My TESC Evaluation

wow, you have a lot to consider! Quick question, did the advisor confirm that you could get the AAS after the bachelor's degree? (double check, it should be fine since it is a different area, but they have rules regarding this exact thing)

I just posted a thread on cheap bachelor's at TESC- without regard to the cost, I used the fewest number of exams- all 6's and then the ALEKS courses (9 credits for $20, 6 in gen ed!) that might give you some ideas if you stay at TESC.
Any chance you know a foreign language? That could land you 12 humanities credits in one CLEP exam (Spanish, German, or French).

 

Thanks for all the suggestions guys and gals! No Jennifer unfortunately I do not know a second language. The advisor told me that because the two degrees were in way different areas the AAS could still be obtained at the same time. I just hope that information was accurate. I'm all for testing out of most of this degree and it looks completely doable and easily within 6 months if I concentrate. Looks like I would need 2 (CLEP's Dantes, etc) a month along with the core degree requirement through TESC. Maybe I am just being overly optimistic.

I'll check out your thread on TESC. I'm sitting here right now trying to fit tests in the proper places but I don't know what should go where since those 18 General Ed courses can be in Social Science, Humanities, and Natural Science. That gives me a lot to choose from but I don't want to double up and take a test i won't get credit for.

Thanks again all for your suggestions!

 

How many FEMA credits did you use for the AAS at TESC? They'll accept 28 or 29 FEMA credits toward the AAS depending on the concentration, but I don't know much about the TESC BA majors. As far as Bellevue, the AAS will transfer in as 60 credits, leaving a total of 67 to graduate (most BU majors are 127 hours). The BU majors are 36 hours, plus an additional 9 hours for the mandatory Kirkpatrick series. That will give you 105 total hours (60 from the AAS, 36 from your major and 9 from the Kirkpatrick). The remaining 22 hours needed to graduate are free electives. Your 8 unused FEMA credits can be used toward the 22.

Pug

 

Thanks Pug! I just got my CLEP score for English Comp w/Essay and scored a 63! I also received my Unofficial TESC eval for the BS in Homeland Security and Emergency Preperation.

Here's how it looks:

English Composition- ALL DONE

Humanities- 3 Semester Hours in Critical Thinking (No Clue what fits here except one of their own courses.) I also need 3 more hours from another Humanities CLEP. I would rather not take a 6 hour CLEP for the final three needed but I may not have a choice. If so I will probably take the Humanities 6 hour unless someone else has a suggestion. This will complete the Humanities section.

Social Sciences- 3 Semester hours in Cultural Diversity (I might consider Jonathans suggestion but does anyone else have other ideas? I'd like to consider every option) This leaves me with 3 more hours of a Social Science CLEP. I am considering Sociology but would this overlap with my SS&H CLEP? If so any other suggestions?

Natural Sciences- This one is fairly simple. My math and Biology applied here leaving me with 6 hours left here. This is obviously going to be filled with the Natural Sciences CLEP.


General Ed Electives- This is where I get confused. I can take pretty much any CLEP that fits into Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Humanities. This is where I might consider taking the 6 hour Humanities since 3 of those hours could fill my remaining 3 hours of Humanities and 3 would fit here. Does that sound right? If so my remaining 15 hours would possibly be US History I, US History II, American Government, Intro Psych, and ???


Other than this all I need are the 18 core courses which will start in April. How does this look. What I'm trying to do is blast away at these CLEP's so does this list look doable? I am very motivated right now and starting this weekend the CLEP train moves along. Thanks guys and gals!

Oh and since I received my English Comp grade today I am officially done with my AAS IF I choose to get it. I'm still debating this one.

 

Looks right to me! So are you now leaning toward TESC?

Pug

 

Yeah I decided to go with TESC because I can finish it up and graduate in December. This is based on a good bit of testing out and even if I don't make December I still have plenty of time within the year to finish. I only need 24 hours that come from TESC classes or 18 if I can fit Critical Thinking and Cultural Diversity into testing out. I enrolled on Friday and scheduled some classes yesterday. I did have another question for anyone enrolled in TESC or simply anyone who knows the answer.

TESC states this:

Ordering Course Materials and Textbooks:

For each course you take, you must purchase course materials and textbooks from our textbook supplier, MBS Direct. MBS Direct has a complete list of all the course materials required, so you do not need the book information before you order. Please have your term and course information available when you order to determine what materials are needed for your course.

So can I not order these books through eBay, Amazon, etc? I can get these books for half of this elsewhere. TESC seems to make it seem like it is required to purchase through their supplier only. Will they not let take exams if I don't place a book order? I sure could save some money on used textbooks.

So my journey continues April 1st with TESC and I will update how everything is going. So far I feel great about the process. I hope my local library has someone who can become my proctor. Thanks guys and gals....

 

FYI in case you didn't know. If you have an abundance of credits in one category, TESC will apply the "left-overs" to another category even if it's only 1 credit.

 

You might be able to find a proctor acceptable to TESC here:
http://is.lsu.edu/proctors/FindAProctor.asp

 

I tested out of 100% of my undergrad and had no issues getting into my MBA program.

For law school I don't know, but I imagine that a LOT depends on the LSAT score. If you were a borderline case then the "quality" of the undergrad classes might count but otherwise a strong GPA + strong LSAT should pretty much matter the most.

 

Jennifer, Which ALEKS courses did you take that gave you the 9 hours (6 in general education)? I'm trying to figure out my gameplan since classes start April 1st but I'm still a little lost. Do thos ALEKS courses fit into the General Ed Electives spot? If so that is where I need 18 hours so I might consider ALEKS. Looking at their site though I don't see any courses that look particularly interesting. Maybe I'm in the wrong spot. Also how fast can those courses be completed? I'm trying to roll out all of those hours so I can concentrate on the core classes I'm taking through TESC.

I enjoy all of this but figuring out what fits where is a tad frustrating. I want to make sure I don't take a CLEP, DSSt, etc. that ends up not fitting into an area I need it to go into. I'm calling TESC to ask them if any of the Criminal Justice DSST's fit into Social Science or a General Ed Elective. If so I can get 6 hours easy. Overall I'm excited about the final stretch and it looks like I'll be on course to finish this all in December.

 

Ok, www.ALEKS.com is the source. Go in the tab under individual use. Courses with a * are ACE evaluated. Credit through ALEKS is new- so there are only a handful of TESC students who have used it. But, of those on IC, I have kept track of evals. Here is the most current list of what credit has been granted so far.
001 Beginning Algebra- (not yet evaluated)
002 Intermediate Algebra- MAT115
003 College Algebra- (not yet evaluated)
004 College Algebra with Trig- MAT121
005 PreCal- MAT129
006 Trig- (not yet evaluated)
007 Intro Stats- STA201
008 Business Stats- OPM351
009 Stats for Beh. Science- STA199

ONLY business stats is confirmed to NOT be gen ed credit. The overlap I talked about before is between Intro stats and Behavioral science stats. Do intro first, and you should be able to pass through behavioral stats without add'l study time. (STA credit at TESC is math/natural science-gen ed)

ALEKS is $20 per month. To "pass" you need 70% on an assessment. They randomly give you assessments every so often, but you can take them as often as you want to speed up the process. You work at your own pace, so if you hustle, you can get through stats in 1month. I'd say the average is 50-75 hours, but I have seen as high as 100 hours (it logs your time, but there is no time requirement).

When you get an assessment and pass with 70%, you get it on your ACE transcript then open the new class "behavioral stats" and take the assessment. Again- you need 70%. The average person seems to pass on the first try. That's 6 gen ed math credits for $20.

If you want to contact your TESC advisor, tell him you are planning these two classes and to "plan them" into your TESC transcript. He will add them in and just (to see where they fit) and use them as placeholders until you actually get the classes done.

Also, I didn't earn credit through ALEKS, but my son is using it now for Beginning Algebra- I love it. I need a college algebra class by next May, and I hope to use ALEKS by then.

And- yes, in TESC's BA, the DSST criminal justice exam is social science.
Gen ed tutorial: social science, math/natural science, and humanities are the 3 general education areas- anything you take first fills that distribution eg. 12 cr social science, then overflow gets dumped into gen ed electives. Once those are full, overflow goes into free electives. You can never reverse this direction- so always start with the 42 gen ed required distribution, then the 18 gen ed electives, then the 28 free electives. Your major fills differently, but that is easy and straight forward generally.

 

Thanks! I spoke with my advisor and you are correct about the Criminal Justice DSST. It will fill my last 3 hours of my Social Science requirement. All that leaves me in Social Science is Cultural Diversity. So what I'm going to do is do a very basic review of CJ and sit for both CJ and The Sociology CLEP. The Sociology will fit into the general ed elective spot. Then I'll figure out the rest after these two are done. Thanks again!

 

No problem. Happy to help.

 

Well today I got my degree in the mail. I must say TESC does a better job on the degree paper than I expected. I'm also taking courses through them and I'm actually wrapping up several courses in two weeks. Overall my experience with TESC has been really good. My instructors challenge me and I've had some heated debates between myself and other students. It's been fun so far.

I still should be in line to finish in December so I've been looking at master's degrees. Earlier today HwyRogue posted a link to one then sent me a PM on another and both look very interesting. One is an MSc in Forensic Computing and Cybercrime Investigation from University College Dublin (http://cci.ucd.ie/files/images/UCD_Cybercrime_Leaflet2.pdf). Now I know nothing about this program other than it looked really interesting AND I could start it before I finish up my bachelor's. Then there is this one http://www.scis.ecu.edu.au/Future/Courses/Postgraduate/922/Master+of+Digital+Forensics which would also allow me to start before I'm finished my bachelor's. Now I know some of you may think I may be overloading myself but I've had way more on my plate lately and I'm doing fine so I know I can handle it. What do you guys/gals think of these two? I'm concerned about their utility here in the U.S. and since i don't know much about the two programs I'm just not sure. Any thoughts?

 

I'm sure you'll pick an excellent plan for your master's. I just wanted to give you a hearty congratulations for all of your hard work and dedication!! I read back through this thread- and there is no doubt that you are working hard. GOOD JOB!!!

 

Thanks Jennifer! I've been steadily moving along with my bachelor's through TESC. The courses have been really good and I've been pleasantly surprised at how challenging they have been. It took a bit of prodding myself to get started but once I did I've been moving along at a good pace. I've been communicating with the director of the UCD program and I believe that I would be an ideal U.S. candidate. My only hang-up is that I would have to travel to Ireland at the end of each year to test since they don't offer testing here in the U.S. My other concern is that I really don't know much about the school and it's acceptance here in the U.S. It appears to be a well respected school in Europe and ranks pretty high specifically in Ireland. I also found a few articles about the specific program and how they are partnered with Interpol which is a huge plus. I would just hate to finish the degree only to find out U.S. employers would look down on it simply because it's not from a U.S. institution. Thanks again for all your help! Without the people here on this board I would still be stuck asking questions.

 

I have no idea about international studies. As a chef, it's a feather in your cap to study in Europe, but that's in a F2F situation and more about apprenticeship under a certain chef, and how many stars they have, etc. I also wondered how HR departments would view an American going online and out of the country to earn a degree readily available here. Maybe what you consider unique could be viewed more as a veil. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, I'm just saying if YOU are thinking it, someone else is too. I think that doing a residency makes it a lot more valid in perception.
For example-
HR: "where did you get your degree?"
You: "XYZ University in Ireland"
HR: "interesting, what was Ireland like?"
You: "I don't know, I've never been there."

 

That's true Jennifer except that this specific type of degree isn't really all that available here....YET. In the oncoming years it will be added to postgrad programs but right now there are only a few so far that have them. I'm curious now too. If an HR person asked me how Ireland was and I actually flew out there to take the tests then I could honestly answer the question even though I didn't technically live there. I guess ultimately distance education as a whole falls into the same category and is questioned too. Does the degree being distance ed and out of the country throw up more red flags? I would hope that if this school has proper accreditation and one that's similar to the U.S. standards then it wouldn't be questioned. Unfortunately for me it's a question I can't answer and I'm not sure I want to take the chance. I know myself though and doing things to be different or unique is exactly how I end up. I just don't want to take a risk and get a master's only to find out it's useless here in the U.S. The director of the program told me there is one person from the U.S. currently in the program and two people showing interest in it from Canada. This could be from the fact that it's such a specialized degree and the entry requirements are pretty specific as well. I'll keep thinking and talking with the director to see if it's a fit. Oh and keep hashing it out with me. It's the only way I make informed decisions.Thanks!

 

Since I couldn't add to my post I quoted it and will add text here. I found this interesting article(s) in reference to the program. It seems to have major endorsements within the private sector as well as the government. I can't see how any U.S. employer would look down upon this degree since it has such a strong private/gov support.

http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/security/cybercrime/news/index.cfm?newsid=13793

http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2009/PR200943.asp

http://www.sentryparentalcontrols.co.uk/news/microsoft-backs-cybercrime-training-programme.aspx

 

you know what? I think you are on to something. Since the program isn't available here, and you'll be doing residencies, I think that would be a very convincing position. Look at it this way:



HR: "where did you get your degree?"
You: "University College in Ireland. It's one of only 2 such programs in the world. They are recognised for establishing international standard for digital forensics and cybercrime investigations."
HR: "Really? What was Ireland like?"
You: (blah blah blah) wonderful, terrific, once in a lifetime....The college is in Dublin....If I didn't love it back here in America so much, I'd have taken a position with Interpol...."