RA Credit Requirements for a Second Degree

[OUStudent]

Hi all,

I have a first Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts (with 120 RA credits) from a regionally-accredited Canadian university. 

I would like to obtain a second Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science. I was originally looking at WGU CS, but a lot of you have made compelling arguments against WGU because of the the number of AOS credits that WGU expects. However, I see a lot of comments questioning Study.com's CS courses transferring into TESU after Summer of 2022 (not sure if this has been resolved and SDC is no longer being accepted). I am not in a hurry to make my career change and I am thinking about waiting to see what UMPI's YourPace CS program is like too.

I also know that rachel83az has published an updated double degree plan for BSBA CIS and BACS (thanks to rachel83az and LevelUP!), but the RA credit requirements seem really daunting (and I see a non-zero possibility of ACEI no longer accepting digital transcripts from Finnish universities in the future, plus Oregon State University's registration process for non-degree students in CS courses seems onerous with its many waitlists?). 

I meet effectively 80% of TESU's general education requirements. I have also finished several of the Coursera certificates through the American Dream Academy (Google Data Analytics, Google IT Support Professional, IBM Cybersecurity Analyst). I'd also like to do the SAS Programmer certificate as SAS is used in my current area of work. TESU seems to award closer to ACE recommendations than WGU. I am currently working on completing my high school Pre-Calculus requirements and enrolling in Straighterline Calculus while my knowledge is still fresh. 

From what I understand, in order to earn a second degree in Computer Science at TESU, I have to :

• earn 24 new credits (at a minimum) including a 6 credit capstone, 
  
• complete all the Area of Study credits for CS (45 credits), and 
  
• complete any gen-ed requirements that do not transfer over (I can't be 100% sure that my first degree will meet the line by line requirements for Gen-eds).
  

However, by having a RA first degree though, I believe I'm exempt from the 30 credits of elective courses and exempt from the 30 RA credit requirement. (I'm looking for confirmation on this).

My questions are:

1. By having a first degree of 120 RA credits, am I exempt from having to earn 30 credits from regionally-accredited sources? Or would I need to earn a brand new 30 credits from regionally accredited sources?
   
2. By having a first degree with over 30 elective credits (not applied to major/gen ed requirements), am I exempt from the 30 credits of elective courses?
   
3. Are there any current issues with transferring SDC credits in CS fields to TESU?
   
4. If TESU requires a brand new 30 RA credits for second degree students, doesn't it make more sense to enroll in WGU CS because it would offer a much more linear competency-based pathway to graduating in CS? (Finnish Universities and Oregon State University RA CS credits are much less predictable, even if in theory it would involve fewer course completion requirements). If I
   

[rachel83az]

TESU is not currently in any danger of no longer accepting SDC credits. So, to answer your questions:

1. You will need to have your current Bachelor's degree evaluated. Assuming it's evaluated as equivalent to a US degree, this will cover the RA credit requirement.
2. You will also be waived from having to complete the electives and the gen ed requirements. You would only need to focus on the AOS.
3. No current issues. The advisors were, as usual, incorrect in their statements.You can use the wiki to determine which courses to take.
4. As a Canadian, you might not even be able to enroll at WGU anyway. They only automatically accept US students. In some circumstances, which I believe involves being in certain cities, Canadian students may be accepted. No other nationalities are accepted at this time.

[arad]

WGU accepts Canadians from all provinces except Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories.
Are you looking to get a Master as well OUStudent?

[OUStudent]

TESU is not currently in any danger of no longer accepting SDC credits. So, to answer your questions:

1. You will need to have your current Bachelor's degree evaluated. Assuming it's evaluated as equivalent to a US degree, this will cover the RA credit requirement.
2. You will also be waived from having to complete the electives and the gen ed requirements. You would only need to focus on the AOS.
3. No current issues. The advisors were, as usual, incorrect in their statements.You can use the wiki to determine which courses to take.
4. As a Canadian, you might not even be able to enroll at WGU anyway. They only automatically accept US students. In some circumstances, which I believe involves being in certain cities, Canadian students may be accepted. No other nationalities are accepted at this time.

Thanks for confirming Rachel! I feel that you are right and my first degree should cover the RA requirements. I'm glad it turned out the SDC phase-out was hyperbolic.

I am not too certain on point 2, as my gen eds legitimately don't align that closely with TESU's requirements. For example, I do not meet the 15 credit requirements in Intellectual and Practical Skills as I literally only have 3 out of 15 credits (i.e. only a single 3-credit written communication class and no quantitative literacy class). It is strange thinking about it but universities in Canada do not typically require such a heavy emphasis on communication/quantitative literacy. I anticipate meeting the rest of the gen-eds, save a few that might not transfer following the course-by-course transcript requirements (but I'm willing to just use Sophia.org and appeal for the classes for which I do have syllabi available to make it up I guess).

Earning a Second or Successive Baccalaureate Degree
Students who have earned a baccalaureate degree from TESU or an accredited institution recognized under the Thomas Edison State University Transfer Credit Policy and wish to earn an additional baccalaureate degree must:

• Complete a minimum of 24 credits including the required capstone for the degree. These credits must be in the area of study and/or core of the degree. These credits must be earned after the date the most recent degree, regardless of academic level, was conferred.
  
  
• Additionally, students must complete all other degree requirements as listed in the current Thomas Edison State University Catalog. 
  

I take this to mean that I have to make up any of the missing credits in each of the gen-ed categories through Sophia.org courses. 

WGU accepts Canadians from all provinces except Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories.
Are you looking to get a Master as well OUStudent?

WGU accepts Canadian students but I think the criteria is that you need to be located near a Pearson Testing Centre, so it's more a matter of being near a large city with said testing centre. One challenge is that WGU is not recognized for student aid because of their institutional eligibility for financial aid spat some years ago. I would need to ask WGU to apply once more to get re-designated. I wouldn't mind doing a masters degree in the future, especially the UT Austin MSCS degree. But I do want to get the coursework done for BACS rather than do a conversion masters in the UK for CS, as I only have a small amount of background in CS to date.

[rachel83az]

Thanks for confirming Rachel! I feel that you are right and my first degree should cover the RA requirements. I'm glad it turned out the SDC phase-out was hyperbolic.

I am not too certain on point 2, as my gen eds legitimately don't align that closely with TESU's requirements. For example, I do not meet the 15 credit requirements in Intellectual and Practical Skills as I literally only have 3 out of 15 credits (i.e. only a single 3-credit written communication class and no quantitative literacy class). It is strange thinking about it but universities in Canada do not typically require such a heavy emphasis on communication/quantitative literacy. I anticipate meeting the rest of the gen-eds, save a few that might not transfer following the course-by-course transcript requirements (but I'm willing to just use Sophia.org and appeal for the classes for which I do have syllabi available to make it up I guess).

I know what the catalog says, but I can't remember the last time I heard of a student with a 1st foreign bachelor's degree not getting all gen eds waived. Maybe it does happen that they expect you to do the gen eds anyway, but it's pretty uncommon.

So definitely hope for the best (not having to do gen eds) and be prepared for the worst (having to do gen eds from Sophia/SDC). Don't do any gen eds until you get your evaluation from TESU.