For Harvard Extension School, do you take the admissions requirement courses first?

[Life Long Learning]

Western Carolina is one of the 3 schools selected to participate in the new NC Promise program this year 2018-2019, making tuition for all in-state students a flat rate of $500 per semester unlimited.  HES doesn't care where/what your undergrad degree is in, but there aren't many ways to chop the cost for the Master's program- so my opinion is to do everything within your power to spend as little as possible now so you can use your $$$ on your HES degree - you'll need it.  I don't know the dynamics of that program, but there will be travel to Boston in there as well.  
Rigor is to be assumed.
I can only share my limited experience, and I haven't taken any classes in your field, so take my opinion with a grain of salt- but I have taken dozens (and my husband and kids have taken dozens^) of tedious brainless thoughtless hunt-and-peck online trivial pursuit games under the category of "online classes."  I can barely drag myself through TEEX to pull out 2 credits for Cyber101 this week.  To me, they are painfully boring and a waste of my time- but, the price is right, expiration is around the corner, low hanging fruit and all.  Harvard grad classes are not that.  Don't go in with fear, go in ready to work, and you won't be disapointed.

Wow!

This is neat.  Instate $500, Out-of-State $2500.  That is dirt cheap.  The video even says lower fees for online students?

Through NC Promise, the state will significantly reduce student tuition cost at three UNC system institutions – Elizabeth City State University, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and Western Carolina University – beginning in Fall 2018.

https://ncpromise.com/

Learner, thanks for posting that in its own thread- I did share what I know, but it's a new program, and even last week I attended a homeschool meeting about the program and most of the details are still big question marks.  You can bet, however, that I'm paying very close attention.

What is the general NC reputation of these three schools?  I have heard of WCU, but NOT the other two.

[alexf.1990]

Western Carolina is one of the 3 schools selected to participate in the new NC Promise program this year 2018-2019, making tuition for all in-state students a flat rate of $500 per semester unlimited.  HES doesn't care where/what your undergrad degree is in, but there aren't many ways to chop the cost for the Master's program- so my opinion is to do everything within your power to spend as little as possible now so you can use your $$$ on your HES degree - you'll need it.  I don't know the dynamics of that program, but there will be travel to Boston in there as well.  
Rigor is to be assumed.
I can only share my limited experience, and I haven't taken any classes in your field, so take my opinion with a grain of salt- but I have taken dozens (and my husband and kids have taken dozens^) of tedious brainless thoughtless hunt-and-peck online trivial pursuit games under the category of "online classes."  I can barely drag myself through TEEX to pull out 2 credits for Cyber101 this week.  To me, they are painfully boring and a waste of my time- but, the price is right, expiration is around the corner, low hanging fruit and all.  Harvard grad classes are not that.  Don't go in with fear, go in ready to work, and you won't be disapointed.

Wow!

This is neat.  Instate $500, Out-of-State $2500.  That is dirt cheap.  The video even says lower fees for online students?

Through NC Promise, the state will significantly reduce student tuition cost at three UNC system institutions – Elizabeth City State University, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and Western Carolina University – beginning in Fall 2018.

https://ncpromise.com/

Learner, thanks for posting that in its own thread- I did share what I know, but it's a new program, and even last week I attended a homeschool meeting about the program and most of the details are still big question marks.  You can bet, however, that I'm paying very close attention.

I can confirm that the $500 tuition is for online as well. I'm participating in the Business Law program that is entirely online. I was also given a $1000 need-based grant from the college to cover tuition, so it's effectively free. When you add in Pell and the AOTC tax credit, it works out to around $7500 in my pocket to finish my degree over the next year.

I'm in the south eastern part of NC. Nobody knows about WCU or ECSU here. UNCP has a reputation for being a subpar school.

[eriehiker]

I am looking for someone in North Carolina to adopt me. Please private message if interested.

[cookderosa]

All 3 are each one of our public UNC 4 year colleges system - so they check the box in every way.

Interesting about the Pell. I didn't know, but assumed, that the Pell would somehow be eaten in this new program's process. LOVE that it isn't coming in as a last dollar award.

Erie, since Alex has this figured out, you'll be better off being adopted by him.

[leland.kirk]

Just a heads up, 
if anyone was thinking about taking one of the poetry courses before finishing their undergrad, 
it won't count towards your master's from Harvard Extension if you do.
I received an email this morning that mentioned any course taken before your undergrad conferral will not count.

[alexf.1990]

Just a heads up, 
if anyone was thinking about taking one of the poetry courses before finishing their undergrad, 
it won't count towards your master's from Harvard Extension if you do.
I received an email this morning that mentioned any course taken before your undergrad conferral will not count.

Yeah, that is one of the unfortunate things about the graduate program at HES. Have they told you anything about the HES grant? I've been trying to find out more about it, but I might just bite the bullet and send them an email. It offers a 50% reduction in tuition for the Fall and Spring semester, as well as a free course over the summer. You have to be admitted student and its need-based, but I haven't found anything else out about it.

If you're doing the Finance or Management ALM, you can take the CORe program before undergrad conferral in order to get into the program faster. They offer CORe for $400 if you're eligible for Pell.

[MNomadic]

Just a heads up, 
if anyone was thinking about taking one of the poetry courses before finishing their undergrad, 
it won't count towards your master's from Harvard Extension if you do.
I received an email this morning that mentioned any course taken before your undergrad conferral will not count.

Yeah, that is one of the unfortunate things about the graduate program at HES. Have they told you anything about the HES grant? I've been trying to find out more about it, but I might just bite the bullet and send them an email. It offers a 50% reduction in tuition for the Fall and Spring semester, as well as a free course over the summer. You have to be admitted student and its need-based, but I haven't found anything else out about it.

If you're doing the Finance or Management ALM, you can take the CORe program before undergrad conferral in order to get into the program faster. They offer CORe for $400 if you're eligible for Pell.

Hey where did you find that information?

[leland.kirk]

[snip]

Yeah, that is one of the unfortunate things about the graduate program at HES. Have they told you anything about the HES grant? I've been trying to find out more about it, but I might just bite the bullet and send them an email. It offers a 50% reduction in tuition for the Fall and Spring semester, as well as a free course over the summer. You have to be admitted student and its need-based, but I haven't found anything else out about it.

If you're doing the Finance or Management ALM, you can take the CORe program before undergrad conferral in order to get into the program faster. They offer CORe for $400 if you're eligible for Pell.

I haven't asked about the grant yet, but I likely will very soon. I have to figure out my conferral date from TESU first though. I didn't see any actual dates for September graduation, which is what I'm set up for. Come to think of it, I don't think I saw anything resembling an exact date for the June graduates either though

[MNomadic]

@Alex.1990

Sorry I was curious about the hbx CORe you mentioned. So would that $400 price point count if I'm getting a Pell at a different school? And would it work for credit?

You recently finished the hbx CORe right? How was that? Would the course load make it difficult to complete in addition to other courses?

[alexf.1990]

@Alex.1990

Sorry I was curious about the hbx CORe you mentioned. So would that $400 price point count if I'm getting a Pell at a different school? And would it work for credit?

You recently finished the hbx CORe right? How was that? Would the course load make it difficult to complete in addition to other courses?

In order to receive credit for it, you have to pay the full $3600. When you go that route, you'll be given 8 credit hours from HES, which you would transfer to your school. You'd have to talk to your academic advisor to find out which courses it would transfer as. I suspect it would transfer as 8 credits of UL business elective. I wouldn't go this route unless I were doing my undergrad at HES, in which case the $3600 for 8 credits would be the same rate as other courses you are taking.

The $400 course is available to those who are receiving Pell, regardless of what their home institution is. You submit your Financial Aid Transcript during admissions and they'll look over it to ensure you're eligible. When you go this route, you won't receive any university credit for taking the course, you simply receive the credential. I can't think of many scenarios where $3200 price difference would be worth the 8 credits you receive if you pay full price. The main benefit is that you still get the credential on your resume, and taking it this way still makes you eligible for accelerated admission to the Finance or Management ALM programs.

My experience with CORe is mixed. I think I got a great value for $400, but I would unhappy if I had paid the full $3600. The courses are interactive and the cases are interesting. I'm a small business owner and I've finished all of my business courses for my BS, but I still learned alot in the course. I wish they had more interaction among the students or there were TAs interacting with us. The few interactions among the students feel forced. 17% of your final grade is based on the "quality" of your participation, so the few interactions that do occur feel as though they're aimed at impressing the person who eventually grades the discussion, rather than the other students who are asking or answering questions. It doesn't really feel genuine. The tests are all multiple choice. A handful of your responses to the open ended questions they ask during the modules are randomly peer graded. You don't know which question will be graded or what the criteria is for grading. There were maybe 4 or 5 of these throughout the course. Each question is graded by 4 different peers. There's no incentive for them to give you genuine feedback or honestly grade the question, so the grading was always seemingly random.

I'm finishing up the course now. I've got one module of Business Analytics and one module of Financial Accounting. Then I've got to take the three-hour-long final, which makes up 50% of your final grade. There are four potential scores: Fail, Pass, Pass with Honors, and Pass with High Honors. The criteria for each category isn't really explained. I've read rumors that its graded on a curve with the top 15% percentile earning Pass with High Honors, and the next 15% earning Pass with Honors. I'm not sure where the Pass/Fail line is. I'm also not sure how they quantify the 1/6th of your grade thats based on participation.

I'm shooting for Honors/High Honors. There are a few different cohort lengths. All courses cover the same material, so the longer cohorts just spread out the deadlines. I'm in the 16 week cohort, which is the longest one available. On this schedule, there is one module due each week, with subjects rotating each week. I spend roughly 5-10 hours per week in the platform. Each module only takes 5-6 hours to complete, but some weeks I'll go back through module and answer questions others have posted, or share articles on the forums. The quizzes at the end of each module make up the last 1/3rd of your grade. I've averaged 85-90% on all of the quizzes. They also drop your lowest quiz grade from each subject.

At 5-10 hours per week, it's not too demanding. I've already taken accounting, economics, and business analytics courses though, so most of the content is material I already have a grasp of.  It's certainly doable for most students if you choose one of the longer cohorts. If I remember correctly, the data they released showed that only 5% of students averaged more than 10 hours per week.I was able to do 18 credits of traditional school, 5 CLEPs, and work full time while taking the course.

Let me know if you have any other questions about the course or if you need me to clarify anything.