Online degrees that are learning disability friendly?

[joy_d]

Looking for advice that may be a bit out of the ordinary. I'm helping a nontraditional adult learner make a plan to return to college, and I'm looking for the most user-friendly and straightforward options - NOT necessarily the cheapest and/or fastest.

The initial goal is a bachelor's in psychology or related field, and the end goal is a master's in counseling with licensure. This person has been out of school for years and has a trade school diploma, but will essentially be starting from scratch. Fully online and asynchronous (at least for the bachelor's) is a must, as they have full-time family responsibilities and a job. However, technological literacy is a barrier, and every new platform they have to learn is a significant obstacle. Everything needs to be paid for with federal aid.

Competency based programs seem ideal, because they allow for focusing on a single class at a time without unreasonably slowing your progress. But I think ease of use/design of the online portal might be a bigger factor, if there are course-based programs that do this well. It looks like both Walden and Capella would offer the opportunity to get both degrees at the same school. Thoughts or experiences with these programs and how well they might work out for someone with learning disabilities? Other suggestions or schools to avoid?

Also considering factors that limit the executive functioning burden as much as possible, such as programs that include textbooks, have a reputation for customer service, offer mentorship or student support services, etc. 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[rachel83az]

Capella has a bad name and (IIRC) does NOT allow you to access the competency-based program until you complete a certain number of regular classes with them. I don't think it meets the requirements you outlined.

I can't say anything especially good or bad about Walden's undergrad programs. I know some people here have done graduate work through them. For a Bachelor's degree, they may be good, they may not be good.

I also don't think either can be fully paid for without hefty student loans, which I am hesitant to recommend.

Instead, what I will recommend is a BA in Criminal Justice from UMPI. We know from past experiences that UMPI is very willing to work with students who have some sort of disability. Before applying, the student will need:

Biology 101L from Study.com
A foreign language - Spanish at Sophia is recommended unless student is fluent in another language OR can easily take a foreign language from a local CC.
At least some GEC (gen ed) requirements met via Sophia. See https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...quivalents

Sophia and Study.com are NOT covered by financial aid. However, the cost for these classes is only going to be about $200 for Sophia + $300 for Study.com. Study.com can be skipped, but the UMPI science class it replaces may be very frustrating/demotivating even for students without a learning disability. Otherwise, with financial aid, the out-of-pocket cost for UMPI should be nothing, with no student loans needed. No textbooks are needed. Once in the UMPI system, everything is included.

The biggest downside of UMPI is that each class is finished with a single paper or a project, with very few exams. If writing is also difficult, this may not be a good option. However, I do believe it is also less writing than degrees from other competency-based programs like Walden or Capella. And, as said, UMPI has already proven themselves willing to work with students who need various accommodations.

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If the student is a Christian, there is a 2nd option that might work. https://kairos.edu/ They have a single Bachelor's degree that then continues on (if desired) to a Master's in Counseling. The Master's in Counseling will not work for all states and inquiries would need to be made if the student is not in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, or Nebraska. https://kairos.edu/academics/programs/ma...ounseling/ They are also a new school and we don't know how willing they are to work with students who have a learning disability or who otherwise need accommodations.

If Kairos is chosen, no alternate credits would be needed. Just take everything at Kairos.

[bjcheung77]

@joy_d, Welcome to the board... In addition, you may want to provide more details as to the commitments and other pertinent information from the template and last post addendum here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works | Another example you may want to investigate further would be this program from a partner and SNHU https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...e-Provider

Frankly speaking, invest in a second monitor for multi-tasking and searching for content within course material provided.  I would start getting credits from CSM, Sophia.org, Study.com and work towards those courses that will transfer into the Bachelors, essentially 90 or so credits can be applied using the same credit providers listed.  You basically need an action plan to get started and to follow through, so create a spreadsheet for reference and tracking purposes.

[allvia]

What state is the person looking to become licensed in to practice counseling ('end goal is a master's in counseling with licensure')? The requirements to do counseling can vary greatly from state to state, so the state would likely impact the recommendations for degree options.

[ss20ts]

What kind of learning disability? UMPI has a wonderful support staff for people with disabilities. This is not true of all schools especially online programs. UMPI is mostly papers. Depending on your major, it can be all papers.

[dfrecore]

I'm voting UMPI, via Sophia and Study.com; Do 1 month at Study.com for Biology w/lab, and then American Government (total cost is $268). Then, do as much as you can via Sophia to gather up credits - obviously you should only do what is affordable, meaning maybe a single 4-mo membership for $299.

Then, make the switch to UMPI, where it will be fully covered by Pell grants if they qualify. This not only gets you a degree for a great price, but it gets you 30 graded credits.

I am not going to recommend any particular degree there - a BLS is fine, as is a History, English, PoliSci or CJ degree. Since you're starting from scratch, it doesn't matter that much. A BLS will let you bring in the most free electives though, so give that some thought.

[joy_d]

Thanks for the suggestions! The final decision is Sophia and UMPI for a BLS. They got started on Sophia today and it's working out great so far.

[rachel83az]

Great! I'm glad that they're doing well with Sophia.

Don't let them apply to UMPI until they've been able to complete as much as is realistically feasible from Sophia & Study.com. That varies from person to person, but many students are able to get pretty close to 90 credits. If you apply before finishing elsewhere, you need to get permission to transfer in future credits. This is usually not a problem, but could be a serious complication for this person.