Newbie looking for direction with Charter Oaks

[actg101]

Hi..I've been lurking around this forum for a while, and finally took the plunge to create a user acct and this is my first post. I need some direction as everything seems new to me. I have around 125 credits at my Community college from 15 years ago and have basically enough for an AA. I am looking to finish my BS and eventually get my foot in the door to a grad school of some sort. I have analyzed the COSC plan and it looks like I have the following (if it transfers):

All GE's
Accounting - Financial & Managerial completed at CC
MIS - I took a CIS class in my CC but I don't think this would transfer?
Macroecon
business law

CLEPS:
Management
Marketing
MicroEcon

Classes I would have to take (??)
Financial Management
Strategic Processes Capstone course
Management- Org Behavior
Additional Business Related courses

Based on this, is there a faster route than taking the classes such as testing. I've only been able to match the 3 cleps test w/ the requirements.

Any help on my roadmap would definitely help me. Thank you !

[rebel100]

Click on the green HT links for the different Concentration Plans of Study (CPS) here: Concentrations (Majors) and CPS Forms at Charter Oak State College the linkd will take you to word docs that can be opened and you can see how your existing credits might fit.

With 115 credits you are likely closer to a 4 year Batchelors degree than you might think, especially if your Gen Ed requirements are met. COSC requires 30 hours of upper level credit and I think they only allow 90 credits from a Community College (though they allow unlimited testing credits and will count credits earned at 4 year schools differently).

Once you have done your homework and have an idea of where you are its probably worth spending $75 to apply and have an unofficial eveluation of your credits done in the CPS that you think is best for you....that way an advisor looks at it all and you get a better idea of how the degree plan actually will play out.

Good Luck,
Mike

[actg101]

Click on the green HT links for the different Concentration Plans of Study (CPS) here: Concentrations (Majors) and CPS Forms at Charter Oak State College the linkd will take you to word docs that can be opened and you can see how your existing credits might fit.

With 115 credits you are likely closer to a 4 year Batchelors degree than you might think, especially if your Gen Ed requirements are met. COSC requires 30 hours of upper level credit and I think they only allow 90 credits from a Community College (though they allow unlimited testing credits and will count credits earned at 4 year schools differently).

Once you have done your homework and have an idea of where you are its probably worth spending $75 to apply and have an unofficial eveluation of your credits done in the CPS that you think is best for you....that way an advisor looks at it all and you get a better idea of how the degree plan actually will play out.

Good Luck,
Mike

Hi Mike!

Thank you for your help. I paid the $75 to apply and hopefully get an unofficial evaluation soon. I am scheduled to take the 3 cleps within the next 3 months and I'm planning on finishing the rest of the courses, since I don't see any that I can test out of. I read success stories on this forum all the time, and I must say, it is motivating to know that there is a route that busy professionals can take for accelerated higher education.
Do you have any other recommendations for finishing faster w/in this year? I have completed all the GE requirements including all the literacy and English requirements (1a, b, c, and critical thinking), math including statistics, biology, meteorology, poli science, business law, income taxation , history, anthropology, intercultural studies, psychology, history, arts, music history, philosophy, and all the acctg courses, along with some computer literacy courses. Gosh, I think I took more classes than I should have. Eager to learn and take everything I could, and then I got a job, and it overwhelmed me with travels. I got sidetracked and the rest is history. Any suggestions you can provide would be helpful.

Thank you once again!

[rebel100]

I would be very upfront with the advisor that you want to test out as much as possible. They seem fine with this, but I did feel that they try to first steer you towards a COSC online course (makes sense, they make money when you do it this way).

The difficulty I had is that while I transferred in 120 or so credits, all but six were lower level. So for me the hard part was cobbling together 30 credits at the UL. Remember that your capstone (required) will count as three UL, there are a smattering or UL DSST tests, and the rest have to fit your CPS.

I was able to find the rest of what I needed via independent study courses at Colorado State University Pueblo. Colorado State University-Pueblo > Schedule of Courses COSC allowed me to use financial aid to cover them, and they are only about $425 each not including the books. I have been very pleased with them.

BYU and LSU also offer UL distance courses that COSC will likely accept. for UL you need 300 and 400 level classes.
BYU Independent Study - Online Courses
LSU Independent and Distance Learning

Thats what has worked for me.....Burbuja0512 is the resident COSC expert....i'm just a struggling student there
I'm sure she will be along to chime in.... her degree plan might be closer to what you are looking for as she wound up with a business degree primarily through testing out.

Good Luck,

Mike

[actg101]

I would be very upfront with the advisor that you want to test out as much as possible. They seem fine with this, but I did feel that they try to first steer you towards a COSC online course (makes sense, they make money when you do it this way).

The difficulty I had is that while I transferred in 120 or so credits, all but six were lower level. So for me the hard part was cobbling together 30 credits at the UL. Remember that your capstone (required) will count as three UL, there are a smattering or UL DSST tests, and the rest have to fit your CPS.

I was able to find the rest of what I needed via independent study courses at Colorado State University Pueblo. Colorado State University-Pueblo > Schedule of Courses COSC allowed me to use financial aid to cover them, and they are only about $425 each not including the books. I have been very pleased with them.

BYU and LSU also offer UL distance courses that COSC will likely accept. for UL you need 300 and 400 level classes.
BYU Independent Study - Online Courses
LSU Independent and Distance Learning

Thats what has worked for me.....Burbuja0512 is the resident COSC expert....i'm just a struggling student there
I'm sure she will be along to chime in.... her degree plan might be closer to what you are looking for as she wound up with a business degree primarily through testing out.

Good Luck,

Mike

Mike! That was very useful info. I don't mind taking the online courses since 5-8 weeks is not that much time. Does this sound right: If my capstone counts as 3 and I'm hoping my Acctng and Business Law and microecon courses count for 6-9, My 3 cleps- macroecon, marketing, and management (maybe another 9), I would need another 3-4 online classes to complete? If this is the case, I'm more than happy to take the classes, since I don't mind learning the material that way . Let me know if i'm being too optimistic

Thank you so much for the info!

[rebel100]

You can look at your existing transcripts and see which classes are 300-400 level, there is a good chance COSC will transcribe them that way (though not always). beyond that plug in your courses with similiar sounding courses in the COSC CPS forms.

DId I see an ethics class? Global studies component? College Algebra or higher math? Those are a few of the hidden stumbling blocks. Coolthing is you can maybe find a business ethics class thats UL and kill two birds with one stone....stuff like that.

You may indeed be very close, just something to keep in mind....I have heard that the COSC Business faculty is pretty particular about making you jump through all the hoops to get the degree. Conversely the liberal studies and Organixational Leadership CPS are both pretty loose. Just keep it in mind and approach from that angle with your advisor if you need to. Ask them straight up what the best way to accomplish your goals are....they really do bend over backwards to help you out, but it helps to know what to ask.

[rebel100]

CSU requires 12 weeks to complete a course minimum, they won't grant you credit faster than that even if you finished it quicker. Stinks because I could finish at least two of my current courses in a long weekend if I had the motivation...they are pretty much read the text and regurgitate it in an essay, not really too difficult just time consuming. About $460 not including books.

BYU will let you earn credit in as little as two weeks. PRETTY COOL !!! About $450 without books. A couple BYU classes are just 2 credit hours so careful what your signing up for.

I believe LSU is pretty liberal but I have no first hand knowledge. Seems like they let you finish in 4-6 weeks, someone else may know for sure. Think these are running around $325 without books...again someone else chime in if I'm wrong.

Don't forget straighterline if you need a LL class thay offer they seem to be pretty quick to wrap up and they are CHEAP!!!



Macro, Marketing, and Management are perhaps required of a business major......but I think they are all lower level.

Here is the exam breakdown http://www.charteroak.edu/Current/Academ...r-list.pdf that will tell you which tests count UL, minimal score, etc...

[burbuja0512]

Actg101, I just responded to your pm. It sounds like you're really close to your degree