No degree to MBA-HR in 20 months - Nodaclu's Progress Thread

[Nodaclu]

So I thought I would keep a journal/thread both to track my own progress, and for others to follow if they have any interest. 

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Today is December 7, 2017.

As of this date, I have completed 77 semester units toward a Bachelor's Degree. I never completed an Associate's Degree.

Because I will be working full-time as I do this, I want to try and stay somewhat reasonable with my goals and timelines.

I'm a big fan of Study.com's format. At the time of this writing, they are offering a discounted rate on 6 months of course fees paid in advance. By doing this, I'll be able to complete two courses each month at a rate of $149.99/month, which breaks down to $75/class, or $25/unit. 

That's tough to beat, considering how self-contained and all-inclusive Study.com is. So I will be taking advantage of that to complete 36 of my remaining 43 units. 

That will leave 7 units to complete. 3 of those will be my Capstone (I'm completing a BA in Liberal Studies at TESU). The remaining 4 units will be found and completed as quickly and cheaply as possible. (If anyone has any advice on how to complete those last 4 units fast and cheap/free, please let me know!)

UPDATE: Thanks to some early replies to this thread, I already see 3 free units I can take to get to 119:

1. SOPH-0021 - Developing Effective Teams (1 unit) - Sophia
   
2. Cyber 101 - Cybersecurity for Everyone (2 units) - TEEX
   

Now just 1 more...

I anticipate that this will take 8 months to complete in total.

From there, I will (immediately if possible) start into an MBA program with a concentration in Human Resources Management - likely at Patten University, but I'm still open to options and ideas here. I've been in HR since 1999, and at my age (47), it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to change career paths now. 

My goal is to complete an MBA in 1 year, while working full-time. This might be too much to ask, but due to my HR experience potentially making the coursework a bit easier, I'm hopeful that this will end up being realistic.

So by this timetable, I anticipate being able to complete my BALS, and my MBA-HR, in a total of 20 months. Essentially, July 31, 2019 is my goal date. That being said, life happens, and though my ultimate goal is 20 months, I won't beat myself up too badly if it ends up taking 24 months. That, however, is the hard limit in this endeavor. 

I also have a goal for complete both for under $10,000. If I can find those last 4 undergrad units for free, I'll just make it. ($3998 to complete my BALS, and $5988 at Patten to complete my MBA-HR.)

I've attached my TESU BALS plan in case it's helpful to anyone - all approved by TESU with a single exception. TESU placed my completed Study.com REL-101 World Religions class in the Info Literacy category when my degree program was Psych, but for some reason they've moved it into my AOS for the LS program.

I've requested it be moved back so that I have more class options in my AOS, and because there aren't a lot of other interesting options (to me) for the Info Literacy requirement. Since it was in that slot previously, I'm assuming they will do it, so I've adjusted the spreadsheet to reflect that.

I think that's everything for now. I start my next Study.com course first thing tomorrow morning. 

Here we go! 

[Ideas]

Wow, $149.99 is a great deal! And I haven't heard of it.

For those 4 credits, two of the free TEEX courses might do it? There is also the Sophia 1 credit free course.

Look into WGU versus Patten. At WGU, I don't think you get a concentration on your diploma/transcript, but I think I would go with WGU instead of Patten. There's a good thread that I posted in about Patten, WGU, and Hodges.

[quigongene]

http://degreeforum.wikia.com/wiki/Free_S..._of_Credit

and

http://courses.modernstates.org

also, Study.com has a "Guardian Scholarship" for a free 3 months

[Ideas]

Oh yeah, Modern States and the Guardian Scholarship.

I think you can do the MBA in a year

[Nodaclu]

Wow, $149.99 is a great deal! And I haven't heard of it.

For those 4 credits, two of the free TEEX courses might do it? There is also the Sophia 1 credit free course.

Look into WGU versus Patten. At WGU, I don't think you get a concentration on your diploma/transcript, but I think I would go with WGU instead of Patten. There's a good thread that I posted in about Patten, WGU, and Hodges.

Thanks for those free course ideas! I'll check them out.

Here's the Study.com page with the pricing options for monthly, 6 months, and 12 months.

https://study.com/member/manage-membership.html (it appears you have to be logged in to see it)

The full 6 months have to be paid in advance, but it's well worth it for that level of a discount.

I've looked at WGU, but no HR concentration, and I really want that - both because it matches my career path, and because I should be able to complete the HR-based coursework faster due to related work experience and all. 

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http://degreeforum.wikia.com/wiki/Free_S..._of_Credit

and

http://courses.modernstates.org

also, Study.com has a "Guardian  Scholarship" for a free 3 months

Thanks for that link!! 

I've already received and utilized the Guardian Scholarship, so that isn't an option for me unfortunately. But at least it appears that I have a couple of other options.

[Ideas]

The NFA course is not an option anymore. I'm not sure if you can get credit for 2 TEEX. I think so.

[Nodaclu]

The NFA course is not an option anymore. I'm not sure if you can get credit for 2 TEEX. I think so.

Bummer! If I can't do two TEEX courses, surely I can find 1 unit somewhere....

[sanantone]

Why wouldn't he be able to take two TEEX courses? All three transfer in as something different.

[Nodaclu]

Why wouldn't he be able to take two TEEX courses? All three transfer in as something different.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I immediately thought about how TESU might see it as overlap, based on some of the things I've read here about the two History of the Vietnam War classes at Study.com for example.

[Thorne]

Why wouldn't he be able to take two TEEX courses? All three transfer in as something different.

He's got three weeks to wrap them up. All three TEEX classes expire on 12/31 if nothing changes.