TESU BALS? - seeking guidance

[whatsup7878]

Hello!  I am hoping to obtain a bachelor’s as quickly as possible.  I have an Associates of Nursing, but I am not wanting to pursue a BSN.  I originally thought the TESU BALS was my best option as it would be the most efficient way to a bachelor’s. 
I am working on transitioning into tech and I am now questioning if a BS degree would be a better option.

Thank you!
 
 
Your Location: California, United States. 
Your Age: 34
What kind of degree do you want?:  Bachelors
Current Regional Accredited Credits: 
 
TESU Non-course Equivalencies:

Principles of Statistics
Introduction to Sociology
Introduction to Psychology  
American History I
Ancient Greek Philosophy
Special Topics Communications
Developmental Psychology
Survey of Chemistry
Environmental Science
Medical Sociology
Microbiology
Pharmacology
The Science of Nutrition
Anatomy and Phys I With Lab
Prin. of Finl Acctg ACC
Adult Nursing III
Adult Nursing II
Adult Nursing I
Pediatric Nursing
Obstetric/Gynecologic Nursing
Psych/Mental Hlth Nrsg. II
Psych/Mental Hlth Nursg. I
Professional Adjustment
Fundamentals of Nursing II
Fundamentals of Nursing I
 
(Rn Diploma TESU-Assessment Credit)

Any certifications or military experience?  RN License, CompTIA A+, AWS Cloud Practitioner

[rachel83az]

Since you're trying to get into tech, I'm not sure that a regular BALS from TESU would be your best option. Without a technical background/hefty portfolio, it can be difficult to find technical work without a technical degree. There's nothing to show that you should be hired vs. that person over there who has at least one of those.

Depending on what kind of tech, exactly, I would suggest one of the following:

BA Computer Science @ TESU https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ience_Plan
BSBA Computer Information Systems @ TESU https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...re_Roadmap and https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan
Combined BA/BSBA @ TESU (only requires a couple of extra classes over one degree or the other) https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan

Those would be "the best", IMO, as far as utility vs. how easy they are to obtain. Second tier would include:

BS Professional Studies @ TESU (essentially a BALS for people who want to take more business classes). Sounds a bit more technical on a resume than a BALS, but would possibly be more work to obtain than a regular BSBA. If you really want this one, though, there is a plan on the wiki. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan
BLS w/ Management Information Systems minor @ UMPI - If you're set on a Liberal Studies degree and are okay with writing papers, I would probably go with this degree from UMPI. It sounds better than a pure BALS from TESU and it should also be cheaper.

If you went with a BACS at TESU, your UL Microbiology would be used in the "Additional AOS Electives", so you shouldn't need as many UL credits in the main AOS. Unfortunately, I don't think that your Medical Sociology course would also count toward your UL credits because it's not a pure science subject. But, IMO, that's not a big loss.

All things considered, you don't have that many credits in your AOS right now, so choosing a different degree at this point is more or less the same as continuing to pursue a BALS. I would use the what if tool to see what your plan would look like if you pursued a different degree at TESU. I'm guessing that you're about as close to most degrees as you are to the BALS.

[allvia]

Hello!  I am hoping to obtain a bachelor’s as quickly as possible.  I have an Associates of Nursing, but I am not wanting to pursue a BSN.  I originally thought the TESU BALS was my best option as it would be the most efficient way to a bachelor’s. 
I am working on transitioning into tech and I am now questioning if a BS degree would be a better option.

Thank you!

Have you considered the UMPI BLS in Management Information Systems (MIS)?

[carrythenothing]

Try a what-if for the BS in Health Services Technology: https://tesu.smartcatalogiq.com/Current/...Technology

[rachel83az]

I'm not sure that the Health Services Technology degree can be completed via alternate credits. But I could be mistaken.

For the AOS, the Math and Anatomy & Phys w/ Lab requirements are easy (relatively speaking) because SL does have A&P II w/ lab and OP already has stats (would still need Algebra). But then we get to the professional health requirement. If Medical Sociology doesn't go here as an UL requirement, that'd be a very expensive course to take elsewhere.

OP has 30+ LL nursing credits that should work for the other Professional Health requirements. So, that's good.

Then, there are 12 credits of Professional Electives that need to be in the category of: Management, Accounting, Marketing, and/or Leadership. I believe all of these would need to be UL to meet the UL requirements for this degree.

I don't think that the UL Microbiology will work at all in the AOS. At best, I think it's a free elective that doesn't count toward the UL credit requirements.

tldr: If Medical Sociology doesn't count for AOS Part D UL credit, it'd most likely be better to choose a different degree.

[carrythenothing]

I'm not sure that the Health Services Technology degree can be completed via alternate credits. But I could be mistaken.

For the AOS, the Math and Anatomy & Phys w/ Lab requirements are easy (relatively speaking) because SL does have A&P II w/ lab and OP already has stats (would still need Algebra). But then we get to the professional health requirement. If Medical Sociology doesn't go here as an UL requirement, that'd be a very expensive course to take elsewhere.

OP has 30+ LL nursing credits that should work for the other Professional Health requirements. So, that's good.

Then, there are 12 credits of Professional Electives that need to be in the category of: Management, Accounting, Marketing, and/or Leadership. I believe all of these would need to be UL to meet the UL requirements for this degree.

I don't think that the UL Microbiology will work at all in the AOS. At best, I think it's a free elective that doesn't count toward the UL credit requirements.

tldr: If Medical Sociology doesn't count for AOS Part D UL credit, it'd most likely be better to choose a different degree.

It should be easy enough to get 9 to 12 UL professional elective credits from Davar Academy, e-Packs (as part of a 16-credit term), Study.com, etc. I have Industrial Psychology, Operations Management, and Project Management counting toward it. You could probably get approval to use an UL CIS/COS course for the computer requirement (e.g., Management Information Systems).

[dfrecore]

Not sure why you'd choose TESU, since it's a more expensive option, and the least flexible BALS out there (only 30cr of free electives can be used).

My vote is any of these:
1) UMPI's BLS for cost and ability to use a lot of free electives (if you're going to do a Liberal Studies degree)
2) Excelsior's BSL or BPS for cost and ability to use a lot of free electives (BSL allows 60cr of Free Electivees; BPS allows for 30)
3) WGU (BSIT, BS in Health Info Mgmt, etc.). No Free Electives, but a better degree for a great price.

[rachel83az]

It should be easy enough to get 9 to 12 UL professional elective credits from Davar Academy, e-Packs (as part of a 16-credit term), Study.com, etc. I have Industrial Psychology, Operations Management, and Project Management counting toward it. You could probably get approval to use an UL CIS/COS course for the computer requirement (e.g., Management Information Systems).

Professional electives, yes. Professional Health electives, not as much. UL health professional credits aren't exactly easy to find. Which is why the whole thing hinges on where they put Medical Sociology.

[bjcheung77]

@whatsup7878, you did the template but missed the last post addendum!  Without knowing more details, it's pretty hard to decipher what a good route to go is for you... Since we don't know your budget, commitments, situation and style of learning.  I suggest filling in the details missing here: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...#pid363958

Hmm if you decide to stay with TESU, from the attachment, you have all the courses transfer over except for one.  Your electives are used up, so you'll have to take courses to make up the entire degree.  I would follow the template on the WIKI to get the BALS by doing the 16 credit flat rate tuition, otherwise I would recommend going the UMPI BLS MIS route if you decide to pay the residency waiver fee.

[dfrecore]

It should be easy enough to get 9 to 12 UL professional elective credits from Davar Academy, e-Packs (as part of a 16-credit term), Study.com, etc. I have Industrial Psychology, Operations Management, and Project Management counting toward it. You could probably get approval to use an UL CIS/COS course for the computer requirement (e.g., Management Information Systems).

Professional electives, yes. Professional Health electives, not as much. UL health professional credits aren't exactly easy to find. Which is why the whole thing hinges on where they put Medical Sociology.

Since they gave it a SOC-310 designation, I'm guessing it won't be able to be used where you'd want/need it to be.