TESC BA Liberal Studies

[OTCIXS]

Greetings!

Let me start off by saying that I'm new to this whole process. I've been lurking on this forum for over a week now absorbing as much information as I can, but I'm still unsure if I understand a few things. Please, bear with me =)

Even though I'm active duty military with training that counts towards credits, let's assume I only have 5 from FEMA courses. Here's what I've put together for my BA in Liberal Studies from TESC:

I. Gen Ed
A. English Comp
1. CLEP English Comp (ENC-101/102 CE) (6 Credits)
B. Humanities
1. CLEP Humanities (HUM-101/102 CE) (6 Credits)
2. CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Lit (LIT-291-/292 CE) (6 Credits)
C. Social Sciences
1. CLEP History of the US I&II (HIS-101/102 CE) (3 Credits x2)
2. CLEP American Gov't (POS-110 CE) (3 Credits)
3. CLEP Introductory Sociology (SOC-101 CE) (3 Credits)
D. Nat Sci & Math
1. CLEP College Math (MAT-102/103 CE) (6 Credits)
2. CLEP Nat Sci (NAS-101/102 CE) (6 Credits)
E. Electives
1. Hoping to use FEMA + Military Training (18 Credits)

Ok, now here's where I'm sure I need help. As much as I've researched, I can't tell what classes count for what. I'll put down the ones I know and also the ones I intend on taking but am unsure of what they would fulfill.

II. Area of Study - Liberal Studies
A. Social Sciences
1. DSST The Civil War and Reconstruction (HIS-252 DE) (3 Credits)
2. DSST Histor of the Vietnam War (HIS-351 DE) (3 Credits)
3. DSST Substance Abuse (SOS-305 DE) (3 Credits)
4. CLEP Social Sci and History (SOS-101/102 CE) (6 Credits)
5. DSST Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union (HIS-386 DE) (3 Credits)
6. DSST Organizational Behavior (PSY-361 DE) (3 Credits)
7. ECE World Population (3 Credits)
B. Natural Sciences
1. DSST Race to Save the Planet (ENS-201 DE) (3 Credits)
C. Humanities
1. DSST Intro to World Religions (REL-405 DE) (3 Credits)
2. ECE Adulthood and Aging (I think) (3 Credits)
III. Free Electives
A. Again, more FEMA and/or Military (27 Credits)


Sorry, I know it's a lot of information. I can't tell you how happy I was when I found out about my opportunity to test out of college! I joined the military because I wanted to get out of the classroom and get some life experience. I always kind of smile when I think of all the things I've done and everywhere I've been, but it sucked knowing that when I got out, I'd have to go back in 'the cage'. =D

Thank you in advance, I look forward to hearing some criticism =)

[irnbru]

Sorry OTC, ignore the last if you saw any of it. More speed less haste.

[TMW2010]

**Edit** Looks like you've got a good start there. Hopefully someone with TESC experience will be able to give you some good info specific to the school on the ones you have in question.

[kevinmanemane]

Yo OTC - I'm following the same path you are - pretty much exactly.

I havent gotten it officially approved yet, but every TESC student ive shown my plan to says thats what they did and it looks good and everything.

Yours looks good playa.

I can't confirm the LL credit aspect because mine are all from community college, but I'm 99% confident about your concentration and upper level area.

TESC accepts up to 25 FEMA credits.
A couple of suggestions:

For the BA in Liberal Studies, you need to have 27 free electives. So i would recommend doing 24 FEMAs and CLEPing an easy test like Intro to Law Enforcement or Here's to your Health for 3 credits.

as for the 33 credits in the concentration
6 units can be at the 100level
9 units can be at the 200level
and you need at least 18units at the 300+ level

looks like you got that set up nicely - pretty much EXACTLY like mine.

im waiting this TESC chick to run me up a free unofficial eval on the down low. Problem with that is because I didnt pay any money, she can take as long as she wants.

But ill tell you what, if she ever emails me back, and you havent gotten a legit confirmation yet, ill let you know if mine was good so you can rest assured that you're pretty good too, my friend.

Now...
let's Get 'Er DuN!

[OTCIXS]

Thanks for the responses =)

Kevin, the reason ours look so much alike is because yours was kind of a model for mine. I can't tell you how bad I want to take a test just to get one under my belt (probably the Analyzing Lit one, passed it on Peterson's with a 64..), but I have to wait for my educational services officer to respond back to me with a time!

I'd appreciate that if you shot me your eval, it would help out a lot!

By the way, this forum rocks!

[NAP]

Welcome to the forum!

I think this place is wonderful, too.

I am not a TESC student, but I have been looking at this degree recently with Kevin.

I have not looked at your plan very closely, but I did notice one thing:

I. Gen Ed
E. Electives 18 credits

I think that will mean credits from these Gen Ed categories - Humanities, Social Science, History, Natural Science, and Math.

FEMA will not count and Military credits may or may not count in this Gen Ed section.

Please keep us updated on your progress!

[kevinmanemane]

Dude - you don't need approval from anybody to take a CLEP. If you got a testing center on your base, just go up in there and take Analyzing & Interpreting Lit. When they ask where you want the transcript sent to, tell em you dont want to send it anywhere. What that'll do is Prometric (the company that administers the CLEPs) will hold on to your test results like a school would and when you wanna transfer em over, you just fill out their transfer form and it costs 30bucks.

What im doin because i havent actually enrolled at TESC yet is to rack up all the credits i need for the Liberal Arts degree and then send them over. This way if i fail a test they wont know about it because you can have Prometric send ONLY the ones you passed - itll make you look cool.

But im in your situation too - im having a beach of a time trying to get my stuff evaluated so i can confirm that the tests i think i got left i actually need to take. Cause i dont wanna spend a couple months taking a couple tests i dont need. Ive already done that with a couple already cause I misunderstood. Lame.

But its all good.

Just go take it dude - Analyze Lit is super easy. Its definitely boring and long and tedious, but its super doable. I didn't study for one second for that one and I got a 67. Peterson's tests are usually harder than the actual CLEP so if you got a 64 man, you're probably gonna get like a 79 or something. And if you get 50 - shoot who cares - you passed.

Do IT!

[OTCIXS]

Welcome to the forum!

I think this place is wonderful, too.

I am not a TESC student, but I have been looking at this degree recently with Kevin.

I have not looked at your plan very closely, but I did notice one thing:

I. Gen Ed
E. Electives 18 credits

I think that will mean credits from these Gen Ed categories - Humanities, Social Science, History, Natural Science, and Math.

FEMA will not count and Military credits may or may not count in this Gen Ed section.

Please keep us updated on your progress!

Blah so it appears you're correct. I cross-referenced the gen ed elective list from TESC with the CLEP + DSST's they accept and came up with this list:

1. DSST Principles of Public Speaking (COM-209) (3 Credits)
2. DSST Lifespan Developmental Psychology (PSY-361) (3 Credits)
3. CLEP Information Systems and Computer Apps (COS-101) (3 Credits)
4. CLEP Principles of Macroeconomics (ECO-111) (3 Credits)
5. CLEP Western Civ I (HIS-101) (3 Credits)
6. CLEP Western Civ II (HIS-102) (3 Credits)

The only one I'm concerned about in this group would be macroeconomics, but I guess I can suck it up...

I'm also currently working on getting an unofficial transcript from the Coast Guard Institute to find out exactly how many military credits I have. Gonna give my ESO on base a call by the end of next week and set up my first CLEP as well!=)

[NAP]

Keep looking at the list of exam options because different ones will catch your attention. For instance, you could choose the Intro to Psychology CLEP instead of Macro.

Also, look into ALEKS. TESC accepts a lot of Math credit through them. Try to find the maximum number. It’s $20/month online and could be a way to take some exams off of your list. I think this is the latest list for ALEKS and TESC:

http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...#post76225

Excelsior accepts up to 50 lower-level military credits. (FEMA costs a lot of money to transfer to EC, but the military credits would fill that slot anyway.) They also have a new capstone course requirement. Take a look at this degree template for a BS in Liberal Studies at EC. It may be helpful to you.

http://www.degreeforum.net/62322-post10.html

[OTCIXS]

Yeah, I think I'll do ALEKS.

One thing though; since it's a subscription, what'll happen if my sub runs out? Let's say I don't get all these credits together for two years, will I have to pay two years worth of subscription or will ACE pull them from ALEKS itself no matter how long it's been? I'm assuming that's how it works, but I just want to make sure!