Doing things a little backwards at TESC?

[kb4ns1]

I have read where some folks will enroll at TESC on the per-credit plan while knocking out CLEP, DSST, Uexcel, SL courses, etc. and then enroll in the comprehensive plan when they're down to ~36 credits to go and get those credits through TESC.

I'm considering doing it a little bit backwards once I knock out a lot of the gen ed requirements via CLEP/DSST/SL. I'm thinking about enrolling in the comprehensive plan for the first year and then, if still not finished, go to the per-credit option. I need you smarter folks to tell me if my reasoning is sound or not!

When I enroll, I intend to pursue a BA in Criminal Justice. I've been a full-time police officer for over a decade and foresee a good bit of criminal justice credit being awarded via Prior Learning Assessment. Also, being a state-certified law enforcement instructor and having presented material and given speeches during a lot of community relations events, I'm hoping to be able to use PLA credit toward the oral communication requirement (does that sound realistic to anyone familiar with PLA?).

Given my broad experience, I'm thinking there exists a decent possibility that I could earn 36 credits via PLA. Of course, you don't know what you'll be awarded PLA credit for until you actually submit the work, but wouldn't I be wise to go ahead and do the comprehensive plan, complete the PLA, and go from there? Or am I missing something?

[rebel100]

Doesn't exactly answer your question, but have you seen the credits offered for New Jersey and PA police academies? Lots of credit potentially on the table....Academic Program Reviews

[kb4ns1]

Doesn't exactly answer your question, but have you seen the credits offered for New Jersey and PA police academies? Lots of credit potentially on the table....Academic Program Reviews

Oh yes! That's why I'm hopeful that a large chunk of Criminal Justice credits can be satisfied with PLA! And that is just for the NJ basic police academy (which I assume isn't too much different than the POST certified academies of most states). Then looking into the TESC PLA database opens up a lot of other potential credits. Like 3 credit hours for being a Radar/Lidar Instructor (and to think I originally thought that going through the Radar/Lidar instructor course was a waste of time!).

[rebel100]

I would try to find out if that comes out as upper or lower level credit.

[kb4ns1]

There appear to be a handful of 300 and 400 level PLA courses in the PLA database. Like the Radar instructor example is listed as AOJ-386. Aren't all 300 and 400 level courses UL? Or am I misunderstanding how that works?

[dfrecore]

I'm not super familiar with PLA, so I'm just going by what I've read on TESC's website, and the forum here. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!

All my assumptions are that you are out-of-state, the prices for courses/Tuition Plans might change if you're in-state, but the rationale is the same.

You take PLA 100/200, then you submit PLA's for review. You pay for those with a PLA Fee, which you would pay for whatever plan you're on. So there's no savings there for being on the comprehensive plan. Then, the fees are low (relatively speaking): $379 for the first 12cr, then $215 for each additional 6cr you want assessed. So for 24cr, it would only be $1239. This is the cost whether you are in-state or out-of-state.

I'm not seeing where the comprehensive plan will work for you. You don't get the 36cr in the same way you would normally, as each PLA credit doesn't cost the same as a course would at the school. I could have this wrong, but I don't think you need to do the comprehensive plan at all, or even the enrolled options: neither of them get your PLA's assessed for the included price. The only reason to do the Enrolled Options plan is if you were going to take at least 4 courses (12cr) at TESC - before that, it's cheaper to do Per-Credit. Since you're only doing 3cr for the PLA courses, plus 3cr for the capstone, and most of the TESC courses can be found elsewhere for a lot less, you're better off sticking with Per-Credit.

[kb4ns1]

Once again, thank you dfrecore! You're exactly right. For some reason, I was thinking that the PLA assessed courses cost the same (per hour) as regular tuition. So it looks like it'd make the most sense to go the route you suggested - go per-credit and take the PLA-100 and PLA-200 first. And, even better, it appears that PLA credit goes towards residency requirements. So once I do the 3cr of PLA courses and the 3cr capstone, 18 hours of PLA would allow me to meet residency requirements on the per-credit plan.

[dfrecore]

And I'm guessing that if you have additional PLA's, and since they're CJ credits, those would also count in other GenEd areas. So I would do as many as possible to fill up GenEd, as you can't do much better than $34/cr (which is what 36cr of PLA would cost you).

[kb4ns1]

And I'm guessing that if you have additional PLA's, and since they're CJ credits, those would also count in other GenEd areas. So I would do as many as possible to fill up GenEd, as you can't do much better than $34/cr (which is what 36cr of PLA would cost you).

Really?? I didn't know that non-gen ed classes could be applied to the gen ed requirements. So, for future reference, excess credits in your major can go towards general education elective requirements?

[swalke321]

At TESC criminal justice courses are considered social sciences. CJ courses typically transfer in as AOJ, SOC and SOS. AOJ, SOC, and SOS courses can typically be used as gen ed electives, free electives or social science electives. I believe forensic science counts as natural science course and criminology counts as an information literacy course. If you look through the PLA database that will give you an idea of how courses may transfer in. For students applying after July 2015 TESC has specific requirements so any criminal justice courses that do not fit the requirements can be used in the gen ed area or free electives.