technologies helps mid-career adults in a wide range of applied fields meet their educational and professional needs. While the Associate in Applied Science is considered to be a terminal degree, many but not all of the credits may be applied to one of the College’s bachelor degree programs. The degree is a 60-credit program. "

So for one of their own degrees they would not allow all 60 credits transfer? They consider it to be a "terminal" degree which has been discussed on this board in detail. I was well aware of this before I started this path so it's not a surprise but merely a disappointment.

Bellevue on the other hand will take all 60 hours and I can start as soon as I apply and get accepted. Like I've posted several times I am paying for this thing out of pocket so I need to make sure I have the most efficient program I can find that will take this AAS. Pug do you know anything about those 8 FEMA credits left? Also aside from the core curriculum are there any other free electives that need to be filled and if so which ones?

I'm hoping to have my decision made before Monday. Thanks again guys and gals!

 

>>

You can tell them to do an eval for a bachelor degree- this won't cost you anything, and it shouldn't take too long. It would give you solid info to make an informed decision.

 

Ok well I sent TESC an email and asked them for one additional evaluation and I'll see how they respond. I made them aware of the fact that I had three CLEP's heading to them as well so hopefully they list that as potential credit. They might not give me another evaluation until I enroll but I guess it never hurts to try. Either way I have to enroll to graduate but I was waiting until I was sure the CLEP's had gotten to them. Hopefully I'll know something soon.

 

I just got off the phone with a TESC advisor who was very friendly and to be honest was as pleasant an experience as I had talking with the Portland State University advisor. She answered all of my questions and even did an unofficial evaluation with me over the phone. As it stands unofficially I have 57 hours left to complete the BS in Homeland Security.

Here is what I came up with so far:

I. General Education Requirements 60
A. English Composition (Completed through CLEP) 6 (0 needed)
ENC-101: English Composition I (3) DONE
ENC-102: English Composition II (3) DONE


B. Humanities 12 hours total (6 Left Needed for degree)
HLS-355: Critical Thinking for Homeland Security (3 hours) No idea what goes here
Humanities Electives (6 Hours completed through A&IL CLEP) (9) (3 needed)


C. Social Sciences 12 hours total (6 Left needed for degree)
SOC-322: Cultural Diversity in the U.S. No idea what goes here (3 hours)
Social Science Electives (6 Hours completed through SS&H CLEP) (9) (3 needed)


D. Natural Science and Mathematics 12 hours (9 left needed for degree)
Mathematics (3 hours Completed through LSU College Algebra)
Mathematics or Natural Science (9) (6 needed for degree)


E. General Education Electives 18 hours (Not taken yet....all 18 hours needed)


II. Area of Study (Going to be taken through TESC 18 hours)
A. Required 18
SOS-440: Terrorism (3)
HLS-410: Protecting the Homeland, Balancing Security and Liberty (3)
HLS-420: Prevention and Preparedness (3)
HLS-429: Protecting the Homeland, Response & Recovery (3)
SOS-492: Research Methods in the Social Sciences (3)
HLS-498: Capstone in Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness (3)

III. Electives (select 15 credits from below or other courses in Homeland Security) (15 hours Completed through various sources)

IV. Free Electives (27 hours Completed through Various)




So as you can see from this I need 6 more hours of Humanities, 6 more hours of Social Science, 9 more hours of Natural Science or Mathematics (I will be taking the Natural Science CLEP in less than 2 weeks), 18 hours of General Education Electives, and the core courses through TESC.

So here it goes guys. I can do it this way and be done in 6 months. Understanding that the next semester starts in April so I have time to get a few CLEP's done by then. I need a plan of action to complete all hours by testing out except for the obvious core courses. You guys are better at this than me so hit me with some ideas to fill those holes. The Natural Sciences CLEP will fill 6 of those hours for the 9 more hours of Natural Science or Mathematics . I'm trying to determine if this is a better route than Bellevue. I can say cost wise it would save me quite a few dollars, and also about 6 months in time. Hit me with your best shot!

*EDIT* Also this would be bypassing my AAS until the end of this and applying for graduation for both the AAS and the BS. This is subject to debate.

 

They should almost certainly take the Excelsior College Examination Cultural Diversity [in the United States].

 

Hey Soup,

looky here:

Chadron State College

"The Bachelor of Applied Science with a Major in Technical Occupations (BAS) was created to accommodate transfer students with Associate of Science (AS), Associate of Applied Science (AAS) and Associate of Occupational Studies (AOS) degrees from regionally accredited community or technical colleges. Now, students can complete a bachelor’s without significant, if any, loss of previously earned credit hours. Here are the key features of the program. For complete details contact the BAS academic advisor at [email protected] or 800-600-4099.


Features

Generous course transfer. CSC will accept up to 70 semester credit hours of transfer courses toward completion of the BAS from all regionally accredited two year institutions. We’ll accept up to a total of 95 credit hours from all regionally accredited 2- and 4-year schools combined."

Reasonable tuition: Tuition


And these guys have a football team you can root for as they lose to UNA.