If I transfer OTHM Diploma into US University, will they be counted as RA credits?

[lucillegyl]

Recently I’ve searched and read some previous threads regarding OTHM/ATHE diploma.
 
My question is: If I transfer OTHM/ATHE Level4/5/6 Diploma in Information Technology via WES into US Universities (such as TESU/UMPI/WGU etc.), will the OTHM/ATHE Level4/5/6 Diploma be counted as RA credits in TESU/UMPI/WGU final transcript?
 
The reason I plan to do this is that the OTHM Level4/5/6 Diploma is relatively cheap and I really need more cheap RA credits in my bachelor transcript for my future graduate school application in US.

[nyvrem]

if you are going to do OTHM/ATHE Level 4/5 diplomas, why don't you go for a top up degree from the UK after that?

then proceed to apply into graduate school in the US?

I did this experiment couple of years ago to test if it'll work and it did.

https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?thr...ost-562357

I got accepted into all the US graduate schools I applied into - I never took up any offer.

in any case, just getting your level4/5/6 modules evaluated by WES will come out as RA credits that will transfer into TESU/etc. where will it fit into their degree program - I'm not sure.

[lucillegyl]

if you are going to do OTHM/ATHE Level 4/5 diplomas, why don't you go for a top up degree from the UK after that?

then proceed to apply into graduate school in the US?

I did this experiment couple of years ago to test if it'll work and it did.

https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?thr...ost-562357

I got accepted into all the US graduate schools I applied into - I never took up any offer.

in any case, just getting your level4/5/6 modules evaluated by WES will come out as RA credits that will transfer into TESU/etc. where will it fit into their degree program - I'm not sure.

The reason I plan to transfer to US university is that I prefer a bachelor from US instituions than from UK institutions as I might plan to look for a job in US after my bachelor/master graduation (undecided yet). In my opinion, a US bachelor might be more useful than a UK bachelor when I apply for jobs in US.


Thank you very much for your suggestion. A UK top-up bachelor + a US master is also a fine choice (this might be my back-up plan). While currently I still prefer a US bachelor + a US master (or a US bachelor then look for a job in US) if possible. 

I saw that you sent both of the transcripts of University of Derby and Oxford certs to WES together, so the evaluation result shows "bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution". I think the "regionally accredited institution" in the evaluation result mainly is because of your 3-year bachelor degree from University of Derby.
So my question would be: if I don't have a degree to be evluated with my OTHM/ATHE diploma together, if I only send my OTHM/ATHE diploma to WES for evaluation, will these OTHM/ATHE credits still be counted as RA credits?

---

if you are going to do OTHM/ATHE Level 4/5 diplomas, why don't you go for a top up degree from the UK after that?

then proceed to apply into graduate school in the US?

I did this experiment couple of years ago to test if it'll work and it did.

https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?thr...ost-562357

I got accepted into all the US graduate schools I applied into - I never took up any offer.

in any case, just getting your level4/5/6 modules evaluated by WES will come out as RA credits that will transfer into TESU/etc. where will it fit into their degree program - I'm not sure.

Another question is: when you mentioned “I spent the next 2-3 years knocking out module by module for Derby until I finished the whole thing back in 2019” in your original thread in your above link, do you mean that at that time you were studying courses from Derby directly or you were studying courses from OTHM/ATHE then transfer them into Derby? I just want to make sure my understanding is correct.

[davewill]

In general, if the school accepts the transfer credits, they are treated as if they were transferred from an RA institution. Certainly TESU will in that they will still accept 90 alt credits as well.

One thing you should understand is that each institution will make their own determination. For example, let's say TESU accepts your credits and you graduate. A school you apply to for a master's will have to decide on their own whether those credits will count for fulfilling prerequisites and how they count towards your GPA, for example. The same if you decided to go to UMPI for a second bachelor's. They would look at your WES report and make their own determination. What TESU put on their transcript would carry no weight.

In point of fact, if one of these schools takes them for your bachelor's, I'd expect little issue when applying to grad school.

[bjcheung77]

@lucillegyl, It's great you're asking questions, you have three threads created and none of them have the addendum and template details, thus, there is no real overview of what you're trying to do and what you bring to the table, last but not least, it's not showing a picture of your scenario.

It'll be hard for people to provide you advice as all we can do is 'answer' each question you have presented. I think it's a better idea to do the template, we can provide you your best option for degree/institution, as an example, you're in Asia and not a US citizen or PR, then you can't enroll at WGU, they won't be an option.

Addendum and Template Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

[nyvrem]

I saw that you sent both of the transcripts of University of Derby and Oxford certs to WES together, so the evaluation result shows "bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution". I think the "regionally accredited institution" in the evaluation result mainly is because of your 3-year bachelor degree from University of Derby.
So my question would be: if I don't have a degree to be evluated with my OTHM/ATHE diploma together, if I only send my OTHM/ATHE diploma to WES for evaluation, will these OTHM/ATHE credits still be counted as RA credits?

Another question is: when you mentioned “I spent the next 2-3 years knocking out module by module for Derby until I finished the whole thing back in 2019” in your original thread in your above link, do you mean that at that time you were studying courses from Derby directly or you were studying courses from OTHM/ATHE then transfer them into Derby? I just want to make sure my understanding is correct.

I cannot guarantee WES will show you OTHM/ATHE will come out as RA credits - which was why I recommend you to take a top up degree from UK to finish a whole degree from UK since that guarantees that you will have an equivalent of an RA degree. 

On a side note - I have GCSE A levels - and got them WES evaluated. Those came back as RA credits as well. So there might be a high chance OTHM/ATHE will come back as RA. The only way to know is for you to do it yourself.

I took courses from Derby directly. I only took them when my company had funding to use hence I took a longer time to finish everything. 

My progression was 

1) Take Advance diploma from Oxford
2) Transferred into Top Up degree from Derby
3) Graduate and submitted everything to WES

So for your progression, I would recommend you to do something like

1) Take level 4/5 OTHM/ATHE 
2) Transfer into a Top Up degree program from UK
3) WES evaluation 
4) Apply into US Uni for graduate program

[bjcheung77]

That's what I would do as well if OP was open to UK institutions instead of the ones here in the US, it really depends on the student, I have many students that favor the institutions of specific countries in the following order: US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, then the EU/EHEA countries where they provide the 'cheaper' tuition for residents of the EU/EHEA region that follow the Bologna Process.

In brief... To answer the question, it depends on the NACES and AICE members you get the evaluation from. Generally, they will all provide an RA equivalent degree or diploma, credits, etc. Thus, the answer is a Yes, these will count towards the RA requirements at TESU for example, or any other institution that requires RA equivalent classes to be transferred instead of CLEP/ACE/NCCRS.

---

Update: Here's an option, for TESU, take 15 credits through TECEPs, then do a flat rate of 15 credits, transfer the rest in. For UMPI, take all Sophia.org, then complete the residency credits. It also depends on your cost, energy, time, you want to spend getting the RA credits in the case of TESU or for UMPI, the residency credits all fall under the institution, you can send in all ACE credits for both institutions, and for TESU, they accept NCCRS as well.

Example, it costs $780 for 5 TECEPs, a flat rate of $4299, $5079 is the total for the credits, you need to add the cost of application/grad fees, alternative credits, etc. If you want a dual degree, add another cost for the second capstone. Essentially, you can get a dual degree for roughly $7K, a BACS/BSBA combo. For UMPI, you can do a double major, such as a BA & BABA with different concentration, it'll be similar, but will be at least 3-4 sessions $4.5-6K.

Going the UK route, you get the Level 4/5/6 certs then complete the Bachelors Top Up, your cost for the certs alone are probably 2500 BP, plus the top up, which may be much more than going the US route by itself, it depends on your location, UK/EU/EHEA regions would be cheaper. If you're 'local', you'll be paying much more than the advertised pricing.

[lucillegyl]

@lucillegyl, It's great you're asking questions, you have three threads created and none of them have the addendum and template details, thus, there is no real overview of what you're trying to do and what you bring to the table, last but not least, it's not showing a picture of your scenario.  

It'll be hard for people to provide you advice as all we can do is 'answer' each question you have presented.  I think it's a better idea to do the template, we can provide you your best option for degree/institution, as an example, you're in Asia and not a US citizen or PR, then you can't enroll at WGU, they won't be an option.

Addendum and Template Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Thank you for your reminder. I am working on it now and will provide a picture of my scenario later.  :-)

---

That's what I would do as well if OP was open to UK institutions instead of the ones here in the US, it really depends on the student, I have many students that favor the institutions of specific countries in the following order: US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, then the EU/EHEA countries where they provide the 'cheaper' tuition for residents of the EU/EHEA region that follow the Bologna Process.

In brief... To answer the question, it depends on the NACES and AICE members you get the evaluation from.  Generally, they will all provide an RA equivalent degree or diploma, credits, etc.  Thus, the answer is a Yes, these will count towards the RA requirements at TESU for example, or any other institution that requires RA equivalent classes to be transferred instead of CLEP/ACE/NCCRS.

---

Update: Here's an option, for TESU, take 15 credits through TECEPs, then do a flat rate of 15 credits, transfer the rest in.  For UMPI, take all Sophia.org, then complete the residency credits. It also depends on your cost, energy, time, you want to spend getting the RA credits in the case of TESU or for UMPI, the residency credits all fall under the institution, you can send in all ACE credits for both institutions, and for TESU, they accept NCCRS as well.

Example, it costs $780 for 5 TECEPs, a flat rate of $4299, $5079 is the total for the credits, you need to add the cost of application/grad fees, alternative credits, etc.  If you want a dual degree, add another cost for the second capstone. Essentially, you can get a dual degree for roughly $7K, a BACS/BSBA combo. For UMPI, you can do a double major, such as a BA & BABA with different concentration, it'll be similar, but will be at least 3-4 sessions $4.5-6K.

Going the UK route, you get the Level 4/5/6 certs then complete the Bachelors Top Up, your cost for the certs alone are probably 2500 BP, plus the top up, which may be much more than going the US route by itself, it depends on your location, UK/EU/EHEA regions would be cheaper. If you're 'local', you'll be paying much more than the advertised pricing.

Thank you very much for your advices. They are very useful to me. I really appreciate them.
 
After some research into OTHM/ATHE certificate and UK degrees, I think I might want to go with TESU instead of UK degree route.
 
I plan to do BA in CS + Maths in TESU; and if I have more time/energy, I might add one more BSBA degree and some certs into my semester in TESU.