TESU BSBA Completion Suggestions

[Ideas]

Congrats on being so close If you decide to do BALS, it's so flexible on what you can take. Some people could get 12 credits in one afternoon through CLEP Because some CLEPs are 6 credits each, and there are 2 which are sort of "general knowledge", which may not be duplicate credits for you. So an adult can sometimes test out without studying. There is also the A&I Lit exam which I consider to be like the Reading Comprehension part of the SAT which is 6 credits, although 3 may duplicate for you. I'm not sure. A lot of people can test out of that one with very little or no studying.

[allvia]

Contact TESU and have them add the official evaluation for the  BS Tech Studies and one for the BALS.  The "What if" is a good guide, but sometimes it is not completely accurate - especially when it comes to UL and LL credit placements. I'm speaking from personal experience here. I had good luck with them doing it pretty quickly, and it always better to know where you truly stand with TESU than the "What if" tool suggests.

[Ideas]

I agree with allvia.

There is also something like the Tech Studies one at Excelsior, which could be faster to complete than the TESU one. We are not as familiar with Excelsior on this forum.

[omuneek]

Contact TESU and have them add the official evaluation for the  BS Tech Studies and one for the BALS.  The "What if" is a good guide, but sometimes it is not completely accurate - especially when it comes to UL and LL credit placements. I'm speaking from personal experience here. I had good luck with them doing it pretty quickly, and it always better to know where you truly stand with TESU than the "What if" tool suggests.

Ok. I am extremely green here.  lol.  

So, is the evaluation available just above the "what if" section, the eval that I can click a bubble and choose - are those official evals?  I am asking, because I requested an evaluation of my credits for the Liberal Studies degree and it was posted within an hour.  So, I emailed the advisor to ask if what I am seeing is considered an "official" eval.  Waiting on a response.  Seems rather quick for an official.???

If what I am seeing is accurate, I need only the following to graduate:

Civic Engagement 3 SH
Diversity 3 SH
Information Literacy 3 SH
TES-100 Cornerstone - Lifelong Learning Strategies 1 SH
Liberal Arts Capstone 3 SH --- of course :-)

[bjcheung77]

That's right girlfriend, you just need to ask yourself... Do you want that TES-100 or not? If not, take a couple of Study.com courses or see if you can get the Scholarship. The Study.com courses will count for your waiver to the TES-100 course AND give you additional discounts on the Capstone plus the residency waiver. Have you decided which degree, the Easier BALS, or the BSBA as it was your original choice? Or even the one I recommended, the BS Tech Studies... that's the bigger decision to finalize.

[allvia]

Yes, the 'bubble version' is their official evaluation for you.  The Liberal Studies would be the first, as it would be the easiest overall to plop the courses into - now that have that official evaluation you should just look it over and see if things fall into where you felt they should. If not they can move them around, or at least you can request it. I had to ask them to move a few in the unused credits area around, and some they did - but not all.  For me the BS Tech Studies took a day or two more.

[omuneek]

That's right girlfriend, you just need to ask yourself...  Do you want that TES-100 or not?  If not, take a couple of Study.com courses or see if you can get the Scholarship.  The Study.com courses will count for your waiver to the TES-100 course AND give you additional discounts on the Capstone plus the residency waiver.   Have you decided which degree, the Easier BALS, or the BSBA as it was your original choice?  Or even the one I recommended, the BS Tech Studies... that's the bigger decision to finalize.

I have decided to get the BALS!!!!  This has been a 20+ year journey for me.  Getting "a" degree is going to be a dream come true.  I cannot wait to share this news with my husband!!

Now... I must admit that I do not understand the TES-100/Study.com/Residency waiver issue.  I prefer SL's method for earning credits, but I have no idea what taking that route will cost me.  Also, I have the GI Bill to offset tuition costs, yet not so sure about the residency waiver.

[allvia]

You should definitely consider applying for the Guardian Scholarship for Study.com - If you get it you will save the money on the capstone course, the residency fee, and you could take the courses you do need for no out of pocket. Then use the GI Bill to pay for the capstone. Plenty of options for you now on obtaining those missing credits.

https://study.com/blog/guardian-s-person...rship.html

https://www.tesu.edu/studycom/

[omuneek]

Now that I have decided to go with the BALS at TESU, I have one more decision to make.  I am an Air Force veteran with a little more than a year remaining before my GI Bill expires.  I can use those benefits now or use them towards an advanced degree.  I need only the following to graduate, which the first three can be taken through SL in a matter of days, but if there is a discount available I would like to receive it.    

bjcheung77 mentioned a Study.com discount.  I see another thread on here regarding the discount, but it leads me to believe that I had to indicate the affiliation on my application for admission.  I have submitted my application already.  Is it too late to get the Study.com discount?  If it isn't too late, which course should I take via Study.com?

Diversity  
Civic Engagement
Information Literacy
Lifelong Learning Strategies (Cornerstone)
Liberal Arts Capstone

[davewill]

Now that I have decided to go with the BALS at TESU, I have one more decision to make.  I am an Air Force veteran with a little more than a year remaining before my GI Bill expires.  I can use those benefits now or use them towards an advanced degree.  I need only the following to graduate, which the first three can be taken through SL in a matter of days, but if there is a discount available I would like to receive it.    

bjcheung77 mentioned a Study.com discount.  I see another thread on here regarding the discount, but it leads me to believe that I had to indicate the affiliation on my application for admission.  I have submitted my application already.  Is it too late to get the Study.com discount?  If it isn't too late, which course should I take via Study.com?

Diversity  
Civic Engagement
Information Literacy
Lifelong Learning Strategies (Cornerstone)
Liberal Arts Capstone

It's not too late, but you will need to hurry a little. The current Study.com discount is a bit of an anomaly. When TESU increased fees the last time, their contract with study didn't allow then to raise the discounted fee at the same time. That suddenly made the discount very valuable. That contract expires at the end of June. After that, we expect the discount to go back to being a modest 5-10%. Meanwhile it can save you about $1500 if you take advantage of it. Enough that in your shoes I would keep my GI Bill for grad school.

So, first you actually need to be a study.com member and take a course there (you'll probably take two since you get two with each month's fee). Once that's done, call TESU and ask to have the affiliate status added to you account. That will waive Cornerstone ($300 saved), let you take the Capstone for $1098 ($500 saved), and pay only $1800 for the residency waiver ($700 saved). All for spending $200 on a month of study.com, which is a cheap way to get credit, anyway.

In your shoes, I would aim for a Sept graduation. You should start the capstone no later than May (I'd go earlier) and apply for graduation in June, paying the residency waiver fee then.

I'll let someone else recommend actual study.com courses, but you could get everything except the capstone done through them.