Associates degree in Business - Options?

[allen3373]

Hi everyone, I have done a lot of reading and find I have questions I just can't answer.

I have been looking at Excelsior's Associate's in Business as a starting point. I have 40 quarter credit as a local community college, but 15 of those are paralegal credits, which I am not going to be pursuing. If my understanding is correct, they should transfer to Excelsior as Elective credits. Am I correct?

Also, I am a little confused with the transferring of quarter credits to semester credits in general. For instance, Excelsior requires 3 credit for written English. I have taken WR 121 worth 4 quarter credits. With the conversion, it should be worth 2.66 cr. How does that work when you transfer? Will they wave the last .34 credits? I just don't know.

As far as the 'options' in the subject line, I am open to help. I will put a list of my classes below:

Chemeketa Community College

Sign Lang. 103: 4cr.

Portland Community College:

Writing 121: 4cr
Beg. MS Word: 3cr
Beg. MS Excel: 3cr
Beg. MS Access: 3cr
MS Outlook: 1 cr
Everyday Chemistry: 4cr
Music Cultures: 3cr

Paralegal classes at PCC:
Intro. to Law: 3 cr
Substantive Law: 3cr
Techniques of Interview: 3cr
Litigation: 3cr
Legal Research: 3cr


I have two weeks to take the Intro to Psychology CLEP, which I am going to try to cram to do.

Basically, what should I do? I don't want to loose the credits for the Paralegal classes!

[allen3373]

Also, after doing some more reading on this forum and checking out modern states, I am considering that it is more worth it just to go for a BSBA. Again, I want to utilize all/as many of my credits as I can. Any thoughts and help on a plan? Is the best thing to do to just apply to COSC and TESU and see what they accept?

[dfrecore]

COSC has a Paralegal Studies concentration for their General Studies BA, although I'm not sure you can test out of that degree. BUT, they make take them in your business degree, where I don't think TESU will.

TESU does have a BSPS degree, where you could bring your 15cr of Paralegal coursework in as a Specialized area of study.

It just depends on how important those credits are to you, as to how you'll decide which school/degree to get.

[allen3373]

COSC has a Paralegal Studies concentration for their General Studies BA, although I'm not sure you can test out of that degree.  BUT, they make take them in your business degree, where I don't think TESU will.

TESU does have a BSPS degree, where you could bring your 15cr of Paralegal coursework in as a Specialized area of study.

It just depends on how important those credits are to you, as to how you'll decide which school/degree to get.

They are important in that they are credits that I already have, and I would be a little discouraged at wasting time in those classes. I don't want a Paralegal Studies degree, as my life has recently shifted and that would not apply to the direction I am going.

What about all the computer application classes I have taken, would those count as electives or general education for COSC?

[dfrecore]

I don't know a lot about COSC, so hopefully someone here can help more. I know a lot about TESU, and I don't think they will take MS Word, Excel, Access, or Outlook except in Free Electives.

It really depends on which degree you get. For instance, at TESU, the BSBA only allows 6cr of free electives, so you're probably lose a lot of your credits. But, you can make up for that by being able to test out of the degree easily with courses/exams we talk about on here, and they only require 12cr of Upper Level coursework in the Area of Study (concentration). With a BALS degree, you're allowed 27cr of free electives, so you have more flexibility.

EC and COSC have their own rules and differences.

I would not suggest trying to decide on the degree you want entirely based upon the credits you already have. If you can find a fast, inexpensive degree, then the credits you already have are a bonus. Icing on the cake. If the credits you already have actually slow down your progress, make you choose a degree you don't actually want, or make a degree more expensive, you're robbing Peter to pay Paul. It won't pay off in the end. I'm not saying that this is what you're doing, but it might end up that way, and you don't want that.

[allen3373]

I don't know a lot about COSC, so hopefully someone here can help more.  I know a lot about TESU, and I don't think they will take MS Word, Excel, Access, or Outlook except in Free Electives.


I would not suggest trying to decide on the degree you want entirely based upon the credits you already have.  If you can find a fast, inexpensive degree, then the credits you already have are a bonus.  Icing on the cake.  If the credits you already have actually slow down your progress, make you choose a degree you don't actually want, or make a degree more expensive, you're robbing Peter to pay Paul.  It won't pay off in the end.  I'm not saying that this is what you're doing, but it might end up that way, and you don't want that.

Yeah, I get what you mean. I went ahead and applied to COSC to see what happens, and had my transcripts sent over. I forgot that I actually have about 24 more credits than I remembered having, but I don't think they would apply. They were drafting and computer networking classes from 15 years ago.

[davewill]

You can go ahead and apply to all three, and that's what I'd recommend. Then you'll find out precisely how those credits apply to various degrees.

[Life Long Learning]

100% agree with davewill. Only then will you know for sure. Take the best deal of the three.

[allvia]

I don't know a lot about COSC, so hopefully someone here can help more.  I know a lot about TESU, and I don't think they will take MS Word, Excel, Access, or Outlook except in Free Electives.


I would not suggest trying to decide on the degree you want entirely based upon the credits you already have.  If you can find a fast, inexpensive degree, then the credits you already have are a bonus.  Icing on the cake.  If the credits you already have actually slow down your progress, make you choose a degree you don't actually want, or make a degree more expensive, you're robbing Peter to pay Paul.  It won't pay off in the end.  I'm not saying that this is what you're doing, but it might end up that way, and you don't want that.

Yeah, I get what you mean. I went ahead and applied to COSC to see what happens, and had my transcripts sent over. I forgot that I actually have about 24 more credits than I remembered having, but I don't think they would apply. They were drafting and computer networking classes from 15 years ago.

Send the transcript in for those credits you don't think apply as well (assuming they are from a difference school and require a different transcript), you just never know - degree plans change, things you think you can't use you find suddenly fit somewhere and other times those credit you think were the more 'valuable' don't fit anywhere worthwhile at all.   And more often or not you realize that it is easier (cheaper/faster) to replace the credits you brought in than trying to make them fit into a degree.

[cookderosa]

Charter Oak's associate degrees are straight forward. They are nearly identical in that they both mee the college's bachelor's degree requirements for general education (good for later) and the difference is that the AS allows 30 free electives (in anything 100 level) which means that your paralegal and other courses that don't meet their requirements will fill those slots no problem. My high school son is doing an AS with COSC, so we are walking that road now.