Educational Degree Planning Help

[nhmimi]

Your Location: Texas, United States
Your Age: 40
What kind of degree do you want?: Something in a child related field, education, child psychology, etc.  I’m over 20 years into my career (private household staffing, focused on children and early education) with no plans to change.  However, I’m looking for a high salary bump in a couple years and a degree would help with that.  The degree itself typically does not matter much in my career, as long as it relates to children in some way.

Current Regional Accredited Credits: 0
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 0
Any certifications or military experience? 0

Budget: As I’ll be paying cash as I go, I need the cheapest route possible.
Commitments: I work full-time, but have no other commitments.
Dedicated time to study: I work 5-6 days a week.  I can realistically work on studies 10-15 hours over the weekend.
Timeline: I will likely be looking for a new job position in about 18 months and would like to have a degree completed and on my resume by then, if only an AA for now.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Unlikely.

Additional Information:  I do not test well, but can write reasonably well.  If there’s a university option that assesses based on essays rather than tests, that would be ideal.  I also work best on my own timeline rather than a timeline given out by a professor.  These two things are why I dropped out of community college years ago and only excelled in my English classes.

From my own research, it looks like Sophia to Pierpont (with an emphasis on education, if possible) to UMPI for a bachelor’s might be my best bet, however I want to double check any options I might not be aware of before I start writing out my plan.  The online AA degree in Global Languages (French) at HCC is also on my radar as that degree would be great for my career.  Any helpful advice you can give me would be much appreciated!  I feel a bit in over my head.

[jg_nuy]

Hi there,

UMPI does look like the best option, since you prefer writing essays over taking tests - they have a BLS with Education Studies degree. You could start with the general education requirements on Sophia, following with classes for the Educational Studies component on Study.com. I see no reason that couldn't finish in 2-3 sessions ($3K to $4.5K) after bringing in as many possible credits from Sophia, Study and other certs/third-party.

You need to take at least 30 credits (10 classes) at UMPI. You can transfer up to 90 credits into a degree for UMPI, but there is no overall limit in the number of transferred credits. Since you have an interest in languages (e.g. if you are already fluent in French), you could do the ACTFL exam, which can be worth quite a bit of credit. Or even easier, you can simply do French or Spanish at Sophia. Remember to do the science + lab for UMPI at Sophia (Human Biology + Human Biology Lab), as it is not recommended to take it at UMPI.

Along the day, you can certainly do the Pierpont AAS, which you could do by completing the 1-credit course at ASU and the rest through your Sophia courses, but I would not recommend delaying UMPI - the classes that you take for Pierpoint will also fill in your credits for UMPI - here is the link for details: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC

UMPI links
General Education requirements: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...ts_Roadmap
BLS Educational Studies: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan
Other UMPI links: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

[nhmimi]

Hi there,

UMPI does look like the best option, since you prefer writing essays over taking tests - they have a BLS with Education Studies degree. You could start with the general education requirements on Sophia, following with classes for the Educational Studies component on Study.com. I see no reason that couldn't finish in 2-3 sessions ($3K to $4.5K) after bringing in as many possible credits from Sophia, Study and other certs/third-party.

You need to take at least 30 credits (10 classes) at UMPI. You can transfer up to 90 credits into a degree for UMPI, but there is no overall limit in the number of transferred credits. Since you have an interest in languages (e.g. if you are already fluent in French), you could do the ACTFL exam, which can be worth quite a bit of credit. Or even easier, you can simply do French or Spanish at Sophia. Remember to do the science + lab for UMPI at Sophia (Human Biology + Human Biology Lab), as it is not recommended to take it at UMPI.

Along the day, you can certainly do the Pierpont AAS, which you could do by completing the 1-credit course at ASU and the rest through your Sophia courses, but I would not recommend delaying UMPI - the classes that you take for Pierpoint will also fill in your credits for UMPI - here is the link for details: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC

UMPI links
General Education requirements: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...ts_Roadmap
BLS Educational Studies: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan
Other UMPI links: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

Thank you!  That was all very helpful.  I'll look into the Educational Studies component on study.com.  I should have mentioned that one of the agencies I'll possibly be working with for my next job position requires both a B.A. and an A.A. in a related field.  That seems a bit silly to me, but I don't want to limit my options if I can just grab the A.A. along the way.

Another concern I have is that I was a homeschool student several decades ago.  I have no transcripts or formal diploma to prove I graduated.  From what I've read, it sounds as though that shouldn't be an issue with Pierpont, but I'm concerned about applying with UMPI or any other university.

[RachelB]

Hi there,

UMPI does look like the best option, since you prefer writing essays over taking tests - they have a BLS with Education Studies degree. You could start with the general education requirements on Sophia, following with classes for the Educational Studies component on Study.com. I see no reason that couldn't finish in 2-3 sessions ($3K to $4.5K) after bringing in as many possible credits from Sophia, Study and other certs/third-party.

You need to take at least 30 credits (10 classes) at UMPI. You can transfer up to 90 credits into a degree for UMPI, but there is no overall limit in the number of transferred credits. Since you have an interest in languages (e.g. if you are already fluent in French), you could do the ACTFL exam, which can be worth quite a bit of credit. Or even easier, you can simply do French or Spanish at Sophia. Remember to do the science + lab for UMPI at Sophia (Human Biology + Human Biology Lab), as it is not recommended to take it at UMPI.

Along the day, you can certainly do the Pierpont AAS, which you could do by completing the 1-credit course at ASU and the rest through your Sophia courses, but I would not recommend delaying UMPI - the classes that you take for Pierpoint will also fill in your credits for UMPI - here is the link for details: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC

UMPI links
General Education requirements: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...ts_Roadmap
BLS Educational Studies: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan
Other UMPI links: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Category:UMPI

Thank you!  That was all very helpful.  I'll look into the Educational Studies component on study.com.  I should have mentioned that one of the agencies I'll possibly be working with for my next job position requires both a B.A. and an A.A. in a related field.  That seems a bit silly to me, but I don't want to limit my options if I can just grab the A.A. along the way.

Another concern I have is that I was a homeschool student several decades ago.  I have no transcripts or formal diploma to prove I graduated.  From what I've read, it sounds as though that shouldn't be an issue with Pierpont, but I'm concerned about applying with UMPI or any other university.

If you have plenty of Sophia credits, it shouldn't be a big deal that you were a homeschool graduate. You can create your own diploma, technically. You can also create your own transcripts if you have any kind of record of which "courses" you took and the grades you received.

[jg_nuy]

You can add on an AALS at UMPI and then just essentially forget about it, as it gets filled in with the credits from your bachelors.

For your high school diploma, a homeschool diploma and transcript should be fine. Here is a similar thread on that topic - https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...d-Students

[RachelB]

Also, COSC has both an A.S. and B.S. in Early Childhood Education, if you're needing both.

[bjcheung77]

@nhmimi, Welcome to the board, that's a good introduction with the addendum and template, but there's a little contradicting information. You've mentioned 0 RA credits, dropped out of college, yet excelled in the English classes, did you get credit for those English classes or not? I would skip the high school diploma and shoot for the Pierpont BOG AAS with an emphasis of your choice, that should pave the way for the UMPI BAS or BLS with the Educational Studies minor and would not require HS diploma & transcripts.

Note: I mentioned the BAS or BLS as you can add Coursera, Sophia.org, TEEX, etc technical credits towards the AAS and those will go into the electives for the BAS/BLS, you should work on a balanced mix/match trifecta of certs, degree, experience. You've got the experience, you can use the certs that have ACE recommendation for credit towards the degree electives. You'll be somewhat better or well versed with Business, IT, PM, etc in addition to the Educational Studies Minor.

Last but not least, when you get a better paying job, tuition assistance or reimbursement, you can ladder into a Walden MS Early Childhood Education degree or something similar as this is competency based and may be completed in 1 term of 6 months at roughly $6K. Example, your new workplace has a 5K yearly reimbursement, you're just paying about 1K out of pocket for a Masters. For now, focus on the Pierpont BOG AAS, ladder to UMPI AALS (freebie - no classes needed) and BAS/BLS Educational Studies Minor.

[rachel83az]

For Pierpont, there is an Area of Emphasis in Early Childhood (Education). You'd need to discuss the AoE with Nancy Parks to make sure you're able to fulfill the 15-credit AoE requirement. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pi..._Childhood

I'm not sure the UMPI AALS can have a minor in Educational Studies? If so, that's probably the easiest option. Maybe even easier than Pierpont.

COSC does have an AA and a BS in Early Childhood Education, but they're ridiculously expensive compared to the other options that are available. They no longer accept most alt credit. The AA might not be too bad, but I definitely wouldn't recommend their Bachelor degrees to anyone who didn't already have a lot of regular university credit.

[nhmimi]

@nhmimi, Welcome to the board, that's a good introduction with the addendum and template, but there's a little contradicting information. You've mentioned 0 RA credits, dropped out of college, yet excelled in the English classes, did you get credit for those English classes or not? I would skip the high school diploma and shoot for the Pierpont BOG AAS with an emphasis of your choice, that should pave the way for the UMPI BAS or BLS with the Educational Studies minor and would not require HS diploma & transcripts.

Note: I mentioned the BAS or BLS as you can add Coursera, Sophia.org, TEEX, etc technical credits towards the AAS and those will go into the electives for the BAS/BLS, you should work on a balanced mix/match trifecta of certs, degree, experience. You've got the experience, you can use the certs that have ACE recommendation for credit towards the degree electives. You'll be somewhat better or well versed with Business, IT, PM, etc in addition to the Educational Studies Minor.

Last but not least, when you get a better paying job, tuition assistance or reimbursement, you can ladder into a Walden MS Early Childhood Education degree or something similar as this is competency based and may be completed in 1 term of 6 months at roughly $6K. Example, your new workplace has a 5K yearly reimbursement, you're just paying about 1K out of pocket for a Masters. For now, focus on the Pierpont BOG AAS, ladder to UMPI AALS (freebie - no classes needed) and BAS/BLS Educational Studies Minor.

The contradicting information would be that I failed or near failed most of my community college classes and then dropped out. I passed one English class with a very good grade (dropped out of college before completing the next). I would have no idea how to get credit for that class from decades ago (would a class from so long ago even count?), nor do I want to collect the memory of all those failures in the process. I feel it would be easier to just retake the English class.

You’ve given me some things to think about and look into. Thank you!

[davewill]

The contradicting information would be that I failed or near failed most of my community college classes and then dropped out.  I passed one English class with a very good grade (dropped out of college before completing the next).  I would have no idea how to get credit for that class from decades ago (would a class from so long ago even count?), nor do I want to collect the memory of all those failures in the process.  I feel it would be easier to just retake the English class.

You’ve given me some things to think about and look into.  Thank you!

It would almost certainly count, and getting the credit is as simple as contacting the school and ordering a transcript sent. In fact, you pretty much HAVE to do that. Most colleges won't let you graduate unless they get transcripts from all the schools you've attended...and before you ask, yes, they do know where you've attended. There a national clearinghouse, kinda like the credit bureaus that colleges use to track that kind of thing.