Online Liberal Arts / Liberal Studies / General Studies degree

[nomaduser]

Hello guys,

What are some of the popular online Liberal Arts, Liberal Studies, General Studies degree that accept Sophia.org, Study.com ACE credits?
I'm looking for solutions outside of the big three.
So I'm on my way to get an online computer science degree. I think that I can still use my ACE credits to get a secondary liberal arts degree along the way.

Thanks

[cerich67]

The Big 3 are Thomas Edison State Univesity (TESU), Charter Oak State College (COSC) and Excellsior College (EC)

All will take big batches of ACE, sophia, study.com credits. COSC recently changed to only accepting 90 credit hours from those sources, TESU and EC will still take everything but cornerstone and capstone. ( I "think EC also has another mandatory 1 CH course, not sure however)

Another to consider is Western Gov Unversity (WGU) if you are planning to accelerate, you can do an undergrad degree there in one term for less than $4,000. If you aren't sure you can do it in one term, you can do a bunch of sophia (as in almost all), have WGU take them and start your term and do what i believe would be somewhere around a third of the credits you would still need in the one 6 month term at WGU.

I went the TESU route, had I really known about WGU I likely would have gone that route. But I didn't and I am 100 CH towards my degree with TESU using Sophia and Study.com having started on May 21st. I will start my capstone in October and be done all requirements for grad by the end of DEc., then graduate in March 2021 with a BSBA. I hope to start a MBA at WGU either Feb or march depending how fast TESU does the grad audit and can get me the letter saying I have finished all requirements for degree.

[Merlin]

Hello guys,

What are some of the popular online Liberal Arts, Liberal Studies, General Studies degree that accept Sophia.org, Study.com ACE credits?
I'm looking for solutions outside of the big three.
So I'm on my way to get an online computer science degree. I think that I can still use my ACE credits to get a secondary liberal arts degree along the way.

Thanks

There are a number of other schools out there that will accept ACE credits, but while they may accept ACE that doesn't mean a lot. You must understand a school's transfer policy, ACE acceptance policies, and its residency requirements. Most colleges outside the Big-3 will require between 30-60 credits of residency. In addition, they may limit the number of ACE credits that they will accept. This can range from a few specific courses to as many as 90 credits. So even if a school does accept ACE credits, few schools will accept 90 ACE credits. So you'll need a mix of RA credits and ACE credits to meet that 90 credit max and you'll take the rest from the school directly.

For example, COSC requires at least 6 credits of residency and will accept up to 114 credits in transfer, but only 90 of those credits can originate from ACE credits, the balance of 24 credits must either come from COSC or from another RA school. On the other hand, WGU requires 30 credits of residency... they will accept up to 90 credits in transfer, but these can any mixture of ACE, NA, and RA credits.

In any case, I'm sure others will have some schools to suggest, but just keep in mind that you're probably looking at having to take at least 10 courses (30 credits) at any college you look at outside the big 3. You won't just be able to transfer in your credits to earn a second degree quickly.

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I will start my capstone in October and be done all requirements for grad by the end of DEc., then graduate in March 2021 with a BSBA. I hope to start a MBA at WGU either Feb or march depending how fast TESU does the grad audit and can get me the letter saying I have finished all requirements for degree.

As a quick off topic FYI, be aware that WGU will not allow you to begin your MBA program until they have the final transcript in hand showing your completed bachelor's degree. They normally need the degree confirmation by the 15th of the month prior to your start term date. They do have a few days of wiggle room on that though. It just means you cannot begin orientation until after the degree has been verified.

I was in the same boat... I finished my courses at TESU in December and had to wait until March commencement for my degree to be awarded. It didn't get awarded until the 21st of March, so but I pre-ordered my transcript and clicked the box asking it to be sent as soon as the degree was awarded. WGU got it on the same day. I made the cutoff by less than 24 hours and was able to begin on April 1st, though I ended up having one less week to complete my orientation because of the delay.

So, I'd recommend you plan for May and hope for April as your start date. There is no way they will allow you to begin in Feb or March unless you already have a prior bachelor's degree from somewhere else.

[cerich67]

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I will start my capstone in October and be done all requirements for grad by the end of DEc., then graduate in March 2021 with a BSBA. I hope to start a MBA at WGU either Feb or march depending how fast TESU does the grad audit and can get me the letter saying I have finished all requirements for degree.

As a quick off topic FYI, be aware that WGU will not allow you to begin your MBA program until they have the final transcript in hand showing your completed bachelor's degree. They normally need the degree confirmation by the 15th of the month prior to your start term date. They do have a few days of wiggle room on that though. It just means you cannot begin orientation until after the degree has been verified.

I was in the same boat... I finished my courses at TESU in December and had to wait until March commencement for my degree to be awarded. It didn't get awarded until the 21st of March, so but I pre-ordered my transcript and clicked the box asking it to be sent as soon as the degree was awarded. WGU got it on the same day. I made the cutoff by less than 24 hours and was able to begin on April 1st, though I ended up having one less week to complete my orientation because of the delay.

So, I'd recommend you plan for May and hope for April as your start date. There is no way they will allow you to begin in Feb or March unless you already have a prior bachelor's degree from somewhere else.

Hmm.. I called WGU and they said that a letter from TESU (direct to WGU)that I had fnsished all degree requirements would suffice even though they usually use a standard verification service that would mean waiting until after degree is conferred.
Oh well.. I'll try and if not, enjoy a break

[Merlin]

Hmm.. I called WGU and they said that a letter from TESU (direct to WGU)that I had fnsished all degree requirements would suffice even though they usually use a standard verification service that would mean waiting until after degree is conferred.
Oh well.. I'll try and if not, enjoy a break

My admissions counselor told me the same thing. But in January when I asked where they should send the official degree completion letter (this is generated at the end of the degree audit), I was told that a letter would not be sufficient and WGU required an official transcript. So I had to wait for 3 more months. It was a bit more annoying since I know that many grad programs will allow provisional enrollment for a single term while waiting on official transcripts. From everything I've seen over the last few years, WGU is super strict about admissions and program entrance requirements, so I doubt the policy has changed since I attended there last year. If they have, that is great news, but I suspect not. Having a bit of a break isn't a bad thing though. It will give you some time to freshen up your accounting, economics, statistics, and finance knowledge on YouTube while you wait.

Of course, this is also one of the things I prefer about WGU. Your degree is conferred within a week of applying to graduate. They send you a digital copy of your diploma within a day or two and your actual diploma arrives about a week after that. Unlike TESU where you have to wait 2+ months (until the next official degree conferral date) to officially graduate after submitting the application. Then you have to wait 2-3 more weeks for your diploma to arrive. In the mean time you're in limbo while you wait... which is particularly aggravating if you're planning to move directly on to grad school.

[ss20ts]

Hello guys,

What are some of the popular online Liberal Arts, Liberal Studies, General Studies degree that accept Sophia.org, Study.com ACE credits?
I'm looking for solutions outside of the big three.
So I'm on my way to get an online computer science degree. I think that I can still use my ACE credits to get a secondary liberal arts degree along the way.

Thanks

Outside of the Big 3 that accepts credits from Sophia:

UMPI
WGU
Purdue Global
CSU Global

Be careful with getting a second degree. Some schools have VERY strict requirements such as 30 ADDITIONAL UL credits AFTER you complete your first bachelor's degree. You may be better off completing both degrees at the same school at the same time. One graduation fee too!

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I will start my capstone in October and be done all requirements for grad by the end of DEc., then graduate in March 2021 with a BSBA. I hope to start a MBA at WGU either Feb or march depending how fast TESU does the grad audit and can get me the letter saying I have finished all requirements for degree.

As a quick off topic FYI, be aware that WGU will not allow you to begin your MBA program until they have the final transcript in hand showing your completed bachelor's degree. They normally need the degree confirmation by the 15th of the month prior to your start term date. They do have a few days of wiggle room on that though. It just means you cannot begin orientation until after the degree has been verified.

I was in the same boat... I finished my courses at TESU in December and had to wait until March commencement for my degree to be awarded. It didn't get awarded until the 21st of March, so but I pre-ordered my transcript and clicked the box asking it to be sent as soon as the degree was awarded. WGU got it on the same day. I made the cutoff by less than 24 hours and was able to begin on April 1st, though I ended up having one less week to complete my orientation because of the delay.

So, I'd recommend you plan for May and hope for April as your start date. There is no way they will allow you to begin in Feb or March unless you already have a prior bachelor's degree from somewhere else.

Hmm.. I called WGU and they said that a letter from TESU (direct to WGU)that I had fnsished all degree requirements would suffice even though they usually use a standard verification service that would mean waiting until after degree is conferred.
Oh well.. I'll try and if not, enjoy a break

What admissions tells applicants and what is reality with the registrar are often 2 different things. This isn't just an issue at WGU. It's an issue at many colleges. Admissions are like salespeople. They want to get you in and some will tell you just about anything.

[nomaduser]

Outside of the Big 3 that accepts credits from Sophia:

UMPI
WGU
Purdue Global
CSU Global

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm looking for programs from brick and mortar universities that will give me a real degree that won't say the degree was earned online.

[ss20ts]

Outside of the Big 3 that accepts credits from Sophia:

UMPI
WGU
Purdue Global
CSU Global

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm looking for programs from brick and mortar universities that will give me a real degree that won't say the degree was earned online.

None of the degrees say they were earned online. Yes the global campuses are online schools. WGU is an online only school. UMPI is a b&m school with an online competency based program.

[cerich67]

Outside of the Big 3 that accepts credits from Sophia:

UMPI
WGU
Purdue Global
CSU Global

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm looking for programs from brick and mortar universities that will give me a real degree that won't say the degree was earned online.

So you view an online degree as not being 'REAL" but want to get one online that you can pass off as "REAL".  That could make the beginning of a great ethics paper.

Plus the field you are looking at CS, are pretty comfy with online stuff in general and in non-gov anyhow will be more impressed by your skills than how you got a RA degree.

But, ultimately, you need to be happy with your choice.

[rachel83az]

Really, I would not pursue a BALS degree once you've got a CS degree. It's just wasted time and money. I am not knocking people who get BALS because that's what they need but a BALS is worth nowhere near as much as a CS degree.