Bachelors Degree Plan

[Mikaelaadams]

Hello, I am looking for a little more insight on the best route of action in order to obtain my bachelor's degree in human resource management. I have been eyeing UMPI and their BLS with a minor in management however I think I would like an actual business degree as I have been told they possibly would hold more weight in the workforce than a BLS degree would (correct me if I am wrong). I am open to other suggestions for schools as well. I do plan on getting my master's after obtaining my Bachelor's degree if that also is important information. I am also still completing courses on Sophia to max out as many credits as needed to transfer into my BA.

Your Location: Kansas City MO
Your Age: 27
What kind of degree do you want?: I am looking to obtain a Bachelor's in Human resource management as my first pick but I am open to other suggestions based on my completed courses. 

Current Regional Accredited Credits: 

Eastern gateway cc: 28 credits
ART104 Art history l 3
EDU200 Foundations of education 3
CSS106 Succeeding in college 3
ECE101 Cognitive/physical development of children 3
ECE111 Soc/family diversity 3
EDU201 Instructional technology 3 
SOC205 Social problems 3 
EDU219 Characteristics of exceptional children 3
EDU220 Educational psych 3
EDU203 Literacy, Language, phonics 3

WSU Tech: 10 credits
ENG101 English comp l 3
BIO103 Nutrition 3
BIO100 Biology review 3
PSY101 Intro to psych 3
PSY205 Developmental psych 3
COM105 Interpersonal comm 3
HSC101 Medical terminology 3

I also recently transferred my credits from my local community colleges including 15 credits from Sophia (Web development, visual communications, information technology, human biology, and environmental science) to obtain my BOG associates degree from Pierpont c&tc and have since graduated in December 2022.

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 

Sophia Credits: 42
Art history l 3
Developing effective teams 3
Environmental science 3
Human biology 3
Introduction to ethics 3
Introduction to information technology 3
Introduction to statistics 3
Intro to web development 3
Macroeconomics 3
Microeconomics 3
Project management 3
Essentials of managing conflict 3
US History l 3
Visual communications 3

Any certifications or military experience? No certifications at this time. 

Budget: I have no budget preference but I will be using financial aid and possibly my husband's military funds for school.  
Commitments: Honestly, just kids/spouse and my pets. I am a SAHM and have free time to work on my studies as I need to. 
Dedicated time to study: I can study as much as is needed during the week and on weekends. 
Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal.  I would like to finish within 1 or less. 
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: My husband is military and has his GI bill available for me to use if needed.

[dfrecore]

If you want a better analysis of your credits, you need to put your course numbers in - it's hard to tell what some of the courses are without that info (so SOC-104 or PSY1150 or whatever the school calls that course). Obviously you only need to put it for the schools, and not for Sophia or ACE/NCCRS/CLEP credits.

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TESU is the only one of the inexpensive options here with a BSBA in HR. It can easily be done via alt-credit, and I think it's a good option for you.

UMPI also has business degrees, and you could get the BABA in Management for a little less than TESU. If you're already planning on getting a master's degree in HR, then it doesn't really matter what your bachelor's is in.

But if you REALLY want HR, then TESU is your best option for the least amount of time and money. Then, if you opt not to get a master's degree right away, you still have the degree you want.

[rachel83az]

You can make a plan for TESU's BSBA HR degree by following these links:
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...re_Roadmap
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan

Utilizing the Coursera cert, it's probably one of the easiest BSBA degrees to get. It looks like you've got all of your free electives and a good chunk of your gen eds already.

A plan for UMPI's BABA Management degree is here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

[Mikaelaadams]

If you want a better analysis of your credits, you need to put your course numbers in - it's hard to tell what some of the courses are without that info (so SOC-104 or PSY1150 or whatever the school calls that course). Obviously you only need to put it for the schools, and not for Sophia or ACE/NCCRS/CLEP credits.

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TESU is the only one of the inexpensive options here with a BSBA in HR.  It can easily be done via alt-credit, and I think it's a good option for you.

UMPI also has business degrees, and you could get the BABA in Management for a little less than TESU.  If you're already planning on getting a master's degree in HR, then it doesn't really matter what your bachelor's is in.

But if you REALLY want HR, then TESU is your best option for the least amount of time and money.  Then, if you opt not to get a master's degree right away, you still have the degree you want.

My apologies, I am looking for an analysis of what I currently have completed. I have updated that information with the proper course numbers. I was under the impression that the UMPI degree for management was a Liberal studies degree, which is what the admissions rep told me. Is that information incorrect, I wouldn't be surprised if it is. I just want to gain clarity for my own understanding. And with TESU being the shortest time frame, what would the time frame look like? Not sure if that can be answered or not. I really would like to go straight for my Master's degree after completing the bachelor's.

[rachel83az]

My apologies, I am looking for an analysis of what I currently have completed. I have updated that information with the proper course numbers. I was under the impression that the UMPI degree for management was a Liberal studies degree, which is what the admissions rep told me. Is that information incorrect, I wouldn't be surprised if it is. I just want to gain clarity for my own understanding. And with TESU being the shortest time frame, what would the time frame look like? Not sure if that can be answered or not. I really would like to go straight for my Master's degree after completing the bachelor's.

Oh my goodness, you talked to an "enrollment specialist"? They're never going to stop calling you, I'm so sorry. We have students here who completed UMPI degrees more than a year ago and they still get calls to "enroll" at UMPI! And they're very wrong about most questions students might ask. We have so much more information here than those "specialists".

The shortest time frame for a TESU degree is 6-9 months from when you start, though it can take up to a year. Depends on your schedule. UMPI, on the other hand, can be as quick as 4-6 months. Again, it depends on you.

Do you prefer papers or exams? If you want to avoid exams, go with UMPI. If you hate papers, go with TESU. You'll need to write some, but less than at UMPI.

UMPI will require, at minimum: Spanish I from Sophia, as well as either Intro to Chemistry + lab or the Human Biology lab (since you already took the regular Human Biology course). If you're not up for either of these, TESU might be better for you.

[Mikaelaadams]

My apologies, I am looking for an analysis of what I currently have completed. I have updated that information with the proper course numbers. I was under the impression that the UMPI degree for management was a Liberal studies degree, which is what the admissions rep told me. Is that information incorrect, I wouldn't be surprised if it is. I just want to gain clarity for my own understanding. And with TESU being the shortest time frame, what would the time frame look like? Not sure if that can be answered or not. I really would like to go straight for my Master's degree after completing the bachelor's.

Oh my goodness, you talked to an "enrollment specialist"? They're never going to stop calling you, I'm so sorry. We have students here who completed UMPI degrees more than a year ago and they still get calls to "enroll" at UMPI! And they're very wrong about most questions students might ask. We have so much more information here than those "specialists".

The shortest time frame for a TESU degree is 6-9 months from when you start, though it can take up to a year. Depends on your schedule. UMPI, on the other hand, can be as quick as 4-6 months. Again, it depends on you.

Do you prefer papers or exams? If you want to avoid exams, go with UMPI. If you hate papers, go with TESU. You'll need to write some, but less than at UMPI.

UMPI will require, at minimum: Spanish I from Sophia, as well as either Intro to Chemistry + lab or the Human Biology lab (since you already took the regular Human Biology course). If you're not up for either of these, TESU might be better for you.

I wish I would've known that before talking to an advisor because I have definitely been getting nonstop calls and emails. I do want to transfer the max amount of credits that I can to whichever school I end up at. I know that UMPI allows up to 90 credits. Is TESU the same? I don't know much about them but I am fairly familiar with UMPI from doing research. I don't mind writing papers or taking tests to a certain extent but I prefer not to have proctored exams as it gives me test anxiety. I am not the best in math or science so I would prefer to skip out on those if possible. 

I also noticed you mentioned Coursera... is there a cert that I should look into obtaining to also push myself further to the finish line? My goal is to possibly graduate within the next 4-8 months if it is doable.

[rachel83az]

TESU allows you to transfer in up to 114 credits. The only courses you MUST take with them are the capstone and cornerstone. You have more than 30 RA credits already, so you shouldn't have to worry about TESU's alt-credit limitations. However, TESU is actually cheaper if you do a flat-rate 16-credit term instead of only taking 6 credits. Only taking 6 credits means you have to pay a "residency waiver fee" of a bit more than $3k. For some students, it's worth it. For others, not so much.

Unfortunately, with UMPI, you must have a lab science. With TESU, you must do at least some proctored exams. Both will require additional math. Sophia's math is very gentle, TBH.

Study.com uses a recorded proctor, not a live proctor, which I think is honestly not too bad. I very much dislike live proctors myself. If you want to do a "trial run" to see how it is, you could take BS101 - Business-Introduction to Strategy & Marketing from OnlineDegree.com. They use the same proctor as Study.com does, and you'd only be out $9 to see what it's like - not $199 for a month of Study.com. If it works for you, great. That's a course that can transfer to TESU's BSBA degrees. If it doesn't work, you'll just have to buckle down and do the lab science for UMPI.

And, for Coursera, there are a few certificates or specializations that are worth credits at one or both schools: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera Google's PM certificate would apply to TESU's BSBA HR degree.

[allvia]

TESU is military friendly.  I know they allow TECEPs for active military members to count towards residency, as well as discounted tuition. I'm not sure if that applies also to the spouses of active military. - https://www.tesu.edu/military

[davewill]

TESU is military friendly.  I know they allow TECEPs for active military members to count towards residency, as well as discounted tuition. I'm not sure if that applies also to the spouses of active military. - https://www.tesu.edu/military

From your link:

You have earned an affordable education.
Thomas Edison State University offers active duty, guard and reserve servicemembers, their families and DoD employees a discounted tuition rate at $250 per credit for all undergraduate programs.

Seems pretty clear that should include a spouse.

[Mikaelaadams]

TESU is military friendly.  I know they allow TECEPs for active military members to count towards residency, as well as discounted tuition. I'm not sure if that applies also to the spouses of active military. - https://www.tesu.edu/military

Thanks, that is good to know! I will have to see if I can call and gett that information as far as the discounted tuition.