A Comparison: EC vs. TESC vs. COSC

[Daithi]

I have created degree plans for each of the Big Three to show how they compare with each other in terms of costs and ease of testing out. Each of these degree plans uses nothing but Credit By Exam (CBE) to complete except for the required Cornerstone/Capstone/Info-Lit courses. I've done my best to select degrees that provide the most options in terms of completing using CBEs, and I've tried to lay out plans that keep these degrees as cheap as possible, and have included both ALEKS courses and FEMA courses where possible. Note that EC doesn't accept FEMA courses directly, and laundering them through a CC makes them about as expensive as a standard CBE, so I didn't use them in the EC degree plan.

In the case of TESC, I selected the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies as this degree has a lot of flexibility. Only requiring 18 upper level credits makes TESC the most flexible degree by far. It also makes it the quickest degree to complete of the three. However, the high tuition fee also makes TESC the most expensive of the three --- although all three degrees are all between $5,000 and $6,000.

I selected the Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts for the EC degree. The only difference between a BS in liberal arts and a BA in liberal arts at EC is that the BA specifies that the required 30 upper level credits in the degree must be in liberal arts, but the BS degree is more flexible and will allow the credits to come from fields such as business. It should also be noted that a BS/BA in liberal arts from EC also requires that it have two disciplines which must show depth by containing 12 credits of which 3 are upper level. The degree plan below meets this requirement for at least History and Mathematics, and maybe Humanities. Also, EC doesn't accept CLEP English Composition as a course that meets their Written English Requirement (WER). EC does have an ECE that covers the WER, but it costs $415, so I've used TECEP exams instead, which are cheaper, and others have used them to cover this requirement. Lastly, I purposely didn't use any of the more expensive ECE exams that costs $305 an exam (some ECE exams are only $95). However, you should know that these exams exist and do provide for more flexibility.

For COSC I selected their BS degree with a concentration in Business. I did not go with a liberal arts degree with COSC because finding the 30 upper level credits for the degree requirement would have been more difficult. COSC recognizes several DSST business exams as upper level courses, and this made it much easier to layout the degree plan. COSC is the least flexible in terms of selecting courses/exams, as their degrees mandate a lot more courses that must be taken, but COSC makes up for this by having the cheapest degree of the three.

COSC does grant credit for GRE tests whereas the others do not. COSC will grant 18 to 24 credits, depending on the exam, with 15 credits counting as lower level and the rest as upper level. I didn't include this option in the degree plan below, but it could help in reducing both time and cost in completing a COSC degree. I also didn't include CLEP language exams in any of the plans below even though they too rack up credits quickly at 12 credits per test. Learning a language takes a lot of time, so I didn't include these. Likewise, having the knowledge to pass a GRE test takes a bit more time than studying for a standard CLEP test, so I didn't include the GRE tests either. On the other hand, I did include ALEKS tests in each of the degree plans below. You can purchase access to ALEKS for $20 a month and should be able to pass each of the courses included in the degree plans in under two months (three tops and maybe just one month if you're fast).

[EDIT: I've made a few changes to this post and the post with the EC Degree plan below based on advice from NAP.]

[Daithi]

BA in Liberal Studies at Thomas Edison State College (TESC)

I. General Education Requirements_______________________________60
__A. English Composition_________________________________________6
_____CLEP ENC101/102 College Composition w/Essay________________-6
__B. Humanities_________________________________________________12
_____CLEP HUM101/102 Humanities_________________________________-6
_____CLEP LIT111/112 American Literature________________________-6
__C. Social Sciences (2 subject areas)__________________________12
_____CLEP SOS101/102 Social Sciences and History________________-6
_____CLEP PSY101 Introductory Psychology________________________-3
_____CLEP SOC101 Introductory Sociology_________________________-3
__D. Natural Sciences and Mathematics___________________________12
_____CLEP MAT101/102 College Mathematics________________________-6
_____ALEK MAT121 College Algebra________________________________-3
_____DSST COS101 Introduction to Computing______________________-3
__E. General Education Electives________________________________18
_____CLEP BIO111/112 Biology____________________________________-6
_____ALEK MAT115 Intermediate Algebra___________________________-3
_____ALEK MAT129 Precalculus____________________________________-3
_____ALEK STA201 Intro to Statistics____________________________-3
_____DSST AOJ102 Introduction to Criminal Justice_______________-3

II. Area of Study: Liberal Studies______________________________33
__A. Lower Lever Courses (100 & 200 level; 2 @ 100 max.)________15
_____DSST ART166 Art of the Western World_______________________-3
_____CLEP LIT291/292 Analyzing and Interpreting Literature______-6
_____CLEP LIT208/209 English Literature_________________________-6
__B. Upper Lever Courses (300 & 400 level)______________________15
_____DSST REL405 Introduction to World Religions________________-3 UL
_____DSST CIS301 Management Information Systems_________________-3 UL
_____DSST SOS305 Drug & Alcohol / Substance Abuse_______________-3 UL
_____DSST PHI384 Ethics and the Business Professional___________-3 UL
_____DSST PSY361 Organizational Behavior________________________-3 UL
__C. Liberal Arts Capstone_______________________________________3
_____LIB495 Liberal Arts Capstone_______________________________-3 UL

III. Free Electives_____________________________________________27
__A. Free Electives_____________________________________________27
_____FEMA courses______________________________________________-27


COST OF TESC BALS DEGREE
Application Fee:______________$75
Annual Enrollment Tuition: $2,958
Technology Services Fee:_____$117
Course Tuition:______________$663 (3 credits @ $221)
Test Fees:_________________$1,800 (18 tests @ $100)
ALEKS Fees:___________________$40 (2 months @ $20)
Graduation fee:______________$280
---------------------------------
Total:_____________________$5,923 ($4,381 for NJ Residents)


Catalog: http://www.tesc.edu/documents/College_Catalog.pdf
Tuition: Thomas Edison State College: Enrolled Options Plan
Fees: Thomas Edison State College: Fees

[Daithi]

BS in Liberal Studies at Excelsior College (EC)

I. General Education____________________________________________60
__A. Written English_____________________________________________6
_____TECEP English Composition I________________________________-3
_____TECEP English Composition II_______________________________-3
__B. Humanities__________________________________________________9
_____CLEP Humanities____________________________________________-6
_____DSST Introduction to World Religions_______________________-3 UL
__C. Social Sciences/History_____________________________________9
_____CLEP Social Sciences and History___________________________-6
_____DSST The Civil War and Reconstruction______________________-3 UL
__D. Natural Sciences/Mathematics________________________________9
_____CLEP Natural Sciences______________________________________-6
_____ALEK Intro to Statistics___________________________________-3 UL
__E. Capstone___________________________________________________3
_____Capstone __________________________________________________-3 UL
__F. GE Electives_______________________________________________24
_____DSST Money and Banking_____________________________________-3 UL
_____DSST Ethics and Society____________________________________-3 UL
_____DSST Criminal Justice______________________________________-3 UL
_____DSST Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union_____________________-3 UL
_____CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature_________________-6
_____ALEK Intermediate Algebra__________________________________-3
_____ALEK College Algebra_______________________________________-3

II. Additional Courses/Applied Professional_____________________60
__A. Free Electives_____________________________________________59
_____DSST Substance Abuse_______________________________________-3 UL
_____DSST Management Information Systems________________________-3 UL
_____CLEP American Literature___________________________________-6
_____CLEP English Literature____________________________________-6
_____CLEP Biology_______________________________________________-6
_____CLEP Chemistry_____________________________________________-6
_____CLEP Western Civilization I________________________________-3
_____CLEP Western Civilization II_______________________________-3
_____CLEP History of the United States I________________________-3
_____CLEP History of the United States II_______________________-3
_____CLEP American Government___________________________________-3
_____CLEP Introductory Psychology_______________________________-3
_____CLEP Introductory Sociology________________________________-3
_____DSST Art in the Western World______________________________-3
_____ALEK Precalculus___________________________________________-3
_____NFA Fire Service Supervision Q318__________________________-1
_____NFA Hydraulics Q137________________________________________-1
_____NFA Community Education Q118_______________________________-1
__B. Information Literacy________________________________________1
_____LSU Library Research Methods And Materials_________________-1


COST OF EC BSLA DEGREE
Application Fee:________________$80
Multi-Source Enrollment Fee:_$1,015
Course Tuition:______________$1,170 (3 credits @ $390)
Test Fees:___________________$2,600 (26 tests @ $100)
ALEKS Fees:_____________________$40 (2 months @ $20)
LSU Fee:_______________________$162
Graduation fee:________________$495
-----------------------------------
Total:_______________________$5,562


Catalog: School of Liberal Arts Catalog - excelsior.edu
Tuition & Fees: http://www.excelsior.edu/c/document_libr...upId=78666
CBE Breakdown: http://www.excelsior.edu/c/document_libr...upId=78666

[Daithi]

BS with Business Consentration at Charter Oak State College (COSC)

I. General Education / Liberal Arts Requirements________________60
__A. Lower Level Requirements___________________________________36
_____CLEP College Composition w/Essay___________________________-6
_____DSST Principles of Public Speaking_________________________-3
_____CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature_________________-6
_____CLEP College Mathematics___________________________________-6
_____CLEP Biology_______________________________________________-6
_____CLEP Principles of Macroeconomics__________________________-3
_____CLEP Principles of Microeconomics__________________________-3
_____Cornerstone (IDS 101)______________________________________-3
__B. Upper Level Requirements___________________________________12
_____DSST Business Ethics & Society_____________________________-3 UL
_____DSST Civil War and Reconstruction__________________________-3 UL
_____DSST Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union_____________________-3 UL
_____ECE World Conflicts since 1900_____________________________-3 UL
__C. Liberal Arts Electives_____________________________________12
_____ALEK College Algebra_______________________________________-3
_____ALEK Intro to Statistics___________________________________-3
_____CLEP Natural Sciences______________________________________-6

II. Concentration Requirements__________________________________36
__A. Lower Level Requirements____________________________________3
_____CLEP Financial Accounting__________________________________-3
_____ECE Managerial Accounting__________________________________-3
_____DSST Management Information Systems________________________-3
_____DSST Principles of Finance_________________________________-3
_____ECE Organizational Behavior________________________________-3 UL
_____CLEP Principles of Management______________________________-3
_____CLEP Principles of Marketing_______________________________-3
__B. Upper Level Requirement_____________________________________3
_____Capstone in Strategic Management___________________________-3 UL
__C. Upper Level Electives______________________________________12
_____DSST Money and Banking_____________________________________-3 UL
_____TECEP Security Analysis & Portfolio Mgt____________________-3 UL
_____TECEP Financial Inst. & Markets____________________________-3 UL
_____TECEP Strategic Management_________________________________-3 UL

III. Free Electives_____________________________________________24
__A. Free Electives_____________________________________________24
_____FEMA courses______________________________________________-24

COST OF COSC BS (BUS.) DEGREE
Application Fee:______________$75
Tuition Per Semester:________$456 (2 semesters @ $228)
Course Tuition:____________$1,932 (6 credits @ $322)
Test Fees:_________________$2,300 (23 tests @ $100)
ALEKS Fees:___________________$40 (2 months @ $20)
Graduation fee:______________$205
---------------------------------
Total:_____________________$5,008 ($4,402 for CT Residents)

Catalog: http://www.charteroak.edu/PDF/Official%20Catalog.pdf
Tuition & Fees: Charter Oak State College - Tuition and Fees
CBE Breakdown: http://www.charteroak.edu/Current/Academ...r-list.pdf

[NAP]

Wow! Excellent job! I know this was a ton of work. I love getting to see a current side-by-side comparison.

I think it should be noted that we are anxiously awaiting further explanation for the general education changes at TESC. - http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...s-not.html

I have some extra tips for future EC students to consider as they build their degree plans. I hope you don't mind if I share them here.

The above plan has a depth in history and math, which are 2 of the easier combinations through exams. There are other topics, too, just make sure the subject is specific enough; social science is too broad but psychology would work.

It is possible to complete all 30 UL credits for a BS through DSST+ALEKS+capstone. Here is a list of options: http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...post140082

If you use ALEKS, also consider the 3 free NFA credits to add to your ACE transcript.

Make sure to follow the EC math limit - only 9 credits below calculus, plus 3 more in statistics.

It is possible to look for less expensive options for Info Lit. LSU is one possibility and requires several trips to a library.

Be sure to download the Student Guide to Credit by Exam - School Catalogs - excelsior.edu

Arts & Sciences are Humanities, Social Science, History, Natural Science, and Math. Applied Professional is everything else.

The Multi-Source Enrollment Fee ($1015) lasts for the first year or until graduation, whichever comes first. The Student Service Annual Fee (SSAF - $440) is not paid during the first year and is only for extending enrollment for another year.

I hope that helps!

[Daithi]

NAP,

Thanks for the additional info on Excelsior. This is the one of the Big Three I knew the least about, so your additional pointers are absolutely welcome. It looks like I may need to revise my EC degree plan a little based on your info. In fact, if anyone else has additional pointers on any of the degrees then please feel free to pass them on.

[Daithi]

NAP, do you have a link to the LSU course and the cost info? I've now seen lots of references to the course, but I couldn't find the details on their site. The EC course is kind of expensive for a single credit, so having a cheaper option is excellent.

I removed the CLEP College Mathematics course because I was already at the 9 credit limit as you pointed out. I replaced that course with the DSST Art in the Western World and the three NFA courses you mentioned. Thanks for telling me about these.

I think you may be right about the Social Sciences not being specific enough to cover the depth requirement and that I may need to revise it to include more psychology related courses to cover that depth requirement.

I did want to double-check with you on the Humanities depth requirement, as I think that one would qualify. I've clearly got the 12 credits portion covered with just the literature CLEPs alone, and I used the DSST Introduction to World Religions for the Upper Level humanities course. I'd argue that in regards to World Religions it matches up with literature because of the roll played by the Bible, Koran, Hadith, Vedas, Tao Te Ching, etc., which is why I believe EC classifies it as a humanities course. Are you sure this wouldn't meet the requirements for humanities depth?

[NAP]

You are doing great with this!

The LSU course is called Library Research Methods And Materials ($119 plus fees) $162 -
https://is.lsu.edu/coursefactsheet.asp?n...&Version=Z

I wouldn't worry about figuring out a depth (9LL and 3 UL) for each gen ed category. You have at least 2 examples with history and math, and that is all that is required for any liberal arts degree at EC. After that, students can choose any topic without having to show "depth of knowledge". I was just trying to point out some trouble spots that come up as degree plans are created for EC. It wasn't a comment specifically for the plan you created. For a humanities-specific depth, I think you are right; it would need to be more specific, like religion or literature. I have my doubts, but I don't know if anyone has tried to get that test combination (religion DSST and literature CLEPs) approved as a depth. Of course, they would each count toward humanities gen ed and/or arts & sciences electives.

As far as the plan you've created for EC, you could substitute UL DSSTs for the ECEs. (Another comment for EC students - Also take into consideration that the ECEs and some DSSTs are graded at EC.) You could also adjust the cost a bit - higher enrollment fee and no SSAF for first year. And the CBE link is for COSC, not EC. [Edit to add: Daithi has already made these changes to the plan above.] The rest looks good to me.

Thank you for doing all of this work! I think it will help a lot of people. I'm surprised to see how close the Big 3 really are.

[Daithi]

Thanks for all your advice NAP. I made a couple more changes (i.e. taking your advice). I left the enrollment as it was because I figure most people can take the vast majority of CBEs without enrolling anywhere and then enroll around the time they are ready to graduate. So unless I'm missing something, they save money by not doing the Multi-Source Enrollment.

[NAP]

You're welcome!

I actually tried that. I enrolled Friday and was ready to graduate Monday. I thought there might be a discount on the enrollment fee, but there wasn't, so I missed out on 1 year of advising and other official support at EC. The EC Course Option Enrollment Fee is discounted to $395 because 12 credits of coursework are required to be taken at EC. The higher Multi-Source Enrollment Fee does not require any EC courses, except capstone; everything else can be transferred.

One year at EC with using mostly CBE (or other transfer credit) would be $1015 multi-source enrollment fee, $0 SSAF, and $495 Graduation fee, plus capstone.

I know the fee chart isn't very clear about this. I hope this explanation helps.

Edit to add: One more comment - Except for the UL Applied Professional exams, this plan would qualify as a BA. The BS is extremely flexible and leaves a lot of room for different choices that reflect each student's interests, current credits, and available exams.