AAS options post-Pierpont

[soulking]

What reasonable options are available for international students for an AAS now since the Pierpont BOG AAS reqs changed?

[bjcheung77]

Just wondering if you took some time to review some previous posts or threads, maybe do a search as well... My suggestion is to also enter a reason you're looking for the AAS vs another type of Associates, or even going straight to the Bachelors. There are 9 WV colleges to select the AAS from and I mentioned freebies for associates at TESU, UMPI, etc.

[soulking]

I did but can't find a clear figure on which wv college has lowest tuition and online course option for international students. I reached out to wvup earlier and they told me they do not accept international students in their online courses regardless of the location or visa status. I need an AAS to graduate with the BAS degree from UMPI, and need the cheapest available option for it.

[Hotdogman1]

Is there a specific reason you have to do the BAS? It would be cheaper to transfer 90 alternative credits and directly do the BLS or BA.

[rachel83az]

Depending on the country, a "Liberal Studies" degree may not be viewed as a "real" degree. It's not even an option at that country's universities. A BA or a BAS can be worth much more for these international students.

[Hotdogman1]

Depending on the country, a "Liberal Studies" degree may not be viewed as a "real" degree. It's not even an option at that country's universities. A BA or a BAS can be worth much more for these international students.

That is a good point. I still think the BA still is the better option or at least the more conventional for those outside the US. However, I'm confused after reading soulking's previous posts: It seems they are already a current UMPI student and have previously applied for the Pierpont AAS in Summer 24. We need more information.

[soulking]

Depending on the country, a "Liberal Studies" degree may not be viewed as a "real" degree. It's not even an option at that country's universities. A BA or a BAS can be worth much more for these international students.

That is a good point. I still think the BA still is the better option or at least the more conventional for those outside the US. However, I'm confused after reading soulking's previous posts: It seems they are already a current UMPI student and have previously applied for the Pierpont AAS in Summer 24. We need more information.

Yes, I applied for the Pierpont AAS in summer 24 but it took forever for them to evaluate my credits despite emailing them many times.

It was my original plan to get the Pierpont AAS and grad with the BAS from UMPI but after the recent changes the Pierpont AAS doesn't seem feasible anymore.

As somebody mentioned above, most people are not familiar with the BLS degree so my options are either a BA or BAS.

[jg_nuy]

Highly recommend going with the BA or a BABA rather than wasting money on the AAS at this point. If you want a tech + business component, you could always add the minor like MIS or even MIS + PM.

[Hotdogman1]

I looked into this a while back when the Pierpont policy change was first announced. I'll split this up into two posts.

Not ideal: 12 Credit hours at host CC - Pierpont Community & Technical College, Southern Community & Technical College, West Virginia Northern Community College
Not possible(?): Blue Ridge Community & Technical College - doesn't seem to offer online courses (not sure, on website states "Formats On-campus, Hybrid")

The most ideal scenarios are these CCs that require 3 credit hours at the host institution and 12 RA credits total:
Eastern West Virginia Community & Technical College, Base non resident Tuition for 3 credits: $564
https://easternwv.edu/academics/customiz...rs-degree/
https://easternwv.edu/get-started/tuition-fees/

BridgeValley Community & Technical College, Base non-resident tuition for 3 credits: $1,428.51
https://catalog.bridgevalley.edu/preview...turnto=113
https://www.bridgevalley.edu/financial-a...-fees.html

Mountwest Community & Technical College, Base non-resident tuition for 3 credits: $1,538.01
https://www.mctc.edu/wp-content/uploads/...4-2025.pdf
https://www.mctc.edu/paying-for-college/tuition-fees/

New River Community & Technical College, Base non-resident tuition for 3 credits: $1,206
https://www.newriver.edu/wp-content/uplo...r-2023.pdf  (page 84)
https://www.newriver.edu/wp-content/uplo...t-hour.pdf
Not sure what this is: Board of Governor’s AAS Degree Posting Fee (Per Credit Hour) $10. If it applies, then add an additional $570+.

West Virginia University at Parkersburg, Base non-resident tuition for 3 credits: 1,128.00
https://catalog.wvup.edu/ProgramPage/BOG_AAS/8
https://www.wvup.edu/future-students/cos...-and-fees/

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I didn’t investigate any further, so I am not sure of each institution’s alternative credit policies or if they accept international students. We now know that WVUP is not an option for international students. Captainrekt000 looked into Eastern West Virginia in another thread and I agree that it looks the most promising of these options. (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...tive-EWVCC) 

I found this on their admissions policy page: “Eastern's "open door" admissions policy and welcomes all adults wishing to continue their education.” If that means they accept international students, the RA requirement shouldn’t be an issue: I had a friend forced to pause his education at UMPI due to real life issues, so we “reverse” transferred the UMPI credits into the Pierpont BOG (like the degree was originally designed for). The only cost should be the base tuition + any additional fees.

However, I still don’t think it’ll be worth it even if everything goes perfectly. Even in the best possible scenario, the earliest UMPI BAS graduation would be May 2025 since 3 credit course for residency needs to be completed for the BOG to get processed. I recommend looking into pursuing a BA instead (unless a BAS is more valuable than a BA in your country).


Links to the less ideal CCs from the other post:
https://catalog.southernwv.edu/preview_p...turnto=123
https://catalog.wvncc.edu/preview_progra...turnto=707
https://www.blueridgectc.edu/academic-programs/associates-degree-programs/occupational/board-of-governors/

[bjcheung77]

Without much info (addendum and template, even from OP's previous threads), with the limited details, my recommendation if I was in similar shoes... I would skip the BAS in favor of the BABA PM & IS option using the max transfer credit from Coursera, Sophia.org, Study.com, etc...

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Oh, and if you need the associates for some reason or another, you can add the UMPI AALS to your UMPI BABA, FREE - just add it as a program and forget it, as all the credits you take for residency at UMPI will go towards the residency requirements of the AALS, thus, it's complete when you're done with the BABA.