Excelsior to TESU

[jkerns]

Hello all. I'll jump right into my question ?. I will be finishing up my Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts with Excelsior around May. I have been in the IT field for around 12 years and plan on pursuing a 2nd degree with TESU in something IT related (BS Cyber Security or BS IT) .

My only reason for going with the BS in Liberal Arts was to obtain a degree ASAP as my current job was contingent upon me obtaining a Bachelors within a certain time frame.(this was part of my offer letter) The quickest route was BS in LA as I have a smorgasbord of credits from my JST (Navy), IT certifications, and other colleges that I have attended over the past 10 years.

Now that I can see the promise land of obtaining a Bachelors , I would like to start focusing on a degree that is more focused in my career field. 5-6 months ago I was accepted into TESU and had my transcripts evaluated. I'm wondering if I should go ahead and enroll with TESU and take one the TECEP exams in order to get "locked in" at TESU or wait until I actually finish my degree with Excelsior before enrolling at TESU? Are there any advantages/disadvantages to enrolling with TESU now?

[jsd]

If you have a lot of IT certifications, WGU is probably a better bet for you for an IT degree. Depending on how quickly you can do it, it'd be cheaper as well. There aren't a lot of good testout options for TESU for this type of degree.

[jkerns]

Thanks for the response jsd. I actually did consider WGU. My understanding is that they only allow 90 credits to transfer in. I was hoping to avoid having to earn an additional 30 credits , but that may be my best option.

[jsd]

I would definitely send in transcripts and see what they say.

They were doing a free application period for a few months, i don't know if it's still happening. If not, let me know and I can get you a referral code that will waive the fee.

[davewill]

A second bachelor's at TESU requires you to earn a minimum of 24 units AFTER the first bachelor's it's awarded. It's ok to apply, but make you don't finish any new courses until your degree is conferred.

@jsd, would credits from his JST, other colleges and certs count against the 90 credit limit at WGU or is that limit just on alternative credits?

[bjcheung77]

Hello jkerns, there are a few options and these are my suggestions for you... you may want to check the pricing and amount of credits you need for each program, and to see which interests you more before going into the program of choice.

1) Transfer to WGU for an IT related degree, see what credits they will offer you for your current BA and IT certs. If it's an acceptable amount and you think you can finish the degree in one term or two, you're good. I think their tuition is great, if you're looking for additional certs, they're the one to go for.

2) Re-evaluate your credits at TESU and see if a BS Tech Studies degree is within reach. When I see the letters JST, that's the degree that pop up as they will take your credits and fill the majority of the AOS. There are a few "free electives", you can take some Cybersecurity courses for them or take any cheapo ones to finish the degree.

3) Continue at Excelsior as they have IT degrees already. Excelsior/WGU have much better transfer credits for IT certs than TESU, if you're going for a BS Cybersecurity, the Big 3 and Competency-Based Providers have similar options. However, Excelsior has ABET accreditation for their BS IT (with CyberSecurity concentration) and that's "better recognized" in my sense than the others.

[jsd]

@jsd, would credits from his JST, other colleges and certs count against the 90 credit limit at WGU or is that limit just on alternative credits?

For a second degree, WGU requires 25% (approx 30 CUs depending on program) be completed at WGU. So the source of the transfer credit won't really make a difference; either way those CUs will need to be completed at WGU. Depending on what needs to be done, it could be a lot easier to do through WGU than some of the ACE alternatives (on the other hand, it could be a lot harder in some cases -- it really depends on what's left to do).

Ive completed 32 credits in each of the two terms I've been at WGU (so 64 total now), so it's doable. And that's with a month to relax a little at the end of each term (though I am still studying ahead a bit for the next term during that month, as I did last time)

[dfrecore]

I think TESU's BS in IT is pretty expensive, so you're way better off at WGU. For everyone I know who is in IT with lots of experience, I ALWAYS tell them WGU (even my husband). Not only will you get a block transfer for the BALS, but then you can test out of a lot of your IT credits. I'll bet it would cost you half the price (or even less) than going to TESU.

As an example, at TESU, even if you get the Study.com affiliate membership, the capstone and Residency Waiver fee is going to cost you $2897. That doesn't include the cost of the other credits you'll need. Data Structures is going to cost you $800+ because that can't be found anywhere really cheap. Now you're at $3697, and you have 18cr to go. Oh yeah, and they won't give you credits for certs.

WGU is going to cost you $3485, and they will give you the block transfer, credit for certs, and this price will pay for a 6-month term. Assuming you can take a few courses/exams before enrolling, to knock down the remaining credits to about 30, you're so much better off.

[Life Long Learning]

A second bachelor's at TESU requires you to earn a minimum of 24 units AFTER the first bachelor's it's awarded. It's ok to apply, but make you don't finish any new courses until your degree is conferred.

@jsd, would credits from his JST, other colleges and certs count against the 90 credit limit at WGU or is that limit just on alternative credits?

How about wait and graduate from both in the same Term? No new credits!

[jkerns]

So this has me thinking. Would it be possible for me to finish my bachelors with Excelsior in the next few months while I am working on a TESU bachelor's (I've been accepted to TESU as of June 2017) that I could possibly complete in the latter part of the year?

Unsure if this violates either schools honor code etc. I'll have to do some research.