Self-Introduction and Question About Direct Credit

[themage1028]

Hey everyone!

Thanks to user Dowew for getting me on here.  I'm working on speed-tracking through a BSBA from Thomas Edison State University online.  Dowew has helped me as best he can but it was time to introduce myself and ask for some guidance.  

I am in my early 30s working full time for a bank, and I have six children under the age of eight (I have the most potent sperm known to mankind).  This results in me being unable to attend a traditional brick and mortal university.  I am finding my lack of a degree is resulting in my plateauing at work and I would like to get credentialized in order to move forward.  

So far I have been doing Straighterline.com.  I greatly enjoyed these courses and appreciated the open book format which allowed me to speed through.  I have run into difficulty successfully completing Algebra, as I never studied it before.  

I have done most of the available courses for my degree on straighterline and now I am moving to Saylor.org but I just did the practice exam for Comparative Politics and found that I need the open book format in order to get the course done without significant study prep.  Is the final open book on Saylor or is it closed book ?

A few more administrative questions

1) I am still paying for straighterline even though I am not actively using it right.  Can I turn off my subscription and keep my banked credits safe ?
2) I have not actually registered with TESU yet.  Should I register with them and send them credits as I go, or should I complete the credit and send them all in one big pile ?
3) I like Saylor's price, but I found their study materials to be substandard (wikipedia pages, scanned books on archive.org).  Does anyone else have a suggestion of an alternative?

At this point I have completed the following courses, all through straighterline :

United States History I - 85%
United States History II - 91%
Introduction to Criminal Justice - 95%
Economics 1 Macroeconomics - 85
Economics II Microeconomics 83%
English Composition I 84%
English Composition II 91%
Introduction to Communication 93%
Western Civilization I 91%
Western Civilization II 80%
Introduction to Sociology 91%
Introduction to Psychology 81%

Currently in enrolled in on straighteline (paid for)

Business Statistics
Business Ethics
College Algebra
Accounting 1
Accounting II
Managerial Accounting
Organization Behaviour 

I also just finished the practice exam on Saylor's Comparative Politics with 78% open book.

What are my next steps ?  I believe I can finish organizational behaviour today, but after that I am worried I am going to get stuck once I get into the non humanities courses.  Can anyone suggest some really easy courses to take before I hit a wall ?

[burbuja0512]

Hi and welcome! First of all, congrats for working hard towards a much better step in your life. When I started my undergrad at COSC , I had four of my own and a special-needs step-daughter in the house. PLUS I was traveling over 150k miles a year at the time. And YES it was worth it!!!

So.... trying to answer some questions, but I know everyone will chime in with much better advice.

I completed my degree back in 2011 before we knew about all the cool options now. Straighterline was nice, but I didn't know about Saylor, or Shmoop, or others.. BTW, yes you are paying for your SL and they will happily keep collecting. They keep your banked credits, but if you're in the middle of a class, will not pay to hold your progress.

Also, no need to enroll in TESU until you're closer to being done. Again, there will be someone else here to tell you the precise moment. I'm not exactly sure.

While there are many cool options that didn't used to exist... there is a whole subforum dedicated to that, but my question is, why not try to do more testing? When I was doing my undergrad, I would allow myself one week to study for a CLEP or DSST, dedicating time daily, and then take the class after 7 full study days. I allowed myself 14 days for a couple of the really hard ones, but no longer. I used the flashcards from this site and there are quite a few other online resources. I found it to be easier than taking SL and quicker in most cases.

I would say testing favors those of us with lots of life and on-the-job experience. But realistically, there are people that just don't test well. But testing is really what started the whole fast-track degree idea, and still remains my favorite.

[dfrecore]

Welcome!  I have created a spreadsheet for you, showing what you've taken, what you are in process of finishing, and what your options are to finish the degree.

If I were you, and if College Algebra is stopping you from progressing, I would put that course on hold and get going on the rest.  You want to get through as many courses as quickly as possible so that you don't continue paying for the courses if you don't have to.  One of the things I don't like about SL is the inability to put the account on hold if you need to - and with so many paid for courses, you're going to need to get moving.  If you need to, you can finish everything except math, and then stop for a while (cancelling your membership) and if you need to, learn the math concepts through a free program like Khan Academy, then come back to SL and pay for another month - you won't have to purchase the course again - and finish up.  You will come back right to where you left off.

Saylor exams are closed book, but they are also only $25, so if you don't pass, you can come back 3 days later and retest.  It's worth a shot if you've gotten a passing score on a practice exam.  I would also think about doing Marketing, Management, Corp Comm, and any other exams that you think you might be able to pass without a ton of study time.

I would also apply for the Study.com/Guardian scholarship, and take at least 1 course there.  Transferring 1 course to TESU will get you the Study.com affiliate membership pricing, and a waiver for the cornerstone course, so even if you don't get the scholarship, but pay $199 for a month, you save $300 for that course, as well as getting 2 courses done (and potentially UL courses that you'll need).

I would make sure that you're putting your SL courses on your ACE transcript as you complete them, for peace of mind (and it's free).

I would also go ahead and apply at TESU now.  It's going to take time for them to do your eval, so the sooner you get started with it, the better off you are.  Send in your ACE transcript when you apply, so that they can put your courses on there.  Continue taking your SL courses, Saylor exams, Study.com courses, etc.

Also, make sure you're following the spreadsheet so that you don't make any mistakes along the way.  You want to know ahead of time what courses are going to come in as.

Last, you might consider (after getting the Study.com affiliate membership) registering for your Capstone course before June 30.  The awesome discount that exists right now is quite possibly (very probably) going to go away, and the price will be much higher after that date.  So, take as many business courses as you can while you're getting ready to start, and register on 6/29 for the August term, and then continue to take courses up until the capstone starts.  Then, finish up the rest of your courses after your capstone is over (you can take courses during the capstone, but I wouldn't load up on too many).  I'm willing to bet that you could complete your degree within a year.

Good luck!

[clep3705]

Yes, skip algebra for now and get as much done as quickly as you can - dfrecore always gives good advice. Let's say you return to algebra and don't quite pass although you come close. What to do? Go ahead and take the CLEP College Algebra exam. You might get lucky. If you don't pass the CLEP, report back here and we'll help you modify your approach to algebra. Mainly keep moving!

Have you looked at Modern States?

The CLEP marketing and management tests are really easy. You should take those.

[Dowew]

Hey everyone. Thanks for the great advice. Just a clarification. The two of us are in Canada. Is Clep available to Canadians and non high school students? Can the tests be done online or at a testing centre?

[clep3705]

There are a few CLEP testing centers in Canada. You should look it up yourself at https://clep.collegeboard.org/test-center-search because that's the authoritative source.

[dfrecore]

CLEP is available to non-high school students (they're available for everyone), but there may not be a testing center near you. If not, I would consider other options, as there are plenty.

[Dowew]

Nearest is Toronto. I think we will stick to online sourses of credit for the moment. I calculate he is at least 25percent done at this point. Just trying to keep up the momentum. Right now we are dedicating about 5 hours a week to it which involves him coming over to my house with a computer sitting at my dining room table and me saying supportive things and bringing coffee. I think next step is to attempt some saylor courses. Even if he flunks some the first time he's only out the cost of a happy meal.