Degree Planning Advice

[Westslope Cutthroat]

Hello,

I run a landscape construction business with a focus on sustainability, specifically Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI). I've been in the trade for 20 years. I have no formal education beyond a high school diploma. My business is looking to take the next logical step into Environmental Consulting with a wetlands, GSI and carbon-mitigation focus. There are some relevant certifications to be collected. The primary one is from the Society of Wetland Scientists. I've listed some of the credit requirements to join this club below. We have other employees with degrees who can collect these certifications, but I suppose I don't want to be left behind/miss out on the fun. I'm bored with project management, plus my pride is starting to require a bachelor's degree.

Your Location: WA State, US

Your Age: 36

What kind of degree do you want?:
BS or BA in Natural Sciences, especially Ecology or Biology or otherwise related to my field.

Requirements for desired certification:
15 hours Biological Sciences
15 hours Physical Sciences
6 hours Quantitative Sciences
15 hours Wetland-related coursework (Advanced Plant Taxonomy; Wetland Hydrology; General Soil Morphology, Classification, and Mapping; Hydric Soil Identification; Wetland and Creation; Wetland delineation/Evaluation/Classification; Applied Wetland Management; Wetland Creation/Mitigation; Wetland Ecology. Stream Assessment, and Management)

Current Credits of Any Type: 0

Any certifications or military experience?:
Probably nothing relevant.
ICPI Certified Concrete Paver Installer and PICP Specialist
NCMA Certified SRW Installer
ISA Certified Arborist
Certified Professional Horticulturist

Budget: No real limit.  I'd like to go the cheapest route possible, but will spend more to speed things up or to cap off the process with exciting and relevant courses.

Commitments: I work 70-80 hours per week, but I would plan to go down to 30/week to free up time for this.

Dedicated time to study/take exams: 40-50 hours/week.

Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal.  Let's say 6 months - possible or impossible? I'm sure some of the wetlands-focused courses will take longer to collect.

Tuition assistance: None

Please provide any relevant details: I like tests. Without study, I would possibly be able to test out of anything related to Project Management, Business Administration, Bookkeeping, Math (at least Algebra, Calculus, Trig, Statistics, Quantitative Analysis), English Literature and Composition, World Literature, and perhaps a few of the sciences relevant to my line of work. If competency evaluation/prior learning is a feasible path, that is obviously appealing, but I could skip it if the testing route is faster.


So, what's the plan?

[bjcheung77]

@Westslope Cutthroat, Welcome to the board. Where in WA are you? I'm in the Renton/Seattle area... That's an awesome introduction post with all the info in the addendum and template!  Have you thought of just doing an Associates/Bachelors combo quickly to check the box and then specialize at the Masters level instead?  There are so many ways to go about doing things, it depends on the student... You need to decide if competency based or a traditional semester or term option is best for you.

Here's an example: Pierpont BOG AAS - Biology Emphasis > UMPI BAS/BLS, a couple minors of your choice
BOG AAS can be done quickly with Sophia/Study.com combo, UMPI BLS doesn't require 40+ technical credits
Another: TESU AAS Environmental, Safety, and Security Technologies > TESU BALS NSM concentration
TESU AAS requires an associates capstone, you can do the 15 flat rate term to finish the BALS Natural Science

[Westslope Cutthroat]

@Westslope Cutthroat, Welcome to the board. Where in WA are you? I'm in the Renton/Seattle area... That's an awesome introduction post with all the info in the addendum and template!  Have you thought of just doing an Associates/Bachelors combo quickly to check the box and then specialize at the Masters level instead?  There are so many ways to go about doing things, it depends on the student... You need to decide if competency based or a traditional semester or term option is best for you.

Here's an example: Pierpont BOG AAS - Biology Emphasis > UMPI BAS/BLS, a couple minors of your choice
BOG AAS can be done quickly with Sophia/Study.com combo, UMPI BLS doesn't require 40+ technical credits
Another: TESU AAS Environmental, Safety, and Security Technologies > TESU BALS NSM concentration
TESU AAS requires an associates capstone, you can do the 15 flat rate term to finish the BALS Natural Science

Thanks so much for your reply. I am on Whidbey Island, and we work most of western WA, though concentrated in the Seattle Metro area. 

Yes, I would like to check the bachelor's box quickly and through testing or rapid online coursework as much as possible. I would hope to pick up the 15 hours Biological Sciences, 15 hours Physical Sciences, 6 hours Quantitative Sciences along the way if at all possible. UW has a few graduate programs in Environmental Science that would allow me to obtain the 15 Wetlands-specific credits, if I could get accepted. I also believe I could just find those credits from a variety of local institutions without necessarily completing a Master's. Once I start a project, it's hard to stop, though. 

Those look like appropriate degree fields in your suggestions.  I'm a little miffed on how to get started, but it sounds like I could start collecting credits on Sophia and study.com.

[rachel83az]

Are ACE/NCCRS sources going to be accepted for your purposes, as long as they're on a university transcript? CLEP exams? That's the big question. Depending on the field, some states don't allow credits from alternate sources, while others do.

Example:
CLEP Biology is worth 3-6 credits at various institutions. If you complete the ModernStates course, you can take the exam for free. https://modernstates.org/course/
Sophia.org has Anatomy and Physiology I, Human Biology, Intro to Nutrition, and Microbiology for 3 credits each. Plus 1-credit labs for A&P, Human Biology, and Microbiology.

Completing all of the above Biology courses would, theoretically, be more than sufficient to cover the 15-credit minimum. But if your state doesn't accept them, then it's a waste of both time and money.

There are also courses from ASU: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ar...al_Learner Some of these are self-paced and can be started at any time. Others have more traditional start and end dates. There are even more that aren't currently listed on the wiki. https://ea.asu.edu/courses/ I'm not sure if this one counts as being wetland-related, but check it out for yourself: https://ea.asu.edu/courses/introduction-...e-bio-145/

[Westslope Cutthroat]

Are ACE/NCCRS sources going to be accepted for your purposes, as long as they're on a university transcript? CLEP exams? That's the big question. Depending on the field, some states don't allow credits from alternate sources, while others do.

Example:
CLEP Biology is worth 3-6 credits at various institutions. If you complete the ModernStates course, you can take the exam for free. https://modernstates.org/course/
Sophia.org has Anatomy and Physiology I, Human Biology, Intro to Nutrition, and Microbiology for 3 credits each. Plus 1-credit labs for A&P, Human Biology, and Microbiology.

Completing all of the above Biology courses would, theoretically, be more than sufficient to cover the 15-credit minimum. But if your state doesn't accept them, then it's a waste of both time and money.

There are also courses from ASU: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ar...al_Learner Some of these are self-paced and can be started at any time. Others have more traditional start and end dates. There are even more that aren't currently listed on the wiki. https://ea.asu.edu/courses/ I'm not sure if this one counts as being wetland-related, but check it out for yourself: https://ea.asu.edu/courses/introduction-...e-bio-145/

Thanks for these suggestions. I am assuming credits from alternative sources will work for my purposes, but I'll have to check into that.

[bjcheung77]

Yes, verify if these need to be butt-in-seat classes or not, if they are, then your only option is the online community colleges for the science courses and complete the rest that are not required classes through alternative credit ACE options...

[Westslope Cutthroat]

Okay, I gathered some new information: UW Professional & Continuing Education offers a Certificate in Wetland Science and Management that contains all of the Wetland Science courses I need. $6k and the next start date is Sept '24. I can get in with any undergrad degree. So that's settled. Would love to somehow complete a Bachelor's in time, but the UW course is offered every year, so no big deal.

For the Society of Wetlands Scientists merit badge I want to collect, I can get it with any undergrad degree; ACE credits are fine. I just need to pick up the aforementioned 36 credits in various Natural Sciences.

That gives me more flexibility. However, I would want to use that flexibility to accomplish more, rather than pick up an irrelevant degree.

What would really round out the team is an Environmental Planner (or Urban Planner, or some other Planner I am unaware of). If I was looking for a 4-year traditional program (I'm not), Western WA has an Urban Planning and Sustainable Development BA. Something like that would be perfect. Or I could later try to leverage a BA in any physical science into a PAB-accredited Master's program in Planning.

I see Arizona State has some online accredited Planning programs. I'm not sure what the pace and cost would be there.

Last night I got signed up with Sophia and completed Intro Statistics. A bit repetitive, but it seems like I could cruise through courses with familiar material pretty quickly. From what little I know, Sophia to UMPI sounds like the simplest, fastest and cheapest. What's the benefit of adding Pierpont for the AA?

When I look at the Yourpace Bachelor's programs on online.umpi.edu, I see almost zero interesting programs. Is this not the menu from which I should be dining? If I never took a course in Computer Science, IT, etc, that would be a win. The one possibility I see is that I could probably sleepwalk through a Project Management degree, which might confer some new professional status I am unaware of lacking. Logic, maybe flawed, tells me I could parlay a BLS in Project Management into a Planning Master's acceptance.

Work in progress. Thanks for reading.

[rachel83az]

If you have about a year to finish your degree, perhaps a TESU BA Biology would be of more interest to you? This degree would be able to utilize most/all of the classes you require on the way to getting that certificate.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan

If you got started now, you could hopefully be finished and graduated by September.

[Jonathan Whatley]

University of Florida has a PAB-accredited online Master of Urban and Regional Planning.

[bjcheung77]

@Westslope Cutthroat, You may also want to check out TESU BA Environmental Studies and see if it would fit the bill...