Back from my hiatus - what's the best plan?

[Publius]

As a teenager I knocked out roughly 100 credits, primarily through CLEPs & DSSTs. I was originally planning on getting a BSBA in Accounting from TESC. Long story short I started working professionally when I was 18 and haven't progressed with my schooling since (5 years). I've worked in the accounting field and haven't needed a bachelors degree. I've done very well and now I want a MBA (not interested in CPA) and so I'm curious what kind of options I may have. 

1) Is anyone aware of a way to pursue a MBA without completing my Bachelors? I don't mind taking the GMAT or doing other testing but this is my ideal choice if there's way. I doubt it but it's worth asking.

2) If I have to complete my Bachelors where would you recommend? With updated degree programs I'm sure I'd be lucky to transfer in 90 credits. Especially considering cost, what are the better options out there?

Thanks much!

[MNomadic]

1) I'm not aware of any way.

2) either TESU, COSC, or WGU. It depends on some factors such as what degree you want/need and how much time you will have to dedicate to it. With TESU and COSC, you could pursue either a liberal studies or business degree and transfer ~114 credits in, do the cornerstone and capstones and be done. With WGU, you could transfer in up to 90 credits, finish the remainder of your degree(presumably a business degree) in 1 term(6 months), and be all done with it.

If you list what you have currently (CLEPs, DSSTs, other credits, courses and certifications), we could be a little more helpful.

[natshar]

Also depending on when you completed the CLEPs/DSST's some of them may have been ACE listed as UL back then. You might be able to use them as UL credit for a BALS degree. I'm not sure if that will work though. Your best bet would be to apply to both TESU and COSC and see what happen they evaluate everything as.

[Publius]

Appreciate the info! What's the biggest difference between COSC and TESU these days?

Here's my unofficial transcript from TESU. I think I've got some Penn Foster courses I never transferred floating around out there.

Course/Section and TitleGradeCreditsRepeatTerm
ACC-101 Prin. of Finl Acctg 3 CR
ACC-102 Prin. of Mgrl Acctg 3 CR
BIO-111 General Biology I 3 CR
BIO-112 General Biology II 3 CR
BUS-101 Introduction to Business 3 CR
BUS-311 Business in Society 3 CR
COS-101 Introduction to Computers 3 CR
ECO-111 Macroeconomics 3 CR
ECO-112 Microeconomics 3 CR
ENC-101 English Composition I 3 CR
ENC-102 English Composition II 3 CR
HIS-101 Western Civilization I 3 CR
HIS-102 Western Civilization II 3 CR
HIS-113 American History I 3 CR
HIS-114 American History II 3 CR
LAW-201 Business Law 3 CR
LIT-291 Analysis & Interpre Literature 3 CR
LIT-292 Analysis and Inter of Lit II 3 CR
MAN-201 Principles of Supervision 3 CR
MAN-301 Principles of Management 3 CR
MAN-331 Human Resources Management 3 CR
MAN-373 OL011 Managerial Communications 3 A 2012Jul
MAR-301 Introduction to Marketing 3 CR
MAT-102 General Math I 3 CR
MAT-103 General Math II 3 CR
MAT-121 College Algebra 3 CR
MAT-129 Precalculus 3 CR
POS-110 American Government 3 CR
REL-405 Intro. to World Religions 3 CR
SOS-101 Social Sciences and History I 3 CR
SOS-102 Social Sciences and History II 3 CR
STA-201 Principles of Statistics 3 CR

[Publius]

Logged into my old ACE account and here's a few other courses:

Title / Location ACE Course Number Credit Type Date Completed
ALEKS Corporation (McGraw Hill)
Trigonometry ALEK-0006 Course 10/18/2012

Penn Foster College
Financial Management ICS-0152 Course 10/9/2013
Penn Foster College
Strategic Business Management ICS-0218 Course 11/7/2013

StraighterLine
Accounting I OOSL-0009 Course 6/12/2012
StraighterLine
Accounting II OOSL-0010 Course 6/27/2012
StraighterLine
Macroeconomics OOSL-0007 Course 10/10/2012
StraighterLine
Microeconomics OOSL-0008 Course 12/3/2012

[allvia]

1) Is anyone aware of a way to pursue a MBA without completing my Bachelors? I don't mind taking the GMAT or doing other testing but this is my ideal choice if there's way. I doubt it but it's worth asking.

- Heriot-Watt University https://www.ebsglobal.net/programmes/mba-online
Pros: World Class, No Bachelor Required, No GMAT - pass three of the exams and you're officially enrolled.
Cons: World Class partly because it is known for being tough, Total cost is likely higher than your options to finish a Bachelor and then MBA through say WGU or Walden. Possible con it is many US employers may not recognize it's world-wide distinction (in the US we like our domestic programs); additionally they may be thrown in how it is even possible to have an MBA without a bachelor degree.

2) If I have to complete my Bachelors where would you recommend? With updated degree programs I'm sure I'd be lucky to transfer in 90 credits. Especially considering cost, what are the better options out there?

Looking at the list of credits you already have I think it would be money well spend to finish up at TESU, even if that is with a BSBA-GM vs Accounting.  Your missing AOS credits would be easily found through study.com (and get you the discounts the affiliation offers). You are So Close to having a BSBA.  If not through TESU, some others may be able to let you know how these would transfer over to COSC (at a lower overall cost).  I'm leaving WGU off as a bachelor option, as I think they would be better suited for your MBA plans. Although Walden is also an affordable competency based option for the MBA; you'd have to look at the concentration options.  I personally like different schools for undergrad and graduate (it shows a more diverse and well rounded education, imo).  I think you could finish the bachelor and the MBA (combined) for the same cost, and faster, as the Heriot-Watt MBA (I don't necessarily think 5 years work experience is enough for that program - it's tough -  knowledge and experience will count towards passing those rigorous exams)

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[davewill]

I've got you at over 100 credits. You're so close. In your shoes, I'd get reinstated at TESU, send in a new ACE transcript, and see just how close you are to your BSBA. I'd think you could be graduated by Sep if you put your mind to it. While there might be some shady MBA program out there somewhere that will take you without a bachelor's, it just makes too much sense to go ahead and finish. Then you will have a large selection of programs to choose from.

[natshar]

I'd also do the institutes free ethics course, Study.com's presentation skills in the workplace.

Those would both count towards your degree (as speech credit and ethics credit) and are super easy. If you can still do the one credit cornerstone do it asap. Because soon (it already is, but you might be grandfathered in the old one) it will be replaced with a 3 credit course.

Also catalog year for the BSBA are you going for? You might be able to do an old one, which might have easier requirements.

As long as you register have 100 credits and register for the April or May capstone and get everything done by July I see no problem with you graduating in September. If you choose a BSBA GM you almost have it all done already. For the rest of the AOS courses, maybe do some TECEP's or Davar in areas you already know about from experience.

[sanantone]

UK universities have online MBAs that don't require a bachelor's degree. Since it's not common in the U.S., it might look questionable to employers.

[Publius]

I'm looking into switching from Accounting and just getting a generic BSBA in Management degree. I've spent some time looking into Study.com's courses but it's so popular it's hard to find good info on it. Any good/common threads on here for Study.com info, esp in regards to UL courses at TESU?
Thanks