Learning Counts/PLA update

[FallingWaters]

For those of you who are considering PLA, or LearningCounts.org, here is an update to my situation I posted about here:
http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...s-org.html

I submitted my second PLA - it contained essays and documentation on Hymn Playing, Contemporary Worship, and others that TESC does not have in their database. Todd Siben, the PLA guy at TESC, said he cannot promise that TESC will accept PLA courses that are not listed in their database. However, TESC accepted all of them without question. It was a LOT of writing- 80+ double-spaced pages- and lots of gathering documentation and performing for the video camera. However, the total cost for 24 UL credits in my major was $629. Can't beat that! It was a good experience and I do recommend Learning Counts. Their website and instructions are unhelpful and confusing, but their customer service has been nothing but helpful (with one exception) and fast.

I now have 105 credits- the end is in sight!
-Courtney

[publius2k4]

For those of you who are considering PLA, or LearningCounts.org, here is an update to my situation I posted about here:
http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...s-org.html

I submitted my second PLA - it contained essays and documentation on Hymn Playing, Contemporary Worship, and others that TESC does not have in their database. Todd Siben, the PLA guy at TESC, said he cannot promise that TESC will accept PLA courses that are not listed in their database. However, TESC accepted all of them without question. It was a LOT of writing- 80+ double-spaced pages- and lots of gathering documentation and performing for the video camera. However, the total cost for 24 UL credits in my major was $629. Can't beat that! It was a good experience and I do recommend Learning Counts. Their website and instructions are unhelpful and confusing, but their customer service has been nothing but helpful (with one exception) and fast.

I now have 105 credits- the end is in sight!
-Courtney

This is quite fantastic! Congratulations on nearing your degree completion!

[sanantone]

Did you write 80+ pages for both PLAs or just for the last one?

Congratulations. It's great that you earned so many UL credits for so little money.

[wuzfus28]

Hello,

This is unrelated, however, I couldn't help but notice that you've graduated from Angelo State University with Master of Security Studies. Was it a Thesis or Non-Thesis option? What about the employment opportunities after the graduation. Is it in demand? Thanks a lot.

[sanantone]

Hello,

This is unrelated, however, I couldn't help but notice that you've graduated from Angelo State University with Master of Security Studies. Was it a Thesis or Non-Thesis option? What about the employment opportunities after the graduation. Is it in demand? Thanks a lot.

I'll send you a pm.

[cookderosa]

Courtney awesome news!!!!

I'm confused how they priced this, did they not charge you per credit?

[sanantone]

LearningCounts charges $250 per portfolio. You can earn up to 12 credits in each portfolio; each portfolio can only cover one subject area. The other $169 was for the self-paced, introductory course. The instructor-led course is more expensive.

[cookderosa]

LearningCounts charges $250 per portfolio. You can earn up to 12 credits in each portfolio; each portfolio can only cover one subject area. The other $169 was for the self-paced, introductory course. The instructor-led course is more expensive.

So this is like a back door for less money? Meaning, you're not paying TESC per credit to assess your PLA, you're paying LearningCounts and then it's where - an ACE transcript?

[sanantone]

They switched from ACE to NCCRS. Since NCCRS doesn't issue transcripts, I guess LearningCounts sends one out like Saylor does. It definitely is cheaper than going through TESC, but there isn't a 100% guarantee that their PLAs will be accepted. It's nice to hear that FallingWaters (or Courtney?) has had a good experience with this.

[FallingWaters]

The cost was $250 per PLA, plus the $120 self-paced course. The instructor led course is more expensive and required more interaction. The self-paced course was not at all helpful; perhaps more about the process would've been explained in the instructor led. Most of my questions were immediately answered via email, however.
I do know the cost has gone up as of December; I believe the new cost is $500 per 12 cr PLA.

Yes, LC has an expert in your subject area review the PLA and then grade it (though the grade is not transferred to TESC). If credit is granted based on your grade, LC sends the transcript. Easy process. TESC processed them in two (nerve-wracking) weeks.

I spoke with Todd at TESC extensively before pursuing the LC direction. He made it clear that if the course was not listed in their database there was no guarantee TESC would accept it. I decided to take the chance because of the low cost. If they had not accepted it, I could've used the same paper and documentation to do the PLA through TESC, albeit at a much higher cost, not to mention more time to take the two PLA courses that are required. There is no reason that my work should not have been accepted, however; it was quite thorough both in writing and in documentation.

The 80 pages was combined between both PLA's. They recommend 8-12 pages per 3 credit course; mine was slightly different because some of my courses overlapped (they were successive courses in the same specific subject area).