trying to transfer credits from nationally accredited school

I am looking for any advice ANYONE can give me.
I received an Associates Degree from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1996. I have recently decided to continue my education and seek a Bachelors degree. I have never had so many doors slammed in my face! I being the first to go to any further schooling in my family, thought I was doing something wonderful by just ATTENDING college, I knew nothing about accreditation at the time.
Since speaking with 10/15 schools and being told that my degree from AIP is not recognized, and my credits are not transferable, I have been trying to do more and more research on the subject. I now know (although too late and 24, 000 in debt) that this degree is in my opinion worthless. It seems at this point I have two options; I either get a BS degree (and I would like to call this bull sh**) but mean Bachelor of Science from another nationally accredited school...i.e u of phoenix, florida metro u, baker college, etc, and pay a TON of money, or I attend a regionally accredited worthy school and have to start as a freshman, like I never even attended college at all. I am looking for any advice anyone may have at ways around this or if anyone knows of ANY regionally accredited school that is known to take credits from AIP, or a nationally accredited school. Or, just what to do at this point.
Thank you .

 

Baker College is regionally accredited (North Central Association), not nationally.

University of Phoenix is regionally accredited (North Central Association), not nationally.

Capella University has accepted credits from nationally accredited schools. It might be helpful to talk with them.

Bellevue Capella University has accepted credits from nationally accredited schools. It might be helpful to talk with them.

Find other schools that pique your interest. See if they categorically exclude accepting credits and degrees from nationally accredited schools. If not, inquire about your circumstances. Do not expect their literature to be explicit in this area. Even if it is, ask.

Finally, you might consider attempting a portfolio for life experience/knowledge credit. I'm a bit out of my league here, but you might be able to parlay your knowledge gained from your nationally accredited school into credits from a regionally accredited school. Hundreds of colleges and universities offer this option. Once they've been earned at a regionally accredited school, you might be able to transfer the credits to the school of your choice. (Or, the awarding school might become your school of choice.)

Just some thoughts....

 

are you aware of any schools that accept a life portfolio in exchange for college credit?
I have not come across this and the schools I have asked, respond like I am from mars, in asking this idiotic question.

I don't know, all I can say is that it is very frustrating, and I never knew trying to better myself/education could be so difficult.

Also, if the other schools, u of phoenix, baker college, even Florida Metro U, were not SO expensive number one and number two, if I didn't think it would be a problem when trying to obtain a masters degree, I might not be so concerned. (and I mean, once again, trying to obtain a masters degree at a regionally accredited school when I would have my bachelors from a nationally accredited school.)

 

something else..in re-reading your reply.
Is the answer to take one or two classes with U of Phoenix or Baker to get them to accept my credits earned from AIP, then transfer to University of Florida or any other regionally accredited school? Again U of phoenix is 410 per credit hour vs. Uof Florida which is about 88. Huge difference.

 

First of all, I am very far from an expert. But to restate Rich, those schools are regionally, not nationally accredited. If they will accept you, and from your post it seems they will, then you can get accepted into a graduate program. The prestige and selectivity of the program may be a problem if you want to go Ivy league imho, but then again, I don't know enough about the respective programs to state that unequivocably.

More about you though. What is your preferred major? What schools have you talked to? Do you want residential or DL? All of these are relevant to your questions.

Hopefully, someone else more knowledgable will pick this up and help you out.

Tony

 

From my understanding, some institutions have problems accepting transfer credit earned this way. Contact the receiving institution for clarity.

 

more info

The following said "forget about it"
U of Florida
Florida State
Barry U
Florida International U
Florida Atlantic U
Penn State
University of Pittsburgh
U of Miami

The following were happy to have me and my $:
U of Phoenix
Florida Metro U

I am interested in either a Business Major or Criminal Justice.

Can you answer me this? Why if the top list of regionally accredited schools would not take me due to the nationally accredited rating of AIP, why then would U of Phoenix take my credits...if in deed they are regionally accredited also???
thank you.

 

i forgot to mention:
either a weekend /night program or online...does not matter to me...I do currently have a career though, so can not attend on a daily basis for hours on end.

 

It's all about the benjamins

This is why I think most on this board would tell you that RA is your best choice. If you want to do DL or are willing to move (which is obvious considering the geographic location of the schools), maybe you should broaden you spectrum of choices. This is all I have, anyone want to pick this one up?

Tony

p.s. If you really want it, money isn't really that important (at least not for me). There is always financial aid.

 

Oh, one more thing.

While UOP while admit you, some people on this board have said that after you are admitted they are somewhat stingy on what they will let transfer. You should try to find that out first. Also, in the majors you listed, you should know that at best, most classes you took will probably only transfer as general electives (which, depending on the credit requirements of the degree, can still save you some time and money).

Tony

 

Hi Dawn

Your experience is a good example that I hope others can learn from. Even though you attended a legitimate, but not regionally accredited, school your investment of time and $24,000 may be of little value. I believe there are some excellent ways of proceding.

1. Test out of a complete regionally accredited BA or BS degree from one of the Big Three (COSC, TESC or Excelsior College). Total cost should be around $2000 to $4,000. It is possible your AA degree could be used as the basis of portfolio credit and reduce the cost further.

2. If you would prefer to seek a degree from a more prestigious RA school like Penn State, Florida State, etc. you could use CLEP and DANTES tests to gain credit for the first year or so (Many RA schools limit this kind of credit to 1/4 the degree). In this case your AA may not be transferable but it would add to your application and increase your chances of being admitted.

3. Lastly you could transfer to one of the RA schools that is more liberal in accepting non-RA credits. As Rich pointed out Capella is the most likely choice. This to me would be the least prefered method becasue of cost.

If some of the terms used here are unfamiliar use the search engine here and also at google.com. At Google be sure to also search the usenet groups. There is a ton of info in the AED archive before the bulk of DL discussion moved here.

 

thank you all for your input.... I will certainly be doing some MORE research ....

 

Re: more info

As I understand it, Liberty University has indicated a willingness to consider nationally accredited degrees.

Liberty has a B.A. in Business, is reasonable as far as cost, done through VHS tape (DL), and does not require any specific statement of faith for distance learning students.

http://www.liberty.edu

Later they also have DL Masters programs.

Good luck!

North

 

See http://www.degreeinfo.com/article4_1.html for info on portfolio assessment.

 

I looked at the AIP web site and it appears to be a vocational school (and perhaps a good one – art is not my field) and most RA colleges and universities do not accept credit from vocational schools. My suggestion is that you retain the PAI degree on your resume and pursue a RA degree as a supplement.
I would recommend Excelsior for a business degree. Download catalogs from Excelsior College and review what they offer. You might be able to obtain credit by portfolio using your AIP courses as electives (you can also earn portfolio credit for life experiences if you can demonstrate equivalency to a college course). Otherwise you can take various exams for credit such as CLEP. Take the maximum number of classes at the lower division level through community colleges (RA of course) to minimize cost, then round out the degree requirements with upper division courses. Apply to Excelsior after you have accumulated most of your credits to minimize maintenance fees. I had no trouble getting admitted to my masters degree programs.
I am sure the contributors to this forum will be pleased to give you lots of useful advice.

Ian Anderson
BSLS Excelsior/USNY
MS Cal State Dominguez Hills
MAS Embry-Riddle (in progress)

 

I looked up Florida Metropolitan University's web pages but it does not mention whether they are Regionally Accredited. Check up on this with them.
You would need a RA degree to enter a RA postgraduate program or to obtain employment with many potential employers.
If you could tell us what state you live in or plan to live in I'm sure you would get some more options.

 

According to this, FMU is accredited by ACICS:

http://fmu.edu/international/default.htm

While a degree from an RA is certainly more advantageous than one from a nationally accredited school when seeking admission to a higher degree program at an RA school, it is not an absolute requirement. Many respondents to Bear's survey of admissions officials indicated a willingness to accept credits and degrees from nationally accredited schools.

To my knowledge--and as a result of a literature review for my dissertation--the acceptability in the workplace of degrees from nationally accredited schools has not been measured. While anecdotal evidence exists that indicates there might be some "diminished capacity," it is not clear to what extent. I'm hurrying!

 

Your post (in another thread) mentioning FIU, UF, UM FSU and Barry University lead me to believe that you are contemplating attending school (although not necessarily via distance learning) in Florida. If so, my suggestion would be to earn an AA degree from Miami-Dade Community College or any another local regionally accredited community college. There are several reasons for this. First, a two-year school is going to be much more flexible in terms of transfer credits (you will, however, still have to meet all of their General Education Requirements, including Gordon-rule courses). Second, these schools usually allow the liberal use of credit by examination (CLEP, etc.) and independent study—one school even allows practically unlimited guided portfolio credits (this is probably your best option for utilizing your previously earned course credits) requiring a minimal amount of attendance.

Finally, and perhaps more importantly, most of these schools have articulation agreements with Florida universities. In other words, armed with an AA from MDCC, for example, FIU would have to accept you as having completed the first two years of study. Keep in mind, of course, that the program you select may have its own requirements, and many of the advanced courses have prerequisites. For example, most business schools insist on you having completed certain prerequisite courses (Micro and Macro Economics, Statistics, Introductory Marketing, Introductory Management, Communications, Calculus, etc.) before formally admitting you to the program. It is unlikely that having attended art school (regardless of its accreditation), you would have had much exposure to these subjects, and will therefore have to take them anyway; it will less expensive to do so at the community college level.

 

another option?

What do you think if I went to TESC for an associates degree (using all the portfolio experience as possible) and then transferred into say, FIU for there Bachelor in Business Program?

I just am not sure about a few things:

1. would FIU accept credits from TESC
2. TESC is listed as AS and I believe if I were to go to MDCC or even Broward CC, it would be an AA.

Another option would be to go to TESC for my Bachelors and then seek a "better" school for a Masters...but again, would my bachelors from TESC qualify for acceptance into a Masters program?

The third and final option at this point, is to take classes at MDCC or BCC for their AA and then be guaranteed entrance into the Bachelor program at FIU...
1. If BCC or MDCC would even take a few of my credits from AIP, then I would be happy, but I just don't want to go 4 more years for my bachelor degree, when I already have an Associate Degree.
2. Possilby MDCC or BCC would allow "portfolio /life credits"?

 

Re: another option?

This is a viable option, but I would try to ascertain (as best as I could) that the courses will transfer and that I met as many of FIU’s general education requirements and business prerequisite courses as possible. If not, you could find having to take an excessive number of courses to fulfill graduation requirements.

Yes, but FIU would be the final arbiter as to which credits to accept and how to apply them. Moreover, keep in mind that this would apply to only to credits earned at TESC, and not credits that TESC accepted in transfer.

First of all, not all the credits earned for the AS from any school will probably be accepted in transfer, as an AS is generally considered a terminal degree, and some of the courses are vocational in nature. (MDCC and BCC also offer AS degrees.) You are wrong, however, in believing that TESC only offers an AS; TESC also offers the Associates in Arts degree, which, for your stated purposes, would be preferable. However, an AA from TESC would not suit your purposes as well as an AA from MDCC or BCCC because an AA from either MDCC or BCC will have direct course number correlation with FIU courses and will satisfy their general education requirements.

Yes, TESC alumni have been accepted into numerous graduate programs. However, if your goal is to get into a top-tier MBA program, you must be aware that admission is very competitive (as in every little thing counts), and the schools do look at the reputation and rigor (such as AACSB accreditation) of your undergraduate program.

The MDCC or BCC AA alone won’t guarantee you admission to FIU—that depends on other factors such your grades, etc. If they do accept you, however, the AA guarantees that you have completed two years of study and that you have fulfilled the general education requirements. There is also another option to consider. FIU will allow you to take courses while you are a student at MDCC or BCC. These courses will not only transfer to MDCC or BCC to fulfill requirements for the AA, but also, needless to say, satisfy course requirements at FIU.

This is a difficult, but not impossible task. It must, however, be approached creatively (not an onerous task, I’m sure, for an art school graduate).

This is one of the best-kept secrets in South Florida higher education. I would be willing to discuss it privately if you email me at [email protected].