History/English Degree Help

[Mighty Horse]

One of the reasons I came back to college was because I found out about tests by examination but after meeting with my adviser at TESU that no longer seems to be the case. I think it’s just a case of the school trying to have me take as many classes at their rates as possible.

My adviser said that I need to contact them before I commit to each study.com (or a program like it) test. But judging by these forums, I don’t think that’s done very often.

So, here’s everything:

I’m trying to get a History and an English Degree at the same time.

As of January 1, I’ll have 94 credits total which includes only 3 credits on their way from Straighterline.

Immediately below is my rough transcript of classes taken and needs. Those in bold, I need. Everything except REL 277 have been from traditional schools.
History Degree In Progress

Written Communication 3 SH (Complete)
ENC 101 English Composition I


Written Communication 3 SH (Complete)
GSW 1120 Academic Writing


Oral Communication 3 SH (Complete)
COMM 1020 Intro to Communication


Quantitative Literacy 3 SH (Not Started)


Information Literacy 3 SH (Complete)
SOS 110 Critical Information Literacy



CIV & Global LDRSHP (Will be Complete in a few days)


Diversity Intercultural Literacy 3 SH (complete)
GEPL 1010 Human Geography


Ethical Leadership 3 SH (complete)
ETH 230 Ethics in a Digital Age


Civic Engagement (Complete in a few days)
POS 110 American Government


Knowldge Human Cultrs (Complete)
THFM 1410 The Theatre Experience
HIST 1520 The Modern World
SOC 1750 Social Problems
ANTH 2800 Cultural Anthropology


Understanding Physical and Natural World (Complete)
GEO 111 Physical Geology

GE Electives (Complete)
CHEM 1000 Intro to Chemistry
FILM 1310 Introduction to Film
BIOL 1120 Survey of Biology
PHIL 101 Intro to Philosophy
ART 105 History of Western Art
PSC 1710 Current International Problems
GPH 206 World Regional Geography



History 30 SH (15 SH must be UL) (In progress)


Western World Civ (Complete)
HIST 1510 World Civilizations
HIS 152 World Civilizations II


American (Complete)
HIST 2060 Modern America
HIST 2050 Early America


Non-Western 3 SH (Not Started)


Historical Mthds 3 SH (Complete)
HIS 379 Historical Methods


AOS Electives 12 SH (In progress)
LDR 324 (complete in a few days) Leaders in History
HIST 4250 Civil War and Reconstruction


Electives 26 SH (In progress currently at 15; I want to fill these up with ENG to fulfill ENG requirements)
ENG 230 Beginning Creative Writing
EDHD 2010 Intro to Education
EDCI 100 Col Read Learn Skill
REL 277 Intro to World Religions
POPC 165 Popular Culture & Media
EDTL 2300 Intro to Educ Technology


Now for English; I’m not going to repeat everything now that you know what I have.


Survey of Lit 6 SH (Not Started)


Analysis & INT Lit 3 SH (Not Started)


Non Western Lit 3 SH (Not Started)


ENG Electives 18 SH (In progress; I have 3)
Group 2
ENG 230 Beginning Creative Writing



I was told that to finish English, I’d need: LIT 205 (only available in April), LIT 206 (available January), and LIT 291 (available March). In addition, I’d need non-western courses LIT 331 OR LIT 460. Lastly I’d need 5 LIT/ENG Electives LIT 202, 221, 301, 302, 393, 312.

It was mentioned that on Study.com AOS for ENG was possible with ENG 102, 103, 301, 305.


For my History degree, I need one non-western class HIS 301 OR 310 but neither are offered in January which is when my grant is available. I believe one is offered February but that isn’t going to help me at all.

I also need 9 UL HIS credits. HIS 310, 356 (6 credits) and 425 (6 credits).

As an alternative, I was told HIS UL for study.com is HIS 308, 306, 311.

I need a basic Math for both which I was hoping to get at Straighterline since I’m already there and if I have a disastrous final, it won’t kill me.

Basically, what I’m asking is, what can I do at the cheapest rate and at the (possibly) fastest route? And if I need to leave the English degree behind, I’ll do that. I only had the adviser add it because a lot of my classes lined up but I didn’t expect some of those classes to not be available when I needed them.

Doing this the way my adviser wants me to is going to cost me more than I ever expected so it really isn’t possible. I assume there are other programs out there that I can use and that we also don’t really need our adviser’s consent before we begin these programs. As an aside, before I knew we needed consent, I started a Straighterline course and it was allowed anyway so I’m not sure what to make of what’s going on. I’ve been looking into tests by examination for about a year and it still confuses me.

I’m primarily looking for programs that are like Straighterline and Study.com which I can take at my own pace and be tested at my computer.

And one final question: When I send in my transcripts from these other places, should I do that all at once? One class at a time? Does it even matter?

I want to thank anyone and everyone in advance for helping me. I’m completely lost and confused with this process and it isn’t easy to find up to date information. I was very optimistic before today but after my meeting, I’ve been very discouraged. Perhaps your contributions can also help someone else because I routinely search for answers and they’re very difficult to find.

[dfrecore]

It's much easier to help you plan a degree if you list the courses you already have, and where you got them - because TESU is going to require 30cr of RA, and 6cr of those will be taken from them. Meaning if you don't already have 24cr of RA, then you'll need to incorporate those.

Also, we aren't sure yet how their 90cr of Alternative credit will work for a 2nd major. So that needs to be taken into account as well.

[rachel83az]

If you actually have 91 RA credits, that's really good. English and History both have 33 credits in the AOS. 33 + 33 + 60 gen ed + 27 electives (assuming little/no overlap) would be 153 credits. 33 + 33 + 60 gen ed + 0 electives (covered by the other AOS) = 126. Either way you slice it, if you subtract the allowed 90 ACE credits, it looks like you'd only need somewhere between 36 and 63 RA credits. If you actually are at 91 RA credits, you SHOULD be more than good.

Check the linked English & History degree plans here to see what might work for you: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap

[bjcheung77]

Courtesy of rachel83az, I would follow the majority of the information on the wiki.  You can compare the courses you currently have with the ones on the wiki and see which ones you would like to complete.  She's entered in courses that have alternatives, you can select the ones which suit you more if there is/are several options.  Here's the general education link, it's got a few BA and BSBA AOS to select from: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap

Furthermore, you should check out what TESU requires and has as options to select from as well, here's the site for TESU general education year 2019 and after:  https://www.tesu.edu/academics/courses/2019-and-after - I for one, like comparing, and can see courses I would recommend for a BA vs BSBA general education requirements.  For upper level, I recommend Study.com, see their equivalency here - https://study.com/college/school/thomas-...rsity.html

Here are my recommendations for you:  Quantitative Literacy 3 SH (Not Started) = CSM LEARN $39 BUS-210 Quantitative...Thus skipping StraighterLine altogether!  For Eng & History, I would follow this recommendation from the Advisor: As an alternative, I was told HIS UL for study.com is HIS 308, 306, 311.  It was mentioned that on Study.com AOS for ENG was possible with ENG 102, 103, 301, 305.

What I recommend is then to fill in the rest from courses within the wiki and you should be good.  Create a spreadsheet of what you have and what the wiki has, make sure all fields are hit, and you can attach that spreadsheet or have an one drive or a google drive link to your spreadsheet so we can see if there maybe issues.  Good luck, have fun creating your customized plan, and update us with what you have within this thread...

[Mighty Horse]

Thank you for getting back to me so soon.

dfrecore: I’m currently at TESU and my current semester expires at the end of this month. All of those classes listed above are already transferred in. The only new one I’m concerned about is REL 277 since that comes from Straighterline and I’m only concerned about it because I’ve never transferred in a credit from a source that wasn’t a school. As of the end of this month, I’ll have 91 credits and whenever TESU accepts the REL class, it’ll be 94. If you still think I need to write where the classes came from (none were imported from places like study.com) then I’ll update that within 24 hours with a post here. Thank you for your help.

rachel83az: That’s what I was thinking before my meeting but after the meeting I wasn’t so sure. It sounded like a lot of bureaucracy but I found old threads on this site and it looked like people were still able to add a lot of credits without the help from school advisers.

bjcheung77: I want to thank you for your help. You’ve set my mind a little more at ease with some of these suggestions. I’ve been to study.com, straighterline and TESU numerous times but I’ve still been hesitant since my adviser said I needed everything approved first. Also thanks for the CSM suggestion as it also saves me a bit of money

To all: I’m going to copy and paste my proposed classes below and any advice is much appreciated. Also, should I get my adviser’s permission before doing every class (I’m only registered till the end of this month so I’m uncertain if they’d respond after that time) or should I just finish what I can based on my possibilities here?


History Degree Needs Proposal


Quantitative Literacy
CSM BUS 210 Quantitative Methods for Decision Makers


History SH Need 9 UL
Non-Western 3 SH
I’m considering: DSST History of the Soviet Union UL but I’m currently in Ohio and I don’t know if testing centers will be open when I’m ready for the test. Should I instead try BYU even though that’s more expensive? Do any of you have information on how open these places are or do you have to call and hope they don't close?  If so: BYU Tsarist Russia UL


AOS Electives 6 SH
study.com HIS 306 The American Civil War Era UL
study.com HIS 308 Causes and Effects of the Vietnam War UL?
(On Study.com it says lower level but my adviser still recommended it; does that mean it will transfer in as upper level at TESU?)


Electives (need 15 SH)
study.com English 102 American Literature I
study.com English 103: Analyzing and Interpreting Literature
study.com English 301: Non-Western Literature
study.com English 305: Advanced Technical Writing
study.com English 105: College Composition II




English Degree Needs Proposal


Quantitative Literacy
(Same as HIS)


Survey of Lit 6SH
(Same as HIS) English 102 American Literature I
Coopersmith English 201 American Literature 2


Is CLEP American Literature I & II only 3 credits?


Analysis & INT Lit 3 SH
(Same as HIS) English 103


Non Western Lit 3 SH
(Same as HIS) English 301


ENG Electives 18 SH (In progress; currently have 3)
(same as HIS) study.com English 105 College Composition II
BYU Independent Study Writing Creative Nonfiction UL (I saw this on BYU written this way; on the wiki it’s Creative Writing Nonfiction).
(same as HIS) study.com English 305 Advanced Technical Writing UL
study.com English 310: Short Stories
coopersmith Medieval Hispano-Jewish Poetry UL


I think that’s everything aside from the capstone. Let me know if you see any errors or need any further clarifications. Again, I can’t thank you enough for this aid.

[P226mem]

At TESU CLEP American Literature is showing as 6 credits. American Literature LIT-205 American Literature I AND LIT-206, American Literature II
and CLEP analyze and interpret literature is also 6 at tesu. see link https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog/c...am-program

[rachel83az]

The advisors absolutely want you to take as much as possible from TESU itself, so they're going to tell you that you NEED to take a certain TESU class even when it's not actually true. Try to avoid talking to your advisor as much as possible. They are often mistaken or don't quite tell the truth. It's sometimes not possible to avoid all contact with them, but you don't need to talk to them about EVERY transfer you're thinking about. They're just... not going to be super helpful.

RE: DSST - OSU is closed until at least Jan. 4th. https://registrar.osu.edu/testing/index.asp The banner at the top makes it look like it's likely that most testing centers are probably in similar situations. It's possible you might be able to get a test in the spring but who knows. You might want to save that one until later and make plans to just go with a BYU course, just in case. If you're not near OSU, you could Google "DSST testing center <city/county>" and check their websites; but they're probably closed for the time being.

CLEP American Literature is 6 credits: https://www.tesu.edu/academics/catalog/c...am-program But they may use the same testing centers and you might not be able to take the CLEP exam for some time.

You are going to want to keep your enrollment going. Register for and pay for the $50 Medical Terminology TECEP ASAP. If you don't, you're going to lose the ability to continue to transfer in classes and to get evaluations completed. You don't have to take the TECEP. Just pay for it.

[Zardoz]

coopersmith Medieval Hispano-Jewish Poetry UL

I wouldn't do this one tbh. All you get for $200 is a study plan/outline. Caveat emptor.

It's a shame because the source material itself is extremely interesting. If they ever developed this into a proper course, it would be almost mandatory for anybody with a deeper interest in humanities.

[dfrecore]

coopersmith Medieval Hispano-Jewish Poetry UL

I wouldn't do this one tbh. All you get for $200 is a study plan/outline. Caveat emptor.

It's a shame because the source material itself is extremely interesting. If they ever developed this into a proper course, it would be almost mandatory for anybody with a deeper interest in humanities.

Coopersmith does not make courses - they are all just materials for self-study to take an exam.  It's what they've always been.