47 RA Credits - Bachelor's Degree Assistance (Liberal Studies, Econ, or Electrical)

[GotmyBig3Degree!]

Hi everyone!  Long time lurker; 1st time posting.  I’m helping out a friend’s son with a degree plan to finish his BA and would appreciate any advice to help him. He will be happy with a Liberal Arts degree but is also interested in Economics, and Electrical (He just started at a Trade School to become an electrician).  I’ve noted his RA credits from Univ CA at Santa Cruz below. UCSC is on the quarter system.  I’d like to help him find the quickest and least expensive option.  Would that be a BALS from TESU?  I've also attached a possible, tentative BALS Plan for TESU (which may or may not make sense!). Thank you!!

Location: CA
Age: 21
Desired Degree: Liberal Studies, Econ, or Electrical (I did not find any BS Electrical Degrees)
Prior RA Credits: UC Santa Cruz
 
                Writing 2 Rhetoric & Inquiry                        5 QTR units = 3.33 Semester Credits        C-           
                CRWN 80F Science Fiction                           5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       A
                COWL 11C Leader Intelligence                     2 QTR Units = 1.33 Semester Credits       B+
                COWL 1 Imagining Justice                           5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       A-
                COWL 65 Meaning, Paradox, and Love          5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       A
                HAVC Art of the Body in Oceania                  5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       B-
                THEA 80C Monsters                                    5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       C
                PSYCH 1 Intro to Psychology                       5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       C
                EART 7 History of Life                                 5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       B+
                STAT 80A Gambling & Gaming                     5 QTR Units                                          D+
                ENVS 80C Climate Science & Policy               5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       B
                COWL 52 Personal Finance                          5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       B+
                Econ 1 Intro Microeconomics                       5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       A+
                ECON 2 Intro to Macroeconomics                 5 QTR Units = 3.33 Semester Credits       B-
                Total: 47.95 Semester Credits (incl D+)
 
No ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS and no certifications or Military experience

[rachel83az]

Assuming the guy is 20 or older, the quickest, easiest, and cheapest degree would be a BLS from UMPI. https://umpi.edu/yourpace This would require a foreign language (InstantCert is the easiest if he isn't already fluent, CLEP or ACTFL exam is fastest/easiest if he is already fluent in a language that isn't Spanish) and also a science-with-a-lab (fastest and easiest would be BIO 101L from Study.com). Depending on how busy he is, he could finish the degree in 6-8 months and for less than $5k. We have one student who finished their BLS at UMPI with a single UMPI session + Sophia & Study.com credits for less than $2k. Most are finishing in 4-6 months.

TESU is literally the most expensive option. Approximately $5-7k if he does a 16-credit term with TESU or $7-10k if he only takes the capstone & cornerstone with them.

In between would be Excelsior. Total cost would be $5-6k. It would not be fast. They also require 30UL credits. But it is an option if he's unsure about the competency-based approach.

[GotmyBig3Degree!]

Assuming the guy is 20 or older, the quickest, easiest, and cheapest degree would be a BLS from UMPI. https://umpi.edu/yourpace This would require a foreign language (InstantCert is the easiest if he isn't already fluent, CLEP or ACTFL exam is fastest/easiest if he is already fluent in a language that isn't Spanish) and also a science-with-a-lab (fastest and easiest would be BIO 101L from Study.com). Depending on how busy he is, he could finish the degree in 6-8 months and for less than $5k. We have one student who finished their BLS at UMPI with a single UMPI session + Sophia & Study.com credits for less than $2k. Most are finishing in 4-6 months.

TESU is literally the most expensive option. Approximately $5-7k if he does a 16-credit term with TESU or $7-10k if he only takes the capstone & cornerstone with them.

In between would be Excelsior. Total cost would be $5-6k. It would not be fast. They also require 30UL credits. But it is an option if he's unsure about the competency-based approach.

Thank you very much, Rachel.  UMPI looked interesting to me as well but I wasn't sure how to plan that for him (and yes, he's 20).  I'll start investigating that more. Thanks again!

[rachel83az]

UMPI can be a bit tricky to plan for! Exactly which courses should (or should not) be taken from Sophia depend on exactly which UMPI degree he's interested in. For instance, if he decides that he wants to do Project Management, he should avoid Project Management from Sophia. The Project Management course that the Sophia one replaces is important for later Project Management courses and replacing it makes things difficult later!

Pick a degree and we can help figure out what Sophia courses he should take.

[GotmyBig3Degree!]

UMPI can be a bit tricky to plan for! Exactly which courses should (or should not) be taken from Sophia depend on exactly which UMPI degree he's interested in. For instance, if he decides that he wants to do Project Management, he should avoid Project Management from Sophia. The Project Management course that the Sophia one replaces is important for later Project Management courses and replacing it makes things difficult later!

Pick a degree and we can help figure out what Sophia courses he should take.

Liberal Studies was one of choices, so a BLS from UPMI would be great!
Thank you again!

---

I'll check the UMPI YourPace website directly, but I assume the D+ will not transfer. Feel free to correct me if otherwise. Thank you!

[dfrecore]

An Econ degree is not a good one - not available at any of the Big 3, and not alt-credit friendly. The closest thing is a Business degree. Not sure he wants to do that.

There is no such thing as a BS for electricians that I know of - going to trade school to become one is the best option. Electrical engineering sounds close, but it's really not (and I'm sure it's not a great option for him).

I would do a BLS from EC since it's cheaper than TESU by $2600, and doesn't require a concentration like COSC. It's just a very simple degree to get. All of those courses he's taking at his trade school will fit in as he earns them - as long as it's a credit-bearing program. He has plenty of space in free electives at EC (60cr worth), where TESU only allows 30cr there.

And at some point if he decides to get a degree at UMPI instead, he can make the switch.

No decision is a bad one here - it's just a question of cost/time.
- EC will be $4,000 for 7cr there, you can bring in 113cr - and you'll need 30cr of UL (cornerstone, capstone, 6 UL courses in Arts & Sciences, and 2 UL courses in Business or anything else).
- TESU will be $6,654 for 6cr there, you can bring in 114cr - and you'll need 18cr of UL (capstone and 5 UL courses in Liberal Arts).
- COSC will be $3,181 for 6cr there, you can bring in 114cr - and you'll need 30cr of UL (capstone + 9 UL courses in the Concentration is easiest).
- UMPI will be $2,800 for 2 terms (or $4,200 for 3 terms) which will include 30cr, you can bring in 90cr

[ss20ts]

No, the D+ will not transfer to UMPI.

[NoStudentNoCry]

Electricians can earn associate in applied sciences degree. Sometimes community colleges offer credit for what was learned in trade school or at apprenticeship program. Check with local schools.

[bjcheung77]

That's great your friends son is in a trade school getting into the Electrician field... He wants to focus on the 3 main things, 1) Certification in that trade, 2) Degree - An associates first if he wants, then ladder into a Bachelors, 3) Experience in the field, find an entry level job in that industry or be an apprentice... 

So, while he's trying the trade, let him take some ACE credit courses from Sophia.org for general education requirements that will go towards the Big 3/UMPI, if he's interested in CBE and Business or IT, you may want to add Purdue Global, UMASS Global, WGU, and Walden to that list.  He should decide which program/school he wants the degree(s) from...

Since he's starting off and not sure where to go, he should focus on the program/school, if he still can't decide from the above list, then have him continue earning/learning and taking some ACE courses towards a General or Liberal Studies degree.  For example, He may want to ladder a basic Associates at Pierpont and get a UMPI Bachelors in Applied Science.

Here are the Sophia.org courses and what it should transfer as to some of the schools mentioned, don't take too many courses unless it's for personal learning and interest or credit for the desired degree. Another option is to take some CLEP exams through partnership with Modernstates.org - Link: Sophia.org Equivalency List - Degree Forum Wiki (miraheze.org)

[rachel83az]

If none of the local CCs will give credit for the stuff being learned in the trade school, another option for an Associate would be the FREE Pierpont degree: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC This would be super easy to obtain while he's still deciding exactly which Bachelor program to pursue.