The Big Three: Compare and Contrast

I have no numbers at all to back up my opinion, but I suspect that 99.9% of employers don't have a clue that Athabasca's program is 90 hours anymore than they'd know that Btiercrest's is 100 hours or Belevue's is 127. Employers want to know that you have a bachelors degree. In rare cases they may even want to know that you have a regionally accredit bachelors degree, but I'd be totally shocked if anyone cared beyond that.

As far as grad schools, I don't know. I can tell you that when I was considering Briercrest's 100 hour BA I shoppped a few grad schools including Liberty, UWA, and UNA, to feel them out. None of them had any issue with it at all. The only issue that I could really see is having to take a couple extra prereqs if your 90 hour BA didn't offer the "right" courses.

Pug

 

While you offer a reason for your opinion regarding TESC, what's the basis for your opinion regarding COSC vs Excelsior? Don't they both require essentially the same mix of courses for the BA?

It's not that I agree or disagree - just wondering your reasoning.

 

I've pretty much decided I'm going to finish my BA at Excelsior once I wrap up my AS at Penn Foster College (where most courses are ACE reviewed).

The price is right at Excelsior (for me), they offer the concentration I want (communications) and they offer a price break for military veterans, which is a big plus for me. I had been leaning toward COSC, but the whole "no majors" thing is kind of a turn-off. I have an in-law who is currently studying through TESC, and she has had less-than-complimentary things to say about their program.

 

Great question. I was completely unaware they offered a 90 credit hour Bachelor's degree. Wow...my concern would be RA schools here in the U.S. accepting this degree for entrance into a masters program. Again...awesome question.

 

I think you'd have little difficulty getting accepted at a U.S. grad school, but I think it's likely you'd have to take a few prereqs.

Pug

 

I looked at COSC & TESC back in the day. Ultimately, I went with EC because my exisiting credits fit in the Liberal Arts program better and I could finish quicker, cheaper, etc. I took two upper division classes from EC and they were not very difficult; I hate to say it but my UOP classes were harder. I experienced great customer service and had to appeal my Penn Foster (Education Direct) credits but they were granted.

 

I've had the opposite experience; when I applied for my education incentive at work, when I applied to grad school, and when I've applied for teaching positions I've always had to send official, sealed transcripts from each school.

 

Teaching positions are treated differently, at least here in Maryland where I am. The state requests a transcript to ensure 120 hours, and to ensure that all 120 hours are regionally accredited.

I have never been asked for a transcript, a degree, a diploma, nothing. To the best of my knowledge no one else I know has been asked either.

Pug

 

I chose COSC as the most difficult because of the requirement for students to plan and defend their selection of courses for even the most generalized degree.

 

I am shocked that anyone would consider Excelsior the most academically superior with only 1 year of english and 1 year of general math required for the BA. I'm not knocking them as a school, but to deny that only 1 english class and one general math class falls short of the academic standard would be difficult.


Pug

 

While you are correct the intent of Excelsior's upper level requirement can be defeated by a resourceful student, the fact remains it is there and is not at TESC.

The issues with TESC do not end there. Take the BS in Accounting for example. They require Intermediate Accounting I and II and have no further specific course requirements. This means a student could stuff the degree with offerings like "Quickbooks 101" or "Bookkeeping at Home" to finish the BS. I have a hard time believing that anyone could recognize this degree as anything but substandard.

The bottom line is someone being honest with themselves will recognize none of the Big 3 are academically rigorous in the slightest.

By the way, I am actually a TESC alum!

 

Jump through the hoops

 

Demonstrating the commitment, desire, and drive to jump through the right hoops, in the right sequence, at the right time counts for something.

 

Well said.

 

While TESC requires 6 English Composition credits it will accept the CLEP with essay for the requirement whereas Excelsior will grant only three credits for that same exam and will not accept it to fulfill the requirement (you will still have to take an exam/course from a RA institution).

 

Any degree is in large part exactly what the student chooses to make of it. By using CLEPs and DANTES are students cheating themselves academically? Are credit hours from actual coursework ranging from freshman level (100-level) to senior level (400-level) transferred in from 4-year colleges and universities better than testing-out?

On-campus degrees can be equally as academically lacking or challenging depending upon the school on chooses to attend and the courses taken towards the degree.

The Big Three are not in the same academic league as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, or Yale and we all recognize that basic fact.

 

Another aspect of academic quality concerning the Big Three is the issue of grades. TESC, for example, does not calculate a GPA, and all courses tested out of are assigned a pass mark.

While working toward my BA, I went for speed rather than mastery. I would not be surprised if, had I attended a B&M school for a degree taking the exact same classes, my GPA would be sub 2.0. But TESC allowed this to be masked in a way that would not have been possible elsewhere.