Course/Degree Planning - Liberal Studies, BA - TESU

[drp16]

Hi everyone! I have been searching through this forum for a few months now. I'm still a little overwhelmed with it. Hope I'm posting this in the right place with the right format. 

So I am looking for some feedback and course suggestions for my current plan to complete my degree from TESU. 

I took advantage of the free TECEP exams back in September at TESU. I liked the format of studying and learning on my own and testing out. I chose courses that were mostly multiple choice exams and did well with them. [i]I'm really nervous to have to write papers and essays. I have not been in school since I finished my associate degree in 2010. I am out of the MLA loop or whatever format they are using these days. (Very nervous that I'm doing all of this and won't be able to make it through the Capstone...I'll cross that bridge later.)[/i]
 
I will write out my course plan below, but first...some info, questions and concerns. 

1. I do not have a concentration with my Liberal Studies degree but if you see where I maybe could, I'd consider adjusting. 

2.  All of these DSST and CLEP courses that I picked have expired or are expiring on 3/31/24. TESU has not updated their list on their website. Will these courses get extended? Who would know that I could contact?

3.  Should I even take these courses as CLEP or DSST?  Should I just do them all on Study.com or somewhere else you suggest? Study.com is how I studied for all of my TECEP exams. I liked the format although I know their actual paid courses seem a little more in depth than just their test prep. [i]Is there some other website or method of completing credits that I'm missing?[/i]
[i] [/i]
4. Do the 200 level and Upper level courses that I listed below fit in the Liberal Studies category? Do you suggest different courses for this area? Are there courses that are well known to be less challenging than others that I should consider? To me it seems these lower level history courses in the same genre as the upper level courses could be a good prep for the more indepth class? 

I am open to suggestions. So here is my plan for now...

***NOTE***
Info Literacy and American Politics are needed and are the only classes I can take at the 100 level. 

12 credits must be Upper Level Liberal Studies. (Those 12 credits are in addition to the 3 credit Capstone) 
The remainder can be 200 Level Liberal Studies.


CLEP - American Politics -POS-1100 - 3 cr
DSST  or STUDY.COM - Intro to Vietnam War - HIS-2460 - 3 cr
DSST  or STUDY.COM - Civil War & Reconstruction - HIS-2520 - 3cr
DSST - Ethics in Digital Age - ETH-2300 - 3 cr

STUDY.COM - Vietnam War - HIS-3510 - 3 cr
STUDY.COM - The Holocaust - HIS-3540 - 3 cr
STUDY.COM - American Civil War - HIS-4500 - 3 cr
STUDY.COM - History & Sys of Psychology - PSY-4000 - 3 cr

TESU - Info Literacy (TESU required course) SOS-1100 - 3 cr
TESU - Liberal Arts Capstone - LIB-4950 - 3 cr

Total: 30 cr

**Note**
I am aware that I may have to pay a fee/waiver for not taking a certain amount of courses at TESU. Although I don't know too much about that. It's confusing.

Thanks for taking the time to read and/or help me with this. I appreciate any feedback!


Your Location: New Jersey, United States.
Your Age: Late 30s.
What kind of degree do you want?:  TESU - BA, Liberal Studies (or other if it fits). 

Current Regional Accredited Credits: 75

Community College Credits: 75 
Rowan College at Burlington County, Raritan Valley CC, Camden County College (AS, Health & Exercise Science)
(**Note** My current academic evaluation has accepted all of these classes I list below)

ENC-101 - College Comp I - 3 - C+
ENC-102 - English Comp II - 3 - A
COM-209 - Public Speaking - 3 - B
STA-201 - Elem of Stats I - 3 - D
SOC-101 - Principles of Sociology - 3 - C
PSY-101 - Basic Psychology - 3 - C
HIS-113 - US History I - 3 - C
ART-100 - Intro to Art - 3 - C
HIS-101 - Western Civ I - 3 - B
SPA-101 - Elem Spanish I - 3 - B
CIS-107 - Computer Literacy - 3 - A
BIO-113 - Biology Science I - 4 - B
PSY-213 - Child Psychology  - 3 - B
BIO-208 - Intro to Nutrition - 3 - B
BIO-211 - Anatomy & Phys I - 4 - B
BIO-212 - Anatomy & Phys II - 4- B
HIS-102 - Western Civ II - 3 - B
LIT-101 - Intro to Literature - 3 - B
HEA-103 - Health & Wellness - 3 - A
PEA-199 - Intro to Health & Exer Science - 3 - A
HEA-295 - First Aid Safety Prev - 3 - A
PYT-199 - Concepts of Indiv & Dual Sports - 3 - B
HEA-101 - Health & Per Living - 3 - B
HEA-105 - Exercise Phys - 3 - B


TESU - Assessment Credits: 15

EUT-210 - Intro Electrical Dist Tech - NON COURSE EQUIV - 3 Cr
POS-1010 - Intro Political Science - TECEP - 3 Cr
HIS-1260 - World Hist 1600-Present - TECEP - 3 Cr
SOC-2100 - Marriage and the Family - TECEP - 3 Cr
PSY-3500 - Abnormal Psychology - TECEP - 3 Cr

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: None
Any certifications or military experience? None

Total Credits: 90

Budget: Pay as I go. Hoping under $10k.
Commitments:  Employed full time - 40 hours per week, sometimes more. 
Dedicated time to study: Available to study a few hours per night everday and a few hours longer on weekends. If work is slow I can study during the workday. 
Timeline: I am in no rush to finish but I'd also like to start and keep going until I'm done with no gaps between classes/test out exams. I prefer working on one class at a time. 
Tuition Assistance/Reimbursement: None 

[bjcheung77]

@drp16, Welcome to the board! Great intro with the addendum and template details...You can take all ACE/NCCRS credits for the remaining ones you want to transfer into TESU BALS. It's up to you if you want to pay the residency waiver fee or complete the flat rate of 15 credits (cornerstone, capstone, 3 easy courses or e-packs), because you're in NJ, it's probably cheaper to do the flat rate of $3319 as the residency waiver is already $3354...

[drp16]

@drp16, Welcome to the board! Great intro with the addendum and template details...You can take all ACE/NCCRS credits for the remaining ones you want to transfer into TESU BALS.  It's up to you if you want to pay the residency waiver fee or complete the flat rate of 15 credits (cornerstone, capstone, 3 easy courses or e-packs), because you're in NJ, it's probably cheaper to do the flat rate of $3319 as the residency waiver is already $3354...

Thank you for your reply! I never even looked at E-Packs! I spent the morning figuring out how I could make this work. I think I will start with Study.com classes and then move on to the E-Packs, cornerstone & capstone at TESU. 

So it would look something like this now...

Study.com
Ethics - Ethics in Social Science 
UL LS - A History of the Vietnam War
UL LS - The Holocaust
UL LS - The American Civil War Era
UL LS - History and Systems of Psychology

Study.com Total Credits: 15

TESU E-Pack
American Government
Intro to Marketing 
Psychology of Personality

TESU Course
Info Literacy
LS Capstone

TESU Total Credits: 15

I am a little confused about the flat rate tuition. Do you know how it works? Does this mean I would have to enroll in all 15 credits in one term? Like say...they all start March 2024 or can I spread them out in a few terms?

[bjcheung77]

Here's the WIKI for TESU, it'll show you examples of online classes/e-packs to select from, e-packs are exams
Link: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Th...University
Courses vs Residency Waiver #1: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ng-Courses
16 Credits vs Residency Waiver #2: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Waiver-Fee
ACTFL/Foreign Credits: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...r-to-Big-3
Transfer Policy: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-Explained

[drp16]

Here's the WIKI for TESU, it'll show you examples of online classes/e-packs to select from, e-packs are exams
Link: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Th...University
Courses vs Residency Waiver #1: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...ng-Courses
16 Credits vs Residency Waiver #2: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Waiver-Fee
ACTFL/Foreign Credits: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...r-to-Big-3
Transfer Policy: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...-Explained

Thanks! The links were helpful! And so this is how I'm thinking of these E-Packs now...as exams.  I could study the material for the 3 E-Pack exams before even enrolling in the 15 credit term. (Study guides are on Modern States, Saylor and Study.com) That way I already know a lot of the material and won't have to dedicate too much time on those and can focus on my capstone. I also just read about course extensions too. This all makes the 15 credit semester seem more doable.

I still have a few classes to do before I even get to this. I could change my mind and just pay a little more money to avoid the stress. We'll see! 

Thanks for all the information. I appreciate it so much!