Recommend a Path

[Specter]

All -

I've done a lot of reading and looking here for the past few years, but am finally ready to make the jump into getting this done. (Have the money saved and ready to go). I am basically looking for the easiest way to complete my Bachelor's degree. I am currently in an executive level position, and if I want to continue to rise, the board would not approve my advancement until I have the degree box "checked" off. I have looked through this thread and a lot of people talk about which degrees are the most cost effective, and while of course I care about the cost, my primary concern is being able to push through the degree as fast as possible. I do live in NJ, which makes me think TESU may be the best option but figured everyone here could help guide me.

Past experience:

27 FEMA Courses Completed

Rowan University Courses with C or better from 2006
- College Composition 1 - 3
- Advanced College Chemistry (with Lab) - 4
- Intro to Computer Programming - 3
- Microeconomics - 3
- US History 1 - 3

BOMI Courses
- Budgeting and Accounting
- Environmental Health and Safety Issues
- Law and Risk Management
- Real Estate Investment and Finance
- The Design, Operation, and Maintenance of Building Systems, Part I
- The Design, Operation, and Maintenance of Building Systems, Part II
- Asset Management
- Fundamentals of Facility Management

All of the BOMI courses were listed as 2 ACE credits - I have to find the link that showed what they recommended they were ACE approved for (upper level lower level etc).


Depending on timeline, I would be okay with getting my associates along the way. I'd really like to complete it as quickly as possible. As far the degree, while not critical I am in the Engineering Management field related to Facilities, so anything Business / Engineering is a pro.

Let me know your thoughts and the easiest path to completion.

[Ideas]

Do you care what the degree is in?

Do you plan to do Prior Learning Assessments at all?

COSC takes FEMA credits for free.

[Specter]

If there is a significant difference in workload, what the degree is in isn't overly important. Of course any degree that would have a correlation to Engineering or Business would have a better appearance on a resume.

I'm doing a search through to find information on PLA's. I saw the Kaplan Course (seems like a course on how to get credits for PLA). If there is a definitive guide on PLA's please let me know. I would think some of my experiences should be able to correlate into credits.

[dfrecore]

So the problem with the BOMI courses and a business degree at TESU is that they don't really "fit" into a BSBA. Almost all of those credits would go away. FEMA courses also won't work at TESU for any degree.

Your best bet might be a BSPS (BS in Professional Studies), which might let you use those as a Specialized Career Track.

Otherwise, with the BSBA, you're basically starting with very few credits (the ones from Rowan only).

Your best bet is to look at TESU's BSPS and BSBA and see what you think. Apply to whichever one you want to see what you can get for those courses. The BSPS might be better to look at first, and then you can look at the BSBA later.

COSC's BSBA might be a better bet, as they accept FEMA plus a lot of other random credits that the 2 TESU degrees just don't have space for.

The KaplanOpen PLA course is a good course to take to see what the PLA is all about. It's free, and although it's not worth any credit any longer, you can still take it to see what you would be doing for a PLA at TESU or another school.

[Synicaal]

If you truly think a Business Degree is where your going to go and at TESU, you should sign up for the Capstone TECEP course ASAP. It is going away in a couple months and that is the difference between $114 and $1500 dollars (course may be cheaper for in state not sure). However like another poster said already COSC still takes FEMA so you might be much closer at COSC then at TESU.

[bjcheung77]

This is going to be a very good COSC vs TESU debate thread. Either would be a good choice... Here's the breakdown for the brain.

COSC - FEMA credits free and the SL Partnership/Scholarship, Charter Oak State College & StraighterLine - Degree Savings Partnership | StraighterLine
But they have 30 credits that are required to be upper level, and it's harder to find those courses (meaning it'll be more $$$)

TESU - SL Partnership but no scholarship option, Study.com has affiliate pricing if you take courses with them (I don't think COSC does)
They require only 18 credits that are upper level and it's easier to find those courses that will fit the requirements (cheaper too!)

My suggestion is to apply to TESU/WGU (since WGU is free application month again) and even Excelsior to see if they take the BOMI.
Excelsior also has a BSPS/BSBA, do you have any industry certs? COSC, Excelsior and WGU do take them, TESU not so easy.

If you are going to be taking courses at Straighterline, Excelsior has partnership pricing as well to drop that pricing down.
The Big 3 will be essentially the same in price, but with TESU edging COSC/Excelsior due to the fact of lesser UL and known courses to transfer.
WGU is not far behind if you have the time to send in your transcripts, they can do a quick evaluation and see who would be better.