Advice for Associates and BA in Comms?

[vintage_jacket]

Thank you for reading. 
Location: Illinois Age: 30s
Degree? BA in English/Comms/Journalism, or custom degree with Writing + Bus + Research.
I like graphic design, printing, web dev. (front end), and excel (novice at macros, pivot tables), but they’re just skills I enjoy and useful in any comms situation. I’m a lifelong learner, so I’d like to use my credits for other degrees later.
Career: Continue in comms or something with long-form writing.
RA Credits: 28
Course, No., Title, Type, Credits
BUS 100, Introduction to Business, RA, 3
CMS 101, Fundamentals of Speech, RA, 3
COL 101, College Student Success, RA, 1
ENG 101, English Composition I, RA, 3
ENG 102, English Composition II, RA, 3
ENT 101, Entrepreneurship Sem I, RA, 3
ENT 111, Small Business Management, RA, 3
GRD 107, Introduction to Digital Design, RA, 3
HUM 216, Ethics, RA, 3
MTH 101, Quantitative Literacy, RA, 3

CLEP Credits:
Course, No., Title, Grade, Credits
MKT 103, Principles of Marketing, CLEP, 3
CIS 110, Introduction to Computers, CLEP, 3
 
proficiency test/don’t transfer
OAT 141, Beginning Excel 2007, RA, 1
OAT 147, Dreamweaver MX 2004, RA, 1
SPN 101, Elementary Spanish I, CR, 4
SPN 102, Elementary Spanish II, CR, 4
SPN 201, Intermediate Spanish I, CR, 4
SPN 202, Intermediate Spanish II, CR, 4
MTH 98, Intermediate Algebra, RA, 4
 
 
Coursera, in progress
Google IT support
Google Project Management
 
Others: Certificate of Graphic Design but the school closed = no credits.

Any certifications or military experience? 
Google Project Management qualifies for CAPM accreditation.

Budget: Max $5K, open to scholarships.

Commitments: I freelance 2 hours a week. Lost my job to budget cuts recently, so job searching and taking CLEPs. Finishing 2 Google certificates by end-of-year. 1 BIO lab class to take in person at the community college.

Dedicated time to study: night/weekends, ~27 hours.

Timeline: Finish and associate's degree by end-of-year ideally. Could I finish a bachelor’s within 1-1.5 years?

Assistance: No financial aid yet. In a federal/county scholarship program for a AAS degree and grateful, but can be bureaucratic so taking CLEPs to finish. Using Modern States to study and test.
 
Schools
Current community college (credits left)
1.    ASL (like AGS): 2 CLEP and 1 BIO lab class
2.    AA: 3 CLEP and 1 BIO lab + 1 Art Class + 1 Relations Class
3.    AAS: Many left
Notes
A)   Best option of 1-3?
B)   TBD if they’ll accept my Google IT certification.
C)   Agreement with Columbia College of Missouri for BA in English.
 
2nd community college nearby (started transferring)
A)   Good AAS transfer agreements for BA at other universities
B)   Good fast-track option for AAS
C)   18 residency credits required, no alt. credits except CLEP
D)   Only accepted 20 credits
 
LUO: BA in Interdisciplinary Studies, custom?
TESU?
Pierpont AOG?

[rachel83az]

Good news: when you finish the Google Certificates, you will be only a couple of classes away from being able to get the FREE Pierpont BOG AAS: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC There is no need to continue with your local CC for this, unless it's paid for by someone else.

You will also NEED:
Environmental Science @ Sophia.org
US History I or US History II @ Sophia.org

I think you need another class or two for credit purposes, to bring the total to 60 credits. While these can be literally anything, I would recommend picking up at least Spanish I (should be easy for you) and College Algebra or Statistics for your future Bachelor's. It looks like you may struggle with math, but the Sophia courses are pretty easy. Some people who struggle with math find Sophia's Statistics to be easier than the Algebra, others find the opposite to be true. You may need to try both to see what works for you.

From there, you can continue on to a UMPI YourPace degree. They have a degree in English with a concentration in Professional Communication/Journalism available: https://online.umpi.edu/degrees/undergra...ournalism/ Apparently, some of the courses can be a bit difficult, with a lot more writing than most other YourPace classes, but not everyone is going to think that's a problem.

I recommend creating a spreadsheet of classes you need for a UMPI degree so that you can get as close to the 90-credit transfer limit as possible. Check out https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents to see what Sophia courses will work for the GEC (gen ed) requirements. You will need a lab science. You can get that at your local CC if it's free/almost-free, or you can get it at Study.com with their Biology 101L. That course is $200 for 1 month of SDC's College Accelerator plan + (IIRC) $69 or $79 lab fee. SDC allows you to take 2 exams in a month without additional charges, so check out the UMPI transfer page to see what else you might possibly want to take there: https://study.com/college/school/umpi.html

[vintage_jacket]

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time and for the wiki links! I have a few follow up questions but I'll hold those until I get a spreadsheet going as suggested. I've already started looking that UMPI website and it sounds like a good route.

My immediate question I have is regarding the BIO Lab: Let's say I take a Sophia/Study BIO Lab and it's accepted at Pierpont but not UMPI or vice versa. Would the RA be only advantage of taking a BIO class at my local community college? I received one small scholarship and I can apply it to this. I have time now but I'm not sure if I will be able to finish the BIO class in from the community college if I get a job before the end of the semester (Aug-Dec).

I also read the post instructions section in Pierpont to UMPI re: the BIO lab. Is there a BIO Lab that both Pierpont and UMPI will accept? Or, are you saying I will need to take two science classes, one for the AAS and the other for the BA?

I see both schools might accept the Sophia class, https://www.sophia.org/transfer-credits/...titutions/

I see Study.com BIO lab is accepted at UMPI, but not Pierpont, https://study.com/college/school/index.html

Kind regards,

[carrythenothing]

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time and for the wiki links! I have a few follow up questions but I'll hold those until I get a spreadsheet going as suggested. I've already started looking that UMPI website and it sounds like a good route.

My immediate question I have is regarding the BIO Lab: Let's say I take a Sophia/Study BIO Lab and it's accepted at Pierpont but not UMPI or vice versa. Would the RA be only advantage of taking a BIO class at my local community college? I received one small scholarship and I can apply it to this. I have time now but I'm not sure if I will be able to finish the BIO class in from the community college if I get a job before the end of the semester (Aug-Dec).

I also read the post instructions section in Pierpont to UMPI re: the BIO lab. Is there a BIO Lab that both Pierpont and UMPI will accept? Or, are you saying I will need to take two science classes, one for the AAS and the other for the BA?

I see both schools might accept the Sophia class, https://www.sophia.org/transfer-credits/...titutions/

I see Study.com BIO lab is accepted at UMPI, but not Pierpont, https://study.com/college/school/index.html

Kind regards,

The lab requirement (it's that, a lab science - not necessarily biology) is for UMPI. Pierpont doesn't require a lab science.

[dfrecore]

I'm confused about the "proficiency test/don't transfer." Is that a proficiency course at your college that they gave you credit for? What does it say on your transcript? How do you know it won't transfer anywhere?

Regarding the school you went to that closed - you can usually still get credits, they generally assign another school to actually issue transcripts for you (under the old school name of course). I've yet to hear of someone going to a school that was an actual school that was not able to get a transcript at all. Was it an RA school? How many credits did you have?

If you are even halfway decent at Spanish and it truly won't transfer, then I'd take at least 1 ACTFL exam: OPIc (if you're fluent in speaking), RPT (reading) or LPT (listening). You can earn a decent amount of credit quickly that way.
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For Pierpont, I show that you need 1 SocSci course (so something like Psych or Sociology or US History or American Government - things you an easily do for free as CLEP exams if you want), and 1 additional math or science course.

For UMPI though, you do need a lab science - but there are other ways to take it if you worry that you won't be able to finish quickly enough that a job might interfere. I'd probably go crazy on everything possible now that you're doing (Coursera stuff) because that's more applicable to getting a job than a lab science.

The thing with UMPI's English degree (which sounds right up your alley) is that there is not a lot of space for free electives - and you will have filled them with what you already have or are finishing. So, I would plan it out wisely so that you don't waste any time/money on courses that won't work in the degree. Take the American Government, Sociology or US History CLEP exams, because those will both work at UMPI, killing 2 birds with 1 stone. Then, if you can pass the College Math exam, take it. If you can't, you might want to do a month of Sophia and load up on everything you'll need for UMPI anyway, and will work for that area plus other GE's.

You could get your AAS for almost nothing, and your BA for way less than $5k, in maybe 6 months or less.

[ss20ts]

We already know which lab sciences from Study UMPI accepts. We have noted it numerous times on here. So that's not a concern at all. Pierpont and UMPI have different requirements. I wouldn't worry about an associate degree if you're going for UMPI right now. I'd focus on UMPI.

[vintage_jacket]

I'm confused about the "proficiency test/don't transfer." Is that a proficiency course at your college that they gave you credit for?  What does it say on your transcript?  How do you know it won't transfer anywhere?

Regarding the school you went to that closed - you can usually still get credits, they generally assign another school to actually issue transcripts for you (under the old school name of course).  I've yet to hear of someone going to a school that was an actual school that was not able to get a transcript at all.  Was it an RA school? How many credits did you have?  

If you are even halfway decent at Spanish and it truly won't transfer, then I'd take at least 1 ACTFL exam: OPIc (if you're fluent in speaking), RPT (reading) or LPT (listening).  You can earn a decent amount of credit quickly that way.

First, thanks to you and everyone else for taking an interest in my degree. I'll reply in parts this weekend since there's character limits.

1. SPANISH: Yes, it's a proficiency course. On my unofficial transcript it reads CR (credit) like the CLEP ones. On my tests summaries, it reads "Spanish Web Placement" and CLEPs are noted as CLEPs. But now you have my wheels turning. I will get back to you next week when I dig up my old paperwork and order an official copy for myself. I didn't know about CLEP then. Worse case, I found the Wiki links for the ACTFL you mentioned and the test link, https://www.languagetesting.com/lti/prod...ng_id/7190?

OAT classes: They're real classes I took a long time ago at the community college.

I don't know 100% that they won't transfer, but I'm going off an informal conversation with the 2nd community college. For the Spanish, they don't take proficiency tests from other colleges, only CLEP. For the OAT, they said they didn't have any classes that would match, all the similar classes are teaching higher versions of Excel and Dreamweaver now.

2. It was a for-profit school. I don't know the history, but I placed a transcript order last week, so I'll reply back. The 2nd community college said they wouldn't give credit for a closed school. And thanks to your questions, I went digging, and there's list of schools that will accept them, but I need to figure out the details. More to come. Again, the 2nd community college said they wouldn't give credit for a closed school.

Again, my info is from an informal conversation, so maybe a third/four option from Pierpont or UMPI is best.

[rachel83az]

Some schools can be quite restrictive on what credits they do or do not accept. In contrast to many local CCs, UMPI and Pierpont have both shown that they will accept "almost any" credit, to a point. It is possible that one or both of them will accept your "non-transferrable" credits. It's possible that neither of them will. It's definitely worth the attempt, however, especially now that you've explained why you believe they're non-transferrable.

If Pierpont does accept your Spanish courses, you could get an Area of Emphasis in Spanish if you wanted. Or you might want to choose an AoE in something completely different.

[bjcheung77]

@vintage_jacket, if you're in a program that is paid for to get your Associates, complete the one in the local state/public school as it would be more recognized than another state AAS. Focus on completing the Biology with Lab and the CLEPs for now. You can always complete the Pierpont BOG AAS first with an emphasis in something completely different than what you can finish at the local school.

If LUO stands for Liberty University Online, I would skip that for now unless you have that paid for too. Complete the Pierpont/Local CC Associates first, you need the RA credits and the CLEP for transfer into your Bachelors. These are more transfer credit friendly than the ACE options, unless you have fully determined UMPI is your school. I would at least add Excelsior if you wanted a BSLA with specific courses or WGU if you decide to change degrees.

Focus is to complete the Associates, then ladder up the UMPI BA English YourPace (Communications/Journalism concentration), but sometimes things happen such as your commitments or scenario/situation, you may be best to have back up options such as Excelsior/WGU or whatever you decide on.

[dfrecore]

If you tell us the name of the closed school, that's helpful - we may already know about it and could give you more info.

And yes, ordering an official transcript for yourself is helpful - I also have all of ours scanned and ready to send if needed. Obviously it's not an official transcript if I send it to someone, but many times they'll accept it while waiting for the official copy, and be able to give you info based on it.

Placement tests generally don't give you credit for something, they allow you to take a higher level class than what you'd be required to take. So in this case, I'd want to see that transcript.