Newbie looking for the best option

[rmakings]

Hi all,

First of all, HUGE thank you to the frequent contributors. This site is such a wealth of information.

My specific question is... I'm a gainfully employed professional who probably/maybe doesn't NEED a degree, but would like to check the box for future-proofing purposes. I'd like to do this as efficiently as possible, both with regards to finance and time.

I am employed by a US airline, and would prefer (but by no means even remotely require) a degree in the aviation realm.

I have 32 credits from Embry Riddle to include:

AS121 Private Pilot Ops (5)
ASC101 Aero Science Success (1)
BA201 Principles of Management (3)
FA121 Private Flight (1)
MA241 Calc I (4)
NSC101 Intro to Naval Science (2)
AS221 Instrument Pilot Ops (3)
HON250 Hon Seminar II (3) <-- humanities/global studies
MA242 Calc II (4) <-- awarded credit, but got a D
NSC102 Seapower and Maritime Affairs (3)
WX201 Survey of Meteorology (3)

I have also completed an FAA Aircraft Dispatchers Certificate, which according to TESU is worth 17 credits when coupled with my part 121 training. These would be transcribed as:

AVF-344 (3)
AVF-345 (4)
AVF-361 (4)
AVF-362 (4)
AVF-381 (1)
AVT-306 (1)

Additionally, per TESU my private pilot certificate (worth 6 credits from ERAU, above) is worth 9 through TESU:

AVF-111 (3)
AVF-121 (3)
AVF-113 (3)

By my count, that makes 52 non-repeating credits (assuming 9 instead of 6 for the private).

So how do I transition those credits into a degree? My first choice was to use Embry Riddle Worldwide, which has a 30 credit residency requirement. Unfortunately, they only allow 15 credits by exam - and I would like to use that option as much as possible! They do allow up to 90 credits to be transferred from another school, but I don't know of a way to do that - I had thought credit banking would work - but thanks to the fantastic info on this forum, I see that's not true.

So I'm open to ideas.... main goal - quick, easy, cheap. Thanks in advance for your input!!

[dfrecore]

I am not the expert on this type of degree, but check out the TESU BSAST in Aviation (either Air Traffic Control, Aviation Flight Technology, Aviation Maintenance Technology or Aviation Flight Management). If those won't work because the requirements are very specific, the more general degree where you can still use all of these credits is the BSAST in Technical Studies.

Then you would just need to get your Gen Eds out of the way, which you could easily do via testing, take your Current Trends & Applications Capstone, and pay your $2000 Residency Waiver, and you've got yourself a degree.

Your best bet is to apply at TESU for whichever degree seems the best fit, and then wait for the eval to come through (25 business days). At that point, you can do the what-if scenario on your MyEdison account to see what the other degrees would look like.

[cookderosa]

rmakings sent me this same question via private message, but I'll share my reply here since this comes up a lot.

Thanks Ryan, I came up with the phrase "credit laundering" back in March 2008 and it stuck. What you're trying to do isn't uncommon, students have tried to "launder credit" probably since the 70's. The reason the term fits, is because the intent is to move the credit through an entity that cleans it up and gives it a new name - one accepted by their university- and the lengths that people are willing to try are great. Unfortunately, the likelihood of pulling this off is exceptionally tiny. The reason, is that colleges want credit traced back to the source. When students send credit to a college, it almost always has a "tell" in the way it's documented on the transcript, so when the second college receives the transcript, they will evaluate each course individually.

There is a 100% legal credit transfer option that does work, but not at every school. Many community colleges have articulation agreements with universities. In states where this is required, students can complete an AA or AS at the community college and then the ENTIRE degree is guaranteed transfer- none of the credits are evaluated individually. This is a great way to push through loads of CLEP or in some cases Prior Learning Assessments and other non-traditional credits.

So, in short- unless you're wrapping those CLEP exam credits into a degree that Embry Riddle accepts wholly (there may or may not be that option- you can check) you can expect the 15 credit by exam policy to apply.

EDIT TO ADD: Embry Riddle has articulation agreements, but I can't find a list. On their website go to search and type in "articulation agreement" and also try "Education and Cooperative Agreements" you'll get some help understanding what they are, but you should for sure contact them for a list. Since this is the school you want to attend, this might be worth a little investigation. Good luck!!

EDIT again TO ADD: I had another thought, since most of your credit is in applied science, I had a similar situation I want to share. My applied science credits didn't transfer into a BA, and I couldn't find a BA in culinary arts - so what I did was earned my BA from TESU quickly and cheaply and then picked a graduate program that appealed to me. Bachelor's degrees are at least 120 credits, which means more moving parts. If it gets to be too crazy, you could complete an undergrad via one of the big 3 and then use Embry Riddle for a Master's degree.

[rmakings]

Thank you, both, for you input!

One question I have now, is how does TESU show credit for the FAA certifications? Let's say I want to transfer those in to Embry Riddle, how do I go about doing that?

I wonder if there's any benefit to doing the Associates in Aviation Support from TESU. I think I can complete that awfully quickly.

Thanks again.. Ryan

[rebel100]

Embry Riddle offers credit for FAA licenses Transfer Credit | Embry-Riddle Worldwide

They were the first college to ever send me a letter of acceptance lol.

Charter Oak State definitely offers credit for FAA licenses, your problem there will be a lack of UL credit.

One of the State schools in New Mexico has online aviation courses/degrees that are cheap if you only go full time.

[rebel100]

Think it was ENMU Bachelor of Science in Aviation Science | Physical | Liberal Arts and Sciences | Academics

No idea if they still have the discount.

[cookderosa]

Thank you, both, for you input!

One question I have now, is how does TESU show credit for the FAA certifications? Let's say I want to transfer those in to Embry Riddle, how do I go about doing that?

I wonder if there's any benefit to doing the Associates in Aviation Support from TESU. I think I can complete that awfully quickly.

Thanks again.. Ryan

It doesn't matter.... I'm going to try to explain this using a story, because it's easy once you understand it, but it can seem confusing at first.

Imagine every location you earn credit from gives you an Easter egg. CLEP eggs are red, DSST eggs are blue, ABC Community College eggs are green, etc.

You can put your eggs into a basket and take them to TESU. They will look at each egg, accept / deny each egg, and put the list on a transcript. The color of the egg never changes.

When you pick up your eggs and take them to a different school (let's call that school Embry-Riddle) all of the eggs still have color, so the transcript TESU made for you is irrelevant, ER will evaluate each egg based on its color and decide for themselves. If you left ER and went to University of Hawaii, all the eggs still have their original color even though some/all appear on an ER transcript. Nothing can ever change the color of the egg....except:

The single exception is when an articulation agreement exists. In that case, the eggs you bring into the agreement will all be spray-painted a new color IF (and only if) you graduate with the degree that's part of the the required agreement. The degree is what colors the egg. In that case, all the eggs in your basket are now gold, and the receiving college accepts the whole basket no questions asked- you are golden. (community colleges frequently have articulation agreements with universities in their own state- this is how you can bring in extra CLEP or alternative credit when the university isn't particularly CLEP friendly but the CC is)

Finally, if the university is NOT part of an articulation agreement, the gold paint is washed off and each credit is evaluated again.

LOL, not sure what made me think of eggs...but did that help?

[rmakings]

haha I love the egg analogy! That's fantastic! And very clear, thanks! I know you're tired of explaining the same thing 37 different ways on every post! You deserve an award for your patience!

[cookderosa]

haha I love the egg analogy! That's fantastic! And very clear, thanks! I know you're tired of explaining the same thing 37 different ways on every post! You deserve an award for your patience!

Not at all. I wanted you to understand the nuances of the process so you can get the most efficiency out of it. Yeah!