Program Suggestion & Equivalency Questions...

[dcacosta]

Good Morning All!

What an amazing degree hacking forum you all have created! I thank you all so much for what I have already learned.

OK, so I am going to need a Bachelors Degree to move forward in my current career track...

Your Location: California, United States 

Your Age: 31

What kind of degree do you want?: I work in insurance and risk management, mostly in a management/leadership capacity. So anything relevant to insurance/risk management and/or management/leadership would be great.

Current Regional Accredited Credits: NONE - Never went to college.

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: I have my AINS, AIC-M, and some course from my CPCU which I understand might give me some credit?

CERTS/LICENSES: I hold an adjuster license in about 20 states.

Budget: I have around 10k. As cheap as possible, but want to be done ASAP!
Commitments: Pets, full time job. Working from home, so flexible with my time.
Dedicated time to study: Around 3 hours per day Mon-Fri. 8-10 hours on the weekend.
Timeline: I would like to finish in the next 12-18 months.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Some through work, but not banking on them covering all of my costs.


So my questions:

1. Which degree program do you think would be easiest and fastest considering my relevant experience? I'm currently looking into the BLS in Mgmt from UMPI or the BABA - Mgmt & Leadership. I am all on board for the Sophia route ahead of time. I planned on knocking those courses out and starting the UMPI program in Jan 2024. Any other options I'm not considering?

2. According to this link ( https://f.hubspotusercontent30.net/hubfs...202021.pdf ) some of these courses are ACE eligible. The only course that I have took that hasn't expired so far is the CPCU 500. Any idea if this course might translate into my chosen path?

Anywho, thanks in advance for your responses!

[allvia]

UMPI is a good choice. Since you're starting from scratch (& early career age) you will get a far better ROI if you go for the BABA vs the BLS.  Start with Sophia, all links for the path are on the BABA L&M wiki page - https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UM...egree_Plan

The problem with 'The Institutes' is that they did not participate in the transition when ACE moved their transcript services to Credly; leaving them with no official transcript (aka useless for credit). They used to be a primary recommendation here for Ethics (as it was free) back 'in the day' before the ACE/Credly move in 2020.

[bjcheung77]

@dcacosta, another example would be TESU BSBA, you can get an AOS of your choice. I would transfer all the credits in using ACE/NCCRS options available for the majority of credits (such as the Sophia.org option that was mentioned). You can then do a flat rate to finish off the degree requirements last...

[rachel83az]

Are you a member of The Institutes? If you are a member and you took the courses while they were still valid, you may be able to have them issue a Credly badge. Maybe. The problem isn't exactly that The Institutes refused to move to the new platform, it's that they refused to help any students who weren't members. As far as I can remember, nobody has arrived at this forum since the change who is a member. So we don't know what their real policy is there. It may be that you have no credit. It may be that you have elective credit. It might be worth trying to get in contact with The Institutes if you took multiple CPCU classes that were worth credits.

[allvia]

Are you a member of The Institutes? If you are a member and you took the courses while they were still valid, you may be able to have them issue a Credly badge. Maybe. The problem isn't exactly that The Institutes refused to move to the new platform, it's that they refused to help any students who weren't members. As far as I can remember, nobody has arrived at this forum since the change who is a member. So we don't know what their real policy is there. It may be that you have no credit. It may be that you have elective credit. It might be worth trying to get in contact with The Institutes if you took multiple CPCU classes that were worth credits.

rachel83az is technically correct.  We have not had any active members of 'The Institutes' reach out and tell us how/if they were able to get the Credly badges (needed for transcript credit). If you are an active member with them I would also recommend you reach out to them.  It doesn't matter if they are still available for credit now, what matters is if they were available for credit when you completed them. Of course, if you are an active member with them please do report back here whatever happens with the request to have them added to Credly.

[dcacosta]

Are you a member of The Institutes? If you are a member and you took the courses while they were still valid, you may be able to have them issue a Credly badge. Maybe. The problem isn't exactly that The Institutes refused to move to the new platform, it's that they refused to help any students who weren't members. As far as I can remember, nobody has arrived at this forum since the change who is a member. So we don't know what their real policy is there. It may be that you have no credit. It may be that you have elective credit. It might be worth trying to get in contact with The Institutes if you took multiple CPCU classes that were worth credits.

rachel83az is technically correct.  We have not had any active members of 'The Institutes' reach out and tell us how/if they were able to get the Credly badges (needed for transcript credit). If you are an active member with them I would also recommend you reach out to them.  It doesn't matter if they are still available for credit now, what matters is if they were available for credit when you completed them. Of course, if you are an active member with them please do report back here whatever happens with the request to have them added to Credly.

I am still a member as I am currently enrolled in one of their courses. I will call them on Monday to see what they are able to do. Thank you for the suggestion!

[rachel83az]

Let us know if you manage to get a Credly badge or are otherwise able to get transferable credit. I'm incredibly curious because they currently have 25 ACE-recommended courses. https://www.acenet.edu/National-Guide/Pa...Active%22) Some of these were created (or renewed) within the past few months. So they should have some proper credit-granting process ironed out by now. Hopefully, you'll be able to reach someone who is able to assist you.

[bjcheung77]

@dcacosta, With the cash/tuition reimbursement and the commitments/time you have, practically any degree choice would fit for you. You need to review the degrees available from several institutions and decide which one is for you. Then take the appropriate ACE/NCCRS credits that go towards the degree, if you haven't decide on the degree yet, start thinking while you accumulate credit that will work for those institutions. You can decide when you have 30, 45, 60 or whatever ACE credits before you enroll, the catch is to make sure these credits are transferable to each and every institution, either into their general education or electives areas... Here's an example from Sophia.org https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/So...lency_List

[dcacosta]

Let us know if you manage to get a Credly badge or are otherwise able to get transferable credit. I'm incredibly curious because they currently have 25 ACE-recommended courses. https://www.acenet.edu/National-Guide/Pa...Active%22) Some of these were created (or renewed) within the past few months. So they should have some proper credit-granting process ironed out by now. Hopefully, you'll be able to reach someone who is able to assist you.

Sorry for the late response but I was able to get in touch with The Institutes and the confirmed that they don't partner with Credly for this purpose. They have a way of sending an official transcript (https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2449883/T...t-Form.pdf), but the lady wasn't able to confirm how it would be accepted. She referred me back to the school. Is there something else I should be mentioning to them to get an appropriate answer? I can call back if need be.