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BA/BS in Accounting Advice please.
#1
Hi all, I’m seeking advice about choosing the best route for a BA degree in Accounting. I’ve read a lot of posts in this forum but I feel confused and still don’t know which school should I go to. Here are the schools on my list: WGU, TESU, Excelsior, and UMPI.
At first, I wanted to attend WGU since my husband got his BSN from them, the concept seems flexible for busy adults, you don’t have to do group projects or discussion boards. The downside of WGU is that they only accept 77 credits from study.com. I’m good at test taking, and terrible at writing, but I don’t like the idea that your pass/fail is solely based on 1 proctored exam.

*TESU: can transfer up to 114cr, 90 from study.com, but required 30 RA credits, 6cr from their cornerstone and capstone. I’m confused about their tuition and residence fee. I don’t know if there are proctored exams. Looks like there is no FB student group, Reddit, or discord groups for TESU. 

*Excelsior: transfer up to 113cr. Not sure if they require any RA credits? Cost about $4000 if you only have to take 7cr from them. I couldn’t find a degree plan for their accounting degree, so I don’t know how many credits that I can transfer from Study.com, Sophia, SL.

*UMPI: transfer max 90cr, have to take 30 credits from them. Cost about $1200/ 8 weeks. The thought that I have to write a paper for every single course at UMPI is totally freaking me out since I’m not good at writing. I couldn’t find their degree plan for business.

I understand it’s not easy to get a BA, but in all honestly, I would love to find the easiest route, not too intense, and not too expensive, it doesn’t have to be the fastest route. I would greatly appreciate any input, advice, or degree plan.

-Location: Texas
-Age: 39
-Goal: to obtain BA in accounting
-Commitments: Working full-time, able to commit weekends and after work.
-Dedicated time to study: 15-20 hrs per week
-Timeline: 2-3 years. 
-Tuition Assistance: None

-RA credits: 16 from Nursing Assistant cert
Nursing Assistant Theory (NA 1): 4
English Comp 1: 4
CPR: 1
Nursing Assistant 2 (NA 2): 2
SYCH (psychology of Adjustment): 3
BTEC (Medical term): 2

-Sophia credits: 24
Art History II , 3, 91%
College Algebra, 3, 99%
Environmental Science, 3, 87%
US History I, 3, 97%
Microeconomics, 3, 91%
Intro to Statistics, 3, 93%
Intro to Sociology, 3, 93%
Intro to Business, 3, 90%
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#2
Well, for starters, none of the above (yet).  You're in Texas! You've got an option - the local Texas schools for cheap.  I would put these three on the back burner for now.  I have a school for you as your front runners - TAMUC and then WGU Texas (state endorsed) as your second choice as they have a Business degree, 77 credits isn't bad, you can see if that can be bumped closer to 90 credits.  

You can go for TAMUC BAAS Organizational Leadership and a bunch of Accounting courses, hopefully enough for a concentration or minor, otherwise do the "one and done" with a Bachelors/Masters combo at WGU Texas.  Then you can ladder that up to a Masters Accounting at WGU Texas, you need to know your state rules for CPA, I suggest following this page: CPA Certification

Note: If you follow the wiki, it shows an example BAAS OL degree plan with 48 "professional electives", see if this would work for you - add/change those 48 credits into Accounting or related courses you're interested in and get verification that will work from TAMUC.  Link: Texas A&M University-Commerce
In Progress: Walden MBA | TESU BA Biology & Computer Science
Graduate Certificate: Global Management & Entrepreneurship, ASU (Freebie)

Completed: TESU ASNSM Biology, BSBA (ACBSP Accredited 2017)
Universidad Isabel I: ENEB MBA, Big Data & BI, Digital Marketing & E-Commerce
Certs: 6Sigma/Lean/Scrum, ITIL | Cisco/CompTIA/MTA | Coursera/Edx/Udacity

The Basic Approach | Plans | DegreeForum Community Supported Wiki
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#3
(08-02-2022, 09:36 PM)hongnguyen Wrote: Hi all, I’m seeking advice about choosing the best route for a BA degree in Accounting. I’ve read a lot of posts in this forum but I feel confused and still don’t know which school should I go to. Here are the schools on my list: WGU, TESU, Excelsior, and UMPI.
At first, I wanted to attend WGU since my husband got his BSN from them, the concept seems flexible for busy adults, you don’t have to do group projects or discussion boards. The downside of WGU is that they only accept 77 credits from study.com. I’m good at test taking, and terrible at writing, but I don’t like the idea that your pass/fail is solely based on 1 proctored exam.
They may accept more credits (up to a max of 90) if you use a combination of Sophia, Study.com, Straighterline, and WGU Academy. We usually recommend a mix.

Quote:*TESU: can transfer up to 114cr, 90 from study.com, but required 30 RA credits, 6cr from their cornerstone and capstone. I’m confused about their tuition and residence fee. I don’t know if there are proctored exams. Looks like there is no FB student group, Reddit, or discord groups for TESU. 
Like here. Taking 90 credits at SDC is a waste of time and money! You can complete most of your alt credits at Sophia for cheaper and faster than at SDC. They also accept Davar and Coopersmith, which can be cheaper or more cost-effective than Study.com, depending on subject. You can get RA credits cheaply through Olivet Nazarene. If you are able to do a 16-credit flat-rate term at TESU, total TESU tuition and fees (not counting Sophia or Study.com) will be around $5000. If you are not able to do the 16-credit flat-rate term and just want to do the minimum capstone & cornerstone at TESU, tuition & fees jumps up to around $7000 (again, plus SDC & Sophia).

Some TESU classes have proctored exams, some do not. You have to read the syllabus to find out what's what.

Quote:*Excelsior: transfer up to 113cr. Not sure if they require any RA credits? Cost about $4000 if you only have to take 7cr from them. I couldn’t find a degree plan for their accounting degree, so I don’t know how many credits that I can transfer from Study.com, Sophia, SL.
Excelsior does not currently require any RA credits. I'm not sure if you can transfer in the full amount for an Accounting degree. It might be one of their degrees where you must take one or more of their very specific classes.

Quote:*UMPI: transfer max 90cr, have to take 30 credits from them. Cost about $1200/ 8 weeks. The thought that I have to write a paper for every single course at UMPI is totally freaking me out since I’m not good at writing. I couldn’t find their degree plan for business.
Plans here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI But it sounds like they wouldn't be a good fit for you.

Quote:I understand it’s not easy to get a BA, but in all honestly, I would love to find the easiest route, not too intense, and not too expensive, it doesn’t have to be the fastest route. I would greatly appreciate any input, advice, or degree plan.
What is your goal for getting an Accounting degree? Are you wanting to take the CPA exam or do you have another purpose? Like bjcheung77 said, getting a different degree with extra accounting classes may work for you. Or it may not. It depends on your reasons.
In progress:
TESU - BA Computer Science; BSBA CIS; ASNSM Math & CS; ASBA

Completed:
Pierpont - AAS BOG
Sophia (so many), The Institutes (old), Study.com (5 courses)
ASU: Human Origins, Astronomy, Intro Health & Wellness, Western Civilization, Computer Appls & Info Technology, Intro Programming
Strayer: CIS175, CIS111, WRK100, MAT210
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#4
If your goal is to become an accountant get a degree in accounting - get a BA/BS in Accounting or a BSBA/BABA-Accouting not something like the BAAS Organizational Leadership (with a bunch of accounting credits thrown in - that is not a degree in accounting).  If your goal is to go into accounting you need to have the degree listed on your resume clear that it is an 'accounting' degree. If your goal is not to be an accountant, but just a business degree then a degree like the BAAS Organizational Leadership could be suitable.

As far as WGU goes, they may have a limit of how many credit they will take from Study.com total (I wasn't aware they had a limit on a single provider) - but you can still transfer in up to 90 credits from a combination of other ACE providers. - Here is their Undergraduate Transfer Evaluation Guidelines for the BS Accounting (courses they allow to be transferred in) https://partners.wgu.edu/TransferGuideli...unting.pdf

Recently someone posted that concentrations such as Accounting cannot be completed with alternative credits at Excelsior (just the General Business can), so that would likely eliminate them as an option, if accounting is your goal (I assume it is based on your original post, it seems quite clear your goal is accounting). Leaving you with WGU, TESU and UMPI to choose from.  WGU and UMPI are both CBE with fixed terms, TESU is very much go at your own pace. You didn't state what your budget is - also are you paying out of pocket, eligible for Pell Grants, or employer assistance, etc?
Amberton University
- MS Human Relations and Business - 2022
Thomas Edison State University (TESU)
- BSBA General Management - 2018
- ASNSM Computer Science -2018

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#5
Thanks, everyone for your input. My bad that I didn't include Sophia, and SL credits in my post. WGU accepts 77 ACE credits from Sophia, Saylor, SL, and study.com. 11 courses are non-transferable and need to be completed at WGU, and other 2-3 courses that cannot alt with ACE credits.

My goal is to become an accountant, but I don't plan on becoming CPA. I'm working full-time now and have 2 kids, so online schools like WGU, UMPI, TESU would be the best fit for me. I was qualified for fafsa and Pell Grants when I went to community college, so I might try to apply for that again to see if I can get it. Otherwise I have to pay out of pocket, I don't have employer assistance.

I'm taking some LL courses at Sophia right now so I don't have to make any decisions yet. At this moment, I feel WGU is probably the best route, financial-wise. TESU tuition is too high for just the capstone and cornerstone, and the cost adds up with Sophia, study.com fee.
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#6
(08-03-2022, 10:45 AM)hongnguyen Wrote: Thanks, everyone for your input. My bad that I didn't include Sophia, and SL credits in my post. WGU accepts 77 ACE credits from Sophia, Saylor, SL, and study.com. 11 courses are non-transferable and need to be completed at WGU, and other 2-3 courses that cannot alt with ACE credits.

My goal is to become an accountant, but I don't plan on becoming CPA. I'm working full-time now and have 2 kids, so online schools like WGU, UMPI, TESU would be the best fit for me. I was qualified for fafsa and Pell Grants when I went to community college, so I might try to apply for that again to see if I can get it.  Otherwise I have to pay out of pocket, I don't have employer assistance.  

I'm taking some LL courses at Sophia right now so I don't have to make any decisions yet. At this moment, I feel WGU is probably the best route, financial-wise. TESU tuition is too high for just the capstone and cornerstone, and the cost adds up with Sophia, study.com fee.

What are the courses the cannot be transferred in as ACE credits? Maybe there are some low cost RA self-paced options for them (trying to minimize your WGU time - as CBE, like WGU and UMPI, is a true time is money situation).  There are so many options for an accountants besides becoming a CPA, I'm sure you will find your niche.  I have days where I consider going the accounting route (I'm two courses short to complete the certificate through TESU)... maybe when I finish my master's at the end of this year  Smile
Amberton University
- MS Human Relations and Business - 2022
Thomas Edison State University (TESU)
- BSBA General Management - 2018
- ASNSM Computer Science -2018

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#7
(08-03-2022, 11:25 AM)allvia Wrote: What are the courses the cannot be transferred in as ACE credits? Maybe there are some low cost RA self-paced options for them (trying to minimize your WGU time - as CBE, like WGU and UMPI, is a true time is money situation).  There are so many options for an accountants besides becoming a CPA, I'm sure you will find your niche.  I have days where I consider going the accounting route (I'm two courses short to complete the certificate through TESU)... maybe when I finish my master's at the end of this year  Smile


https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/Single.as...44&pid=132
Degrees: BA Computer Science, BS Business Administration with a concentration in CIS, AS Natural Science & Math, TESU. 4.0 GPA 2022.
Course Experience:  CLEP, Instantcert, Sophia.org, Study.com, Straighterline.com, Onlinedegree.org, Saylor.org, Csmlearn.com, and TEL Learning.
Certifications: W3Schools PHP, Google IT Support, Google Digital Marketing, Google Project Management
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#8
(08-03-2022, 02:26 PM)LevelUP Wrote:
(08-03-2022, 11:25 AM)allvia Wrote: What are the courses the cannot be transferred in as ACE credits? Maybe there are some low cost RA self-paced options for them (trying to minimize your WGU time - as CBE, like WGU and UMPI, is a true time is money situation).  There are so many options for an accountants besides becoming a CPA, I'm sure you will find your niche.  I have days where I consider going the accounting route (I'm two courses short to complete the certificate through TESU)... maybe when I finish my master's at the end of this year  Smile


https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/Single.as...44&pid=132

That link shows only the Study.com courses that transfer - so the two courses that show you could transfer in, but are not available through Study.com are;

Compensation and Benefits
Taxation I

Updated: although the PDF link I posted above for any source transfer into the BS Accounting does not show the two courses above can be transferred in at all

That would leave 13 courses at WGU - for accounting that could be tough for one term, which would mean that TESU would likely not cost more than WGU. (unless you have Pell Grants). I'm not sure what must be done at UMPI for their BA Accounting or BABA Accounting. I know you need to do 10 courses/30 credits there (UMPI), but not sure how flexible those 30 credits those happen to be.
Amberton University
- MS Human Relations and Business - 2022
Thomas Edison State University (TESU)
- BSBA General Management - 2018
- ASNSM Computer Science -2018

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#9
If you want an actual accounting degree to work in accounting, nothing but that will do. I would get a BSBA/Accounting at TESU, a BSBA/Accounting at WGU, or a BA in Accounting at UMPI. EU's BSB/Accounting MAY be done alternatively, not certain how they'll bring in some things.

Something to consider: never look at things like "X amount is too much for just 6cr" at wherever. You need to look at each degree and figure out how much it will cost to get it based on where you're starting. If School A is $1 for tuition and it will cost $100k for 120cr, and School B is $10,000 for tuition for 1cr and $1k for 119cr, then School B is the better price, even considering you're paying 10,000x the tuition price there. Look at the cost to finish the degree.

Make a degree plan for each of these, then fill in how you're going to take each course, the cost of those courses, and then add the cost at each school. You can also use this time to see how many Sophia/Study courses you can complete. If it's slow-going, then you're probably better off at TESU/EU. If you hammer through, and think you can sustain that pace, then UMPI/WGU may be a good bet.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TESU is easy, I'm sure there's a plan out there somewhere. For the 6th course in the AoS, you can take the ICC Managerial Accounting, or ask about Coopersmith's ACC-175: Introduction to Auditing or ACC-325: Forensic Accounting. With your 16cr of RA already, that leaves 8cr of RA to get, which is a piece of cake. Tuition & fees for final 6cr at TESU is $6,846 / Tuition for a single 16cr term is $4,778 (and will get you your remaining RA)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EU
Courses which are not 100%, but may very well be able to make the concentration doable:
Intermediate Accounting I & II, which I don't think they'll take from Study.com, but they may take from Coopersmith
Cost Accounting - Study.com
Taxation - TECEP exam
Auditing - Coopersmith (unconfirmed)
Tuition & fees for 7cr at EU is $4,031
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WGU - 77cr can be transferred in from a combination of Study & Sophia (and others), leaving 41cr, which would prob take you at least 2 terms
Tuition & Fees for 1 term at WGU is $3,720, but 2 terms is much more realistic $7,440 (and with a spouse, 2 kids and a FT gig, 3 terms isn't out of the question).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UMPI - 90cr can be transferred in, but I show that for the BA in Acct, there are 14 courses that can't be done via alt-credit, so 42cr. I think that you're looking at 2-4 terms, with 2 being a stretch ($2,800), and 3 being doable ($4,200), with 4 not out of the question ($5,600). If you hate writing papers, you'd prob want to see if the accounting courses are papers, or something like projects instead. That might be more doable for you.
TESU BSBA/HR 2018 - WVNCC BOG AAS 2017 - GGU Cert in Mgmt 2000
EXAMS: TECEP Tech Wrtg, Comp II, LA Math, PR, Computers  DSST Computers, Pers Fin  CLEP Mgmt, Mktg
COURSES: TESU Capstone  Study.com Pers Fin, Microecon, Stats  Ed4Credit Acct 2  PF Fin Mgmt  ALEKS Int & Coll Alg  Sophia Proj Mgmt The Institutes - Ins Ethics  Kaplan PLA
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#10
I say this with the proviso that programs and classes can and do change: I took a number of accounting courses at UMPI and earned my BA in accounting from that school. There was some writing in my accounting classes, but I don’t think it was too burdensome. There was a lot of “doing accounting” with spreadsheets, computations, filling out tax returns, etc. As I recall, most of the writing was relatively short (1-2 paragraphs) though I remember one exam where I think I had a 2-3 page written response.

This writing was mostly descriptive/explanatory in nature and typically wasn’t exactly an essay.  I transferred in financial accounting and tax I, so I didn’t have questions like this, but the writing might be something like “explain the difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit” or “list the major financial statements and explain the flow of information between these statements”.  The questions seemed much more to be testing your knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, by way of explanation, rather than your ability to make an argument about a topic, the way you might find in an English or history class, for instance.

My vote would be for UMPI. I looked at WGU, but the fact that you could only transfer in 2 of the accounting classes was a deal breaker. I had already taken additional accounting classes and didn’t want to lose them. For OP, I understand that isn’t the case. I also liked that this was a B&M school associated with a state university system. I don’t think there is a thing wrong with WGU, considering it for a graduate degree, but there are likely some people who do have judgments about it and my UMPI degree avoids that. 

If you are able to get it so that you only have around 10 classes to complete at UMPI, I think 2 terms is totally realistic. I took more terms than that, but I double majored in business administration (management and leadership concentration) and chose not to maximize my transfer/to take more than the smallest possible number at UMPI. I think it took me 5 terms, including my first term where I really didn’t like my classes and only finished 2.  I did that while working a full time job, wife with full time job, and two young children at home, BTW.
Master of Accountancy (taxation concentration), University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in progress. 
Master of Business Administration (financial planning specialization), University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in progress.

BA, UMPI.  Accounting major; Business Administration major/Management & Leadership concentration.  Awarded Dec. 2021.

In-person/B&M: BA (history, archaeology)
In-person/B&M: MA (American history)

Sophia: 15 courses (42hrs)
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