Looking for guidance / degree plan

[willgus]

Hey everyone, I am seeking help with degree planning. I own an eCommerce store and thus have plenty of free time. I want to get a degree as a backup plan in case things go south and I have to go look for a job; with all the free time, now's the time to finally get/finish a degree of some type. The list of classes below are from an IT program a few years back. What appeals to me most are business, IT, history, poli sci.

I enjoy writing papers more than exams/quizzes.

Thank you!

Your Location: California, USA
Your Age: 35
What kind of degree do you want?: Bachelors
RA Credits:  ~48

English Composition I - ENG 101
English Composition II - ENG 102
Paleoanthropology  - ASM 246
Biology (Lab) - BIO 101
European History - HST 102
Spanish I - SPN 101
Networking 2 - NET 102
Intro to HTML- Web 111B
Geology I - GEO 101
Public Speaking -  COM 225
Macroeconomics- ECO 201
Business Calculus - MAT 210
College Math 2 - MAT 108
World Music - MUS 218
Statistics- MAT 217


Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 26 (Sophia)
Art History I
Art History II
IT Career Exploration
Introduction to Information Technology
Environmental Science
The Essentials of Managing Conflict
Conflict Resolution
Ancient Greek Philosophers
Introduction to Ethics
U.S. History I

Any certifications or military experience? No
Budget: $5K
Commitments: Full time job and family.
Dedicated Time to Study: My work allows for a lot of free time, so around 3 to 5 hr/day + weekends.
Timeline: I would prefer to get it done under 1 year.
Tuition Assistance/Reimbursement: None

Thank you everyone!

[Insert Name]

It looks like everything you are saying lines up with UMPI to a T. You have a foreign language. You prefer papers over tests. Your budget. Your interests. Your available time. You already have English Comp 2 done. I don’t know the process exactly for UMPI, but I know that they advise using the plans on the wiki to knock out as much as you can before applying, because it’s a little bit more of a process to transfer in courses after you are accepted. Take a look though. From what I understand, it is sort of like Sophia in that you pay for a term and take as many classes as you can in that term. I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t line it all out and be a candidate for a 2 term, or even a 1 term (if you work fast) UMPI grad.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Un...esque_Isle

[rachel83az]

I would suggest possibly either a BSBA Marketing from TESU or a different BABA from UMPI. Marketing fits well with your current situation and would look good on a future resume. TESU does have more exams than UMPI does, so that might not work very well for your needs.

At UMPI, the Marketing classes are supposedly a LOT more work than the other business classes, so I would probably go with either Supply Chain Management, Project Management, or Management & Leadership. It looks like you have most of the GEC requirements met already. I would make a spreadsheet and start plugging your classes in where they look like they'll go. You can use https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents as a guide for the GEC

Once you have your spreadsheet completed, you'll be able to determine which, if any, additional classes you should take before starting at UMPI.

[dfrecore]

There are pros and cons to different schools, and different degrees; you want to make the most of the credits you have, while getting the degree you want/need. You did not specify a degree, so I'll throw a few things out there.

Not sure why it's assumed you want a business degree, since you have very few business courses completed, and this will make it harder/take longer to complete a degree, when there are some possibly better options.

I did degree plans for all 3 schools, and here's what I found:

1) TESU - BSBA in CIS - you still have 75cr to complete, mostly in the Business Core and AoS.

2) EU - BPS in Business/Management - only 52cr to complete, mostly in the major, and your UL's to do.

3) UMPI BABA - 75cr to complete

4) UMPI BLS - 48cr to complete

My vote is going to be either of these if you don't need a business degree:
1) EU BPS - a more solid choice in terms of business courses you take (15 of them)
2) UMPI BLS - only take 6 business courses, but the minors have nice names

If you definitely need a business degree, then you can decide between EU, TESU, and UMPI. They are all solid choices; they're all within your budget. I would say that UMPI's GEC is always going to be harder to complete, except that you have the hardest parts already done (lab science and foreign language); TESU's GE just needs Diversity and Civic Engagement; EC's GE is done except the UL you need. TESU has that CIS concentration that you might like, although they also have Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Finance - things you might have an interest in. EC will have a General Business concentration, which is fine. UMPI has Supply Chain, which may interest you, or others.

So it's just a matter of deciding if you need a business degree or not, and then which school is your best fit.

[sarahmac]

There are pros and cons to different schools, and different degrees; you want to make the most of the credits you have, while getting the degree you want/need.  You did not specify a degree, so I'll throw a few things out there.

Not sure why it's assumed you want a business degree, since you have very few business courses completed, and this will make it harder/take longer to complete a degree, when there are some possibly better options.

I did degree plans for all 3 schools, and here's what I found:

1) TESU - BSBA in CIS - you still have 75cr to complete, mostly in the Business Core and AoS.

2) EU - BPS in Business/Management - only 52cr to complete, mostly in the major, and your UL's to do.

3) UMPI BABA - 75cr to complete

4) UMPI BLS - 48cr to complete

My vote is going to be either of these if you don't need a business degree:
1) EU BPS - a more solid choice in terms of business courses you take (15 of them)
2) UMPI BLS - only take 6 business courses, but the minors have nice names

If you definitely need a business degree, then you can decide between EU, TESU, and UMPI.  They are all solid choices; they're all within your budget.  I would say that UMPI's GEC is always going to be harder to complete, except that you have the hardest parts already done (lab science and foreign language); TESU's GE just needs Diversity and Civic Engagement; EC's GE is done except the UL you need.  TESU has that CIS concentration that you might like, although they also have Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Finance - things you might have an interest in.  EC will have a General Business concentration, which is fine.  UMPI has Supply Chain, which may interest you, or others.

So it's just a matter of deciding if you need a business degree or not, and then which school is your best fit.

"Not sure why it's assumed you want a business degree" - I agree, particularly since OP only listed business as one of their interests along with IT, Poli Sci and History.

The UMPI Your Pace History and Poli Sci degree remains an option. Whether OP specialized in history or politics, the major is "smaller" than the BSBA in terms of number of classes. Since you need 30 credits at UMPI anyway it would be fairly easy to fit the needed classes into the needed number of credits. OP should finish US History II on Sophia if they still have a subscription though. 
--
For the history concentration, there are 48 credits total, of which OP has completed 6 leaving 42 remaining:

Core
World Civilisation I
World Civilisation II
US History I - done
US History II
UL History Elective (United States)
UL History Elective (non-Western)
UL History Elective (pre-Modern)

Poli Sci Courses
American Government
Introduction to Political Thought

6 CR Foreign Language
Elementary Spanish 1 - done
Elementary Spanish 2

15 CR Upper Level History Electives

Provided OP has a Sophia subscription still, I would do US History II and then use Study.com to do Spanish II, American Government, and Introduction to Political Thought in one month, along with any remaining Gen Eds Sophia doesn't cover (pretty sure the Gen Eds are done though?).

Then at UMPI OP would only have to do the World Civ I and II and electives (i.e. the 30 credits needed at UMPI anyway), all papers or powerpoints, no exams. The politics concentration is very similar, just with politics rather than history electives (and many classes are cross-listed in any case).

[bjcheung77]

@willgus, you can always do an associates and bachelors combo.  Here's an example, Pierpont BOG AAS with Info Systems emphasis using Coursera/TADA.  Ladder up to UMPI BLS triple minor in Management, MIS, Project Management, this method would hit your Business and IT interests, if you need to add more History/Political Science courses, you can only after you make sure you have all your requirements met with the triple minor.  If you have enough free electives for History/Political Science, you can take some courses towards the degree for interest and completing the requirements, you don't have to finish a minor in those. Heck, if you resourcefully plan this, you can add UMPI AALS with no emphasis, just have it to hold your History/Political science courses and you'll have a second associates.

[willgus]

Thank you everyone. Y'all very generous! I like the UMPI BLS or BABA an the TESU BSBA options. I also have to look into this triple minor thing, seems like a great option, seems like I can have my cake and eat it too. One thing though: is there a general perception that a BLS is better than a BABA or vice-versa? I'm going to research all options (lots of terms and options here that I don't understand), create a spreadsheet and post back here my findings.

Again, thank you so much! I'll be back with a plan.

[rachel83az]

A BLS is a check the box degree. It shows you have a degree, but it's nothing special. This works great for some people, but wouldn't be helpful for others. A business degree can sometimes be similar, but not quite. It is a more specialized degree, so it can be more useful in certain circumstances. Job postings will sometimes be searching for someone who has a business degree, but job listings looking specifically for a Liberal Studies/Liberal Arts degree don't exist. You have to look for job postings that want "any" degree.

A lot of this is also up to personal marketing. With the right attitude, it doesn't matter as much what degree you have, so long as you can show that you have a legit degree. That said, pick the degree that will best fit your current and future needs. If you think you might possibly want an MBA in the future, get a business degree. If you don't have any specific plans, a Liberal Studies degree might work just as well. If you don't want business OR liberal studies for whatever reason, go for the history/poli Sci degree at UMPI.

[allvia]

Thank you everyone. Y'all very generous! I like the UMPI BLS or BABA an the TESU BSBA options. I also have to look into this triple minor thing, seems like a great option, seems like I can have my cake and eat it too. One thing though: is there a general perception that a BLS is better than a BABA or vice-versa? I'm going to research all options (lots of terms and options here that I don't understand), create a spreadsheet and post back here my findings.

Again, thank you so much! I'll be back with a plan.

Go for the business degree.  In your case it will be a better fit not just if you 'need it' later, but the courses you'll take will likely help you in the business you own business now.

[dfrecore]

My vote is generally the fastest option. There's nothing that says you can't go back and learn things you need later if you want to - just because your degree doesn't include accounting, for instance, doesn't mean you can't learn it on your own if you want to later. Everything does NOT have to be about a degree.