Degree Advice (Pierpont)

[rocketjen22]

Hello, I am trying to sort through everything to fully understand how the Pierpont degree works. I have read through many posts and visited the school site and the degreeforum wiki, but I'm honestly feeling a bit lost, ATM.

Brief background: This is on behalf of my son. He was working toward an associate's degree at Clovis Community College (online) but dropped out before finishing. He was diagnosed with some mental health issues and has been working through therapy. I think if we could work out how he could finish an AS through Pierpont, that would be a big boost to his confidence and self-esteem.

Your Location: Florida
Your Age: 27
What kind of degree do you want?: the Pierpont BOG associates
Current Regional Accredited Credits: 41

School Name: Clovis Community College
Total Credits: 41

COMM 102 UG Public Speaking A 3.000
ECON 221 UG Principles of Macro Economics A 3.000
HPE 142 UG Fund of Physical Well-Being A 2.000
PSY 101 UG Introductory Psychology A 3.000
REL 213 UG Studies in Immortality A 3.000
AD 151 UG Introduction to Business A 3.000
CIS 120 UG Intro to Information Systems A 3.000
CIS 180 UG Web Authoring Using HTML A 3.000
MGT 201 UG Principles of Management A 3.000
MUS 113 UG Music Appreciation A 3.000
ACS 102 UG Freshman Seminar A 3.000
FCS 112 UG Introduction to Nutrition B 3.000
HPE 121 UG Personal Health A 3.000
REL 201 UG Life of Christ A 3.000

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits:
Sophia English Comp 1 (3)

He also has two courses from StraighterLine, Intro to Biology w/ Lab (4) and Western Civ 1 (3), but these were taken over 10 years ago while he was in high school and I'm not sure they would count? They're listed as "legacy" on the SL website now. He completed 3 ALEKS math courses at that time, too, but they seem to have been lost with the switch to Credly. He no longer uses the email he'd had when registered with ACE, did not get the notification to create the Credly account, and now it seems to be too late to reclaim those credits from ACE.

Budget: We would like to go as cheaply as possible; however, if it turns out a more expensive route is better for him, my husband and I will find a way to cover it.
Commitments: He has a part time job that is about 20 hours a week.
Dedicated time to study: About 1 - 2 hours a day, more on the weekends.
Timeline: Not under particular time pressure/constraint.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: none

If I am understanding what I have read, this is what I believe a Pierpont degree plan would look like for him:

GE Requirements (21):
Communication (3) - Sophia English 1
Communication (3) - Clovis Public Speaking ?) I could not figure out if this has been confirmed as accepted?
Math/Science (3) - Am looking at the CSM course for this, or any other recommendations? 
Math/Science (3)  - StraighterLine Biology (4) if accepted, or will need a course
Social Science (3) - Clovis Psychology
Social Science (3) - Clovis Macro Economics
Computer Literacy (3) - Clovis Intro to Information Systems

Electives (39):
Clovis Intro to Business (3)
Clovis Web Authoring (3)
Clovis Fundamentals of Well-being (2)
Clovis Principles of Management (3)
Clovis Music Appreciation (3)
Clovis Intro to Nutrition (3)
Clovis Freshman Seminar (3) - ?) Would this maybe not qualify? It was a required course at CCC.
Clovis Personal Health (3)
Clovis Life of Christ (3)
Clovis Studies in Immortality (3)
StraighterLine Western Civ 1 (3), if accepted, or will need a course
6 more credits needed

So, I am thinking he needs anywhere from 6 (if all credits he has are accepted) to 16 credits, if the StraighterLine and Freshman Seminar courses are not. Possibly, he would need a science course, a communications course (if Public Speaking only counts as an elective), a math course, and two others? Does this seem accurate?

I read that he could get 12 credits from Google IT certification on Coursera? Is this correct? I think that would be doable for him and the $39 ($59?) a month price is definitely within our budget.

He could take more courses from Sophia. He by no means loved the English course he did, but he didn't hate it, either. I think he would do all right with Study.com, too.

Does Pierpont accept NCCRS or only ACE? Do they accept OnlineDegree.com?

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give. I truly appreciate all the information I have gleaned so far and welcome any suggestions you can give.

ETA: D'oh! Should have mentioned: He's better off with a more course-like structure so while he probably could independently study and pass a CLEP/DSST, we would prefer something that has the study materials available.

[dfrecore]

He has completed a Pierpont degree for sure - you just need to get those SL and ALEKS credits. My advice - create a Credly account, contact both ALEKS and SL, and ask them both to send the credits to Credly. Once you complete a course, it's yours for life - it's just a matter of getting those credits onto a transcript. You don't "lose" them, if they were completed when they were recommended for credit (for example, I took ALEKS' Beginning Algebra back when it was worth credit. Since then, it's no longer worth credit, but because I completed it prior to the expiration, it's on my Credly transcript). As long as he used his legal name when he took the courses, they have a way to get them to Credly no matter the email address.

Get everything on Credly and then apply and send that transcript to Pierpont. You're all set.

[bjcheung77]

@rocketjen22, I agree with dfrecore, have him create a Credly account and follow up with them to get the ACE credits.  As long as those courses were ACE recommended for credit when he took the courses, then he should be able to get the credits.  Have him take courses that interest him on Coursera, Sophia.org and other ACE providers that are inexpensive, along with CLEP/ModernStates.

I would recommend skipping NCCRS credits for now (unless he is sure it's Excelsior or TESU he would like to continue a Bachelors with), stick with the ACE options first.  I wouldn't worry too much and have him continue on with Sophia.org and get the remaining credits as per your current plan.  Have him check Coursera/Dream Academy from this link here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera

Essentially, if he would like the Pierpont BOG AAS and ladder up to the UMPI BAS/BLS with a minor of his choice, I don't recommend NCCRS credits as they may not transfer. For the BAS, it requires 40 "technical credits", the Coursera ones would work nicely! Here's the wiki for Pierpont and the instructions for UMPI: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC

[rocketjen22]

Thank you so much for the quick replies! I know we are total strangers, but I want you to know that I read him these answers and I wish you could have seen the smile on his face. Just know you really made a young man who has gone through quite a lot very happy tonight. (And his mom & dad, too!)

When he took the ALEKS courses, it was early days for the company, prior to the McGraw Hill purchase. The courses were ACE approved. The process was to complete a course and submit it to ACE and then wait for confirmation that the credit was on your ACE transcript, because ALEKS warned that once you started a new course, your records of the previous course were deleted. (I don't know if that process ever changed or not.) Awhile back, we tried setting up a Credly account for him and claiming the ACE/ALEKS credits but hit a wall. I will definitely look into it again. It's very exciting to think he might be even closer to the BOG AAS than I thought.

We are also excited about the opportunity to go even further with UMPI. Thanks so much again!

[dfrecore]

When he took the ALEKS courses, it was early days for the company, prior to the McGraw Hill purchase. The courses were ACE approved. The process was to complete a course and submit it to ACE and then wait for confirmation that the credit was on your ACE transcript, because ALEKS warned that once you started a new course, your records of the previous course were deleted. (I don't know if that process ever changed or not.) Awhile back, we tried setting up a Credly account for him and claiming the ACE/ALEKS credits but hit a wall. I will definitely look into it again. It's very exciting to think he might be even closer to the BOG AAS than I thought.

We are also excited about the opportunity to go even further with UMPI. Thanks so much again!

I remember that time period at ALEKS - I took my courses in 2011.  They for sure had all of my info when I added them to my Credly transcript in 2021.

[rocketjen22]

i apologize, but I'm still having an issue with Credly/ACE and I'm sure it's me being completely obtuse. We were able to use a security question and log in at ACE. He has ALEKS beginning algebra, intermediate algebra, and college algebra. (Also Ethics and the CPCU Code of Professional Conduct (online course) from American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters/The Institutes, which I forgot was an ACE approved course.). We created a Credly account. How do I get Credly to find the ACE credits or get ACE to send them to Credly? I feel like I must be missing something terribly obvious, but my searches are coming up empty so I think I must not be using the right search terms/questions? I found something about contacting your "training provider," but presumably, per ALEKS policy of deleting courses, they would have no record? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

ETA: I am so sorry again. I found a page at ACE with an email address to request help if you don't know who to contact for your "training provider." He emailed that address to request help, so hopefully we will get an answer at some point. If anyone has any other suggestions, though, thanks in advance.

[bjcheung77]

We're here to help! No worries, you should follow this wiki to get your ACE credits. Link: American Council on Education - Degree Forum Wiki (miraheze.org)

[rocketjen22]

Thank you, bjcheung77. I am going to try filling out the ALEKS request form, though I am a bit worried because they were so adamant at the time that your records were deleted as soon as you started another course and this request form states: "Courses Completed: List each ALEKS course you completed and passed, using the list at https://www.aleks.com/about_aleks/ace_credit to find your courses. We will check our records to confirm that you passed the requested courses and issue a badge for each one." Can't hurt to try, though! Maybe they do have some way to confirm it.

[dfrecore]

Thank you, bjcheung77. I am going to try filling out the ALEKS request form, though I am a bit worried because they were so adamant at the time that your records were deleted as soon as you started another course and this request form states: "Courses Completed: List each ALEKS course you completed and passed, using the list at https://www.aleks.com/about_aleks/ace_credit to find your courses. We will check our records to confirm that you passed the requested courses and issue a badge for each one." Can't hurt to try, though! Maybe they do have some way to confirm it.

Did your son take these courses prior to 2011?  Because there were zero issues for me to get my 2011 ALEKS courses onto my Credly transcript. It took just 1 request, and it was done within an hour.

As for ACE, you skip that entirely - you get your SL and ALEKS courses directly from them to Credly.

The CPCU Ethics course is gone, unfortunately.  They opted not to send those credits/a badge to Credly.

[rocketjen22]

Did your son take these courses prior to 2011?  Because there were zero issues for me to get my 2011 ALEKS courses onto my Credly transcript. It took just 1 request, and it was done within an hour.

As for ACE, you skip that entirely - you get your SL and ALEKS courses directly from them to Credly.

The CPCU Ethics course is gone, unfortunately.  They opted not to send those credits/a badge to Credly.

The dates of his courses were:
Beginning Algebra 08/07/2010
College Algebra  10/26/2011
Intermediate Algebra 09/26/2010

That is unfortunate about the Ethics course. He says he took it when he did while he was a CCC student because he was thinking it would apply to a requirement if he went on to one of the Big 3.

Thank you!