I Have 124 Credits - Need Help Figuring out the Most Efficient Path for a Degree

[jacobvanhelden]

I was religious on this forum a few years back, was taking a lot of Sophia credits, had an entire degree plan put together, etc..  I ended up attending a post-secondary school in January of 2022 and put these side of my degree on hold.  I understand quite a bit has changed, specifically regarding TESU.  Anyways, I am just hoping to get some feedback and advice.  

A bit about me and what I am looking for... Ultimately, I just want to get a degree as quickly and as affordbale as possible, while leveraging the maximum amount of credits that I already have. I would like for it to be entirely online, as I work full-time and do not have the time or the will to attend classes in person at the moment.  I would like to finish within the year (if doable), and have a few hours a day that I can dedicate towards study.

Regarding my credits, here is what I have thus far: (Will add a comment with this information due to my post being too long)

CONTINUED....

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Sophia Credits: 72
(I won't list grades here, as every course has been completed with over an 84% - most have been over a 90%).  I also included the course code from my original degree plan.

ENC-101 - English Composition 1
COM-209 - Public Speaking
MAT-121 - College Algebra
SOC-101 - Intro to Sociology
PHI-180 - Intro to Ethics
HIS-133 - US History I
PSY-101 - Intro to Psychology
ART-166 - Art History I
COM-299 - Conflict Resolution
COM-231 - Visual Communication
PHI-226 - Ancient Greek Philosophers
PHI-100 - Intro to Religion
HIS-114 - History II
ART-167 - Art History II
ACC-101 - Accounting I
BUS-110 - Business Law
CIS-102 - Introduction to Information Systems
FIN-200 - Principles of Finance
ECO-111 - MacroEconomics
ECO-112- Microeconomics
BUS-101 - Intro to Business
MAN-235 - Project Management
Communication at Work
Introduction to Web Development


ICON Collective - NASM Credits (I believe these are just NA credits): 52
(This is a music production school located in Southern California, and is nationally accredited (school referred me to the National Association of Schools of Music website for the "NASM credits"). It was 4 quarters over the course of 12 months - I will include the passing grade as well as the credits received.)

Q1:
Ableton (2cr, A-)
Ear Training I (2cr, B-)
Groove Theory I (1cr, A-)
Keyboard Lab Techniques I (1cr, A)
Studio Mentor I (2cr, B+)
Music Theory I (2cr, Tested Out)
Studio Techniques I  (2cr, A-)
Synthesis I (1cr, B+)

Q2:
Ear Training II (1cr, B-)
Groove Theory II (1cr, B+)
Music History (2cr, B)
Keyboard Lab Techniques II (1cr, D)
Studio Mentor II (2cr, A-)
Music Theory II (2cr, C+)
Plugins & Signal Processing (1cr, A)
Studio Techniques II (1cr, A-)
Synthesis II (2cr, A-)

Q3:
The Art of Flow (1cr, A-)
Collaboration Sessions (2cr, B-)
Ear Training III (1cr, C)
Groove Theory III (1cr, C+)
Keyboard Lab Techniques III (1cr, D)
Studio Mentor III (2cr, A-)
Music Theory III (1cr, B-)
Song Writing I (2cr, C+)
Studio Techniques III (1cr, B)
Writing Lab I (1cr, B)

Q4:
Music Business I (2cr, B-)
The Collaboration Project (2cr, A)
Keyboard Lab Techniques IV (1cr, D+)
Studio Mentor IV (2cr, A-)
Music Theory IV (2cr, C+)
Song Writing II (2cr, C+)
Studio Techniques IV (2cr, B+)

In Addition to all of these classes, I have taken the 60 hour Real Estate Pre-license Course by Colibri Real Estate and am a license realtor in the state of Montana - I am not sure if that would fulfill any additional requirements for me.

To wrap it up, I don't particularly care what it is that I get my degree in.  I just a degree to open up possible opportunities for future employment.  I am in my mid-20's as well, if that matters. I am still a little bit confused regarding whether or not I will be able to leverage any of the credits received at the post-secondary music school that I attended. It would seem that a lot has changed since I was last active on here, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

[rachel83az]

What are the "NASM credits" from? A quick google shows only results similar to https://www.nasm.org/ and that doesn't have much to do with Music.

[jacobvanhelden]

What are the "NASM credits" from? A quick google shows only results similar to https://www.nasm.org/ and that doesn't have much to do with Music.

Great question! To answer that, I really don't know.  I was forwarding this link by the school.  I guess it is the National Association of Schools of Music. I should have mentioned (and will update the post to reflect this), that the school I had attended is located in Southern California and it is a nationally accredited school as of two years ago I believe.

[rachel83az]

Okay, so NASM appears to be an NA accreditor. So TESU is unlikely to accept them, but it depends on the school and if it had any other accreditation. If any of these are UL, your easiest option may be an Excelsior BS in Liberal Studies.

Otherwise, forget the Music credits and get a degree in something else from either UMPI or TESU. UMPI will be fastest/easiest/cheapest, so long as you're okay with writing academic papers.

Excelsior can be a bit... iffy if one doesn't already have a lot of UL credit.

TESU is a bit in between these days. If the music credits are actually RA, TESU wouldn't be the worst choice.

[bjcheung77]

@jacobvanhelden, I skimmed through your previous threads (all of them), you seem to be stuck at the same place... My suggestion is to continue onward with the credits and apply to the UMPI BABA or the TESU BSBA since the bulk of the gen eds, business core, electives are complete. You need an evaluation completed by both institutions and you then have to decide, taking alternative courses elsewhere for max transfer or doing the competency based option is for you. Please fill in the addendum and template here to give us a better overall overview of your scenario: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

[jacobvanhelden]

@jacobvanhelden, I skimmed through your previous threads (all of them), you seem to be stuck at the same place... My suggestion is to continue onward with the credits and apply to the UMPI BABA or the TESU BSBA since the bulk of the gen eds, business core, electives are complete.  You need an evaluation completed by both institutions and you then have to decide, taking alternative courses elsewhere for max transfer or doing the competency based option is for you.  Please fill in the addendum and template here to give us a better overall overview of your scenario: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Thank you for your response.  I did put the pursuit of my degree on hold to attend this music production school, as it was something that I had been wanting to do for many years. My understanding is that TESU would not accept any of those credits, as it is nationally accredited.  Do you have any recommendations on other schools to investigate in order to leverage all of my current credits?  

As for getting an evaluation - would I need to apply and get accepted to the particular schools in order to have that done?  

Regarding filling out the template - is there anything important that I missed with this post?  I had that post opened for reference as I was writing this one. 

Thank you for your help!

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Okay, so NASM appears to be an NA accreditor. So TESU is unlikely to accept them, but it depends on the school and if it had any other accreditation. If any of these are UL, your easiest option may be an Excelsior BS in Liberal Studies.

Otherwise, forget the Music credits and get a degree in something else from either UMPI or TESU. UMPI will be fastest/easiest/cheapest, so long as you're okay with writing academic papers.

Excelsior can be a bit... iffy if one doesn't already have a lot of UL credit.

TESU is a bit in between these days. If the music credits are actually RA, TESU wouldn't be the worst choice.

When you say "unlikely" - are there any instances in which TESU has accepted NA credits? Additionally, is there any easy way to determine which courses would be UL? I don't believe any of the Sophia courses that I have taken would have been UL.  However, 26 of the NA credits have a 300-400 class code, so I am assuming that those would have been considered upper level courses, correct? If that is the case, do you still think Excelsior would be the best option for that?  Is there any way that I could determine which credits would transfer over without having to apply and be accepted?

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[bjcheung77]

Yes, the addendum is the main thing I'd like to read, as it gives more details on your budget, commitments, study habits, etc. We'll know if a competency based degree offering would be better or a max transfer of credits option. From the looks of things, Excelsior BSLA would be your best bet, UMPI BLS would be second, TESU BALS would be third...

[jacobvanhelden]

Yes, the addendum is the main thing I'd like to read, as it gives more details on your budget, commitments, study habits, etc.  We'll know if a competency based degree offering would be better or a max transfer of credits option.  From the looks of things, Excelsior BSLA would be your best bet, UMPI BLS would be second, TESU BALS would be third...

Here is the addendum.  Let me know if there is anything else that I can add that would be helpful.  I really appreciate the help with this. 

Quick question - why is would a liberal studies be a more efficient route with what I currently have than a BSBA or equivalent?  

Budget: I have about $10k I could put towards this.  I'd like to go the cheapest route possible, but am very open to spending more for easy and fast.  
Commitments: Girlfriend, pet, and work full-time.  I am looking for a remote job which would make this easier.  
Dedicated time to study: I can dedicate 2-3 hours per weekday, and 4-5 hours on the weekends.  Estimate is 20 hours per work towards schooling.
Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal.  I would like to finish within 6-12 months.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Not applicable.

I am content with either test-out, competency based, or a combination of both.  I am a good test taker, and am also more than happy to put in the work for assignments, assessments, etc. I would really like to be able to leverage as many of my current credits as possible. Ideally, I want the least amount of work, as well as the quickest and most affordable route (I know this may not be possible, and am okay with that).  Courses must be online, and I would prefer to continue taking as many Sophia, Straighliner, Study.com, etc courses as possible before having to take actual classes at a college/university.  I am not willing to relocate, I currently live in Los Angeles, and would be open to attending classes in-person there if there is a reasonable option for that. I don't care what my degree is in - I ultimately just want the piece of paper.  I would prefer a business degree of sorts, or a CS degree, but am fine with a LA degree or something else. Speed, difficulty, and cost trumps what the degree is actually in.

[elcastor21]

What are the "NASM credits" from? A quick google shows only results similar to https://www.nasm.org/ and that doesn't have much to do with Music.

I expected to see a reference to this: https://www.nasm.us

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are there any instances in which TESU has accepted NA credits?

Yes, when they are ACE recommended, like Penn Foster, but doesn't seem to be the case here.

[allvia]

What are the "NASM credits" from? A quick google shows only results similar to https://www.nasm.org/ and that doesn't have much to do with Music.

Great question! To answer that, I really don't know.  I was forwarding this link by the school.  I guess it is the National Association of Schools of Music. I should have mentioned (and will update the post to reflect this), that the school I had attended is located in Southern California and it is a nationally accredited school as of two years ago I believe.

What is the name of the school name you earned the credits? NASM (National Association of Schools of Music) is a secondary level accreditation for music programs. It does not define if the credits are NA or RA. Actually, many of the schools that offer NASM programs are RA colleges and universities. It would also be helpful to have the course #s as well, since they will give us some insight on them being LL or UL.  You're here looking for assistance and guidance, but without knowing the the school everyone is just guessing.