Help Selecting School

[pjk]

Hi everyone,

I stumbled on this forum a few days ago. So much great information! I want to pursue a BSBA and could use some guidance on which school may be the best fit for me.

I'm 50+ from Connecticut, have years of business management, technical experience, and many certifications and licenses (non-computer, energy, and construction). I should get lots of PLA credits, but it may be less effort to test out of the different classes based on other threads.

My considerations are; I care most about the total time and ease of completion of the coursework. The length of time is not as important. I prefer to spend more money if that equates to spending less time or if the program was more straightforward. I like to do things at my own pace, time permitting, so I probably don't want a term subscription. I am open to any accredited school and may pursue a masters.

I have some regionally accredited CT community college credits, as detailed below. The last three were classes that I tested out.
ENG- E101, Composition, B+, 3 Credits
MAT- G137, Intermediate Algebra, A, 3 Credits
NRG- J122,  Commercial HVAC Systems & Analysis, A-, 3 credits
NRG-J240, Energy Investment Analysis, A, 3 Credits
NRG-J132, Industrial Energy Systems, A-, 3 Credits
NRG-J242, Energy Accounting, A, 3 Credits
ARC-J240, CBE-Environmental Systems, P, 3 Credits
CTC-J106, CBE-Blueprint Reading, P, 3 Credits
NRG-J131, CBE-Building Efficiency Auditing, P, 3 Credits

Possible TESU Certification Credits, Listed below are potential credits that I have certifications for, however, they list an effective date so they may be expired.

Building Performance Institute, effective to 2/2018 https://www2.tesu.edu/oplr/client.php?cl...1626647408
CET-201-Building Analyst Professional
CET-202-Envelope Professional
CET-304-MF Building Analyst Professional
 
GOPRO, effective to 6/2018 https://www2.tesu.edu/oplr/client.php?cl...1626647408
CET-315, Operations and Maintenance Essentials

I would really appreciate any feedback, it's been difficult weighing all the options. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 

[ss20ts]

What are you interested in? PLA credits are very time consuming - lots of long papers and documentation. Often times it's faster and easier to complete a class. You still pay a fee for PLA credits as well.

[bjcheung77]

Hi everyone,

I stumbled on this forum a few days ago. So much great information! I want to pursue a BSBA and could use some guidance on which school may be the best fit for me.

I'm 50+ from Connecticut, have years of business management, technical experience, and many certifications and licenses (non-computer, energy, and construction). I should get lots of PLA credits, but it may be less effort to test out of the different classes based on other threads.

My considerations are; I care most about the total time and ease of completion of the coursework. The length of time is not as important. I prefer to spend more money if that equates to spending less time or if the program was more straightforward. I like to do things at my own pace, time permitting, so I probably don't want a term subscription. I am open to any accredited school and may pursue a masters.

I have some regionally accredited CT community college credits, as detailed below. The last three were classes that I tested out.
ENG- E101, Composition, B+, 3 Credits
MAT- G137, Intermediate Algebra, A, 3 Credits
NRG- J122,  Commercial HVAC Systems & Analysis, A-, 3 credits
NRG-J240, Energy Investment Analysis, A, 3 Credits
NRG-J132, Industrial Energy Systems, A-, 3 Credits
NRG-J242, Energy Accounting, A, 3 Credits
ARC-J240, CBE-Environmental Systems, P, 3 Credits
CTC-J106, CBE-Blueprint Reading, P, 3 Credits
NRG-J131, CBE-Building Efficiency Auditing, P, 3 Credits

Possible TESU Certification Credits, Listed below are potential credits that I have certifications for, however, they list an effective date so they may be expired.

Building Performance Institute, effective to 2/2018 https://www2.tesu.edu/oplr/client.php?cl...1626647408
CET-201-Building Analyst Professional
CET-202-Envelope Professional
CET-304-MF Building Analyst Professional
 
GOPRO, effective to 6/2018 https://www2.tesu.edu/oplr/client.php?cl...1626647408
CET-315, Operations and Maintenance Essentials

I would really appreciate any feedback, it's been difficult weighing all the options. 

From the looks of things, you're pretty much leaning towards TESU.  You have the Big 3, WGU/UMPI to take a look at.  Don't rush yourself, you have the degree you want in mind, just have to select the school best suited for you.  If you're wanting to do things without a set schedule, self-paced, the Big 3 would be a better option than a CBE as those are faster, but if you have commitments, you'll take longer and it'll be more costly.

My suggestion is, take courses from Sophia.org since you have about 21-24 RA credits, you don't need to focus on the RA requirements.  You can take courses that hit all 5 schools, what I mean by that is, courses that will transfer into the 5 schools above, you may want to review the wiki link for these courses.  Take some time while working on these courses to finalize that decision on the school.  Link: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/So...lency_List

With your current credits, I would just continue working towards getting 15, 30, 45 more credits with Sophia.org and then decide on the degree.  You then can take InstantCertCredit, Study.com courses to round out the requirements to transfer to your desired school.  I would vouch for TESU as the BSBA is ACBSP accredited... other than that, if you think CBE is your option, select WGU or UMPI.

[dfrecore]

So for the certs you have - the "effective dates" range is the dates you had to have gotten the exams done in order to get credit for them. They don't "expire", you just need to have the completion date during that time period. If you did, let us know.

For TESU's BSBA, it's kind of a bummer, because you have 3cr you can use in the GE (English Comp), and then all other credits will be Free Electives - and there's only space for 15cr there - so you lose 20cr. Even if you decided to get a BALS, you'd still only be able to bring in 30cr of Free Electives, so you'd lose 5cr. If you only bring in 18cr total for the BSBA, you'll have to get another 6cr of RA in there one way or another.

I think you should look at EC's BSL, which will allow 51cr of Free Electives - and UL ones will count towards your UL requirement. You should also look at their BPS in Business & Management, because it has space for 33cr of Free Electives.

COSC's BSLS allows for 60cr in Free Electives, and UL will count towards the degree as well. And you will have in-state tuition which isn't a bad thing at all - this degree will be cheap!

Last, I'd still consider UMPI, since money's not an issue for you. The BSL allows for a lot of free electives, and has business-related concentrations.

It certainly can't hurt to see what EC & COSC will give you for your certs, and how they bring in your other credits. UMPI as well. Then decide how important a BSBA is in the big scheme of things (especially if you're planning on another degree afterwards).

[Vle045]

It’s a little less talked about, but another competency based school is Northern Arizona University. They have both traditional and competency based. Business Administration is traditional courses and personalized learning has management options. I am going to start doing the Management classes.

What I like is that you have the option to take a pre-test.
Then, Do an essay.
Then you do your choice of ONE assignment.
Then a post-test or project at the end (but only if you didn’t pass the pre-test with an 86 or better).
So you have lots of ways to pass. And won’t get less than a B when you pass.
If you want an A, then you can also do a paper. If you are fine with a B, skip the paper.

The nice thing with the subscription based is that you can knock out a course quickly if you have experience with it. The bad thing is if you work slow, it could get expensive. If I recall correctly, it is an open book approach. (I haven’t started yet, so I can’t say from experience)

[pjk]

Thanks Everyone for the responses. I will look at the other programs to maximize my existing credits.

My exam dates do fall in the "effective range", but it looks like I would not be able to use these credits at TESU, I already have too many electives. Is there any way to get these credits on a transcript from TESU and then transfer them to one of the other schools that will take more electives?

[ss20ts]

Thanks Everyone for the responses. I will look at the other programs to maximize my existing credits.

My exam dates do fall in the "effective range", but it looks like I would not be able to use these credits at TESU, I already have too many electives. Is there any way to get these credits on a transcript from TESU and then transfer them to one of the other schools that will take more electives?

No, you can't get the exams on a TESU transcript then transfer them. You can only transfer credits completed at TESU to other schools. You'd have to submit official transcripts for those exams anywhere you want to apply them to your degree.

[jch]

My exam dates do fall in the "effective range", but it looks like I would not be able to use these credits at TESU, I already have too many electives. Is there any way to get these credits on a transcript from TESU and then transfer them to one of the other schools that will take more electives?

What you're attempting to do is credit laundering, and it (usually) doesn't work. Educational institutions normally require that all transfer credits be sent from the place where the credits were initially earned. Transcripts from TESU and other schools differentiate credits earned there and elsewhere.

[pjk]

Thanks for the feedback. I now understand how it works and do not want to do something that isn't copasetic. I will also look take a look at Northern Arizona University

[bjcheung77]

I would get as many credits for transfer as possible, in regards to my previous post. You might be better off taking a BSGS at COSC or a BABA/BLS at UMPI, then go for the MBA at Walden/WGU for example. NAU is going to be CBE and will only allow up to 64 or roughly half the degree transferred in, WGU/UMPI would be a better option. I think going the "basic check the box undergrad" then do an MBA or MAOL/MSML would be the end goal.