New here! Need Help with online Biology Degree

[Laurie9973]

Hello-

   I am new to this forum and trying to read everything I can.  I have a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from California State University, Fresno (from 2001) and recently received my Master's Degree in Elementary Education and a multi-subject credential from WGU.  I realized I want to teach science in Middle/ High school and although there are a few ways of going about it I am thinking I might want to get the Bachelor of Arts, Biology degree from TESU.   I am also interested in any ideas for other Bachelor's degrees I may be close to achieving.  I'm very new to this and want to see if it's even worth it.  I have quite a bit of college credits already form various sources as I've pursued a few different degrees over the years.  Thank you so much!! See below.

Your Location: California, United States. 
Your Age: 48
What kind of degree do you want?: Biological Sciences, possibly others if I am super close with all of my credits.  If you hold a bachelor's degree in a subject you are eligible to teach that subject at the high school level. 
Current Regional Accredited Credits: Break apart by school for ease of reading. Regional means the school has a regional accrediation. If you don't have any, that's okay leave it blank!

Cal State University: 52 credits
FSC 001 Intro to food science, 3, B
FSM 131 Intro to Food Systems Management, 3, c
Music 103WE Major performance ensemble, 2, A
Nutr 165 Weight Management, 3, C
Biol 110, Human Ecology, 3, C
ENOL 175 Winery Management, 3, C
WS 131 Soc of sex roles, 3, B
IS 105W, BUS COMM 3, C
A SCI 052, Beginning Equit, 2, B
Hist 002, West Civiliztn II, 3, D
GEOG 004 World Geography, 3, D
ENOL 135 Field Studies, 2, A
EHD 115, Lib studies Sen Proj, 3, A
ENG 102, MSTRPCS EN LIT, 4, A
MCJ 163, Radio/TV POP Cult, 3, B
MUSIC 187, POP MUS JZ ROCK, 3, A
MATH 043, ELEM PROB SOLV, 3, C
CLS 195, Diversity in US, 3, B

University of Riverside Extension - 4 credits
EDUC X450.16 Methods for teaching Secondary Sciences, 4, A

California Community Colleges: 91 credits
ENGL 1A Read and Comp, 4, C
ENGL 1B, Intro Literature, 3, C
POLSCI2 American GOVT, 3, C
Music 43 INT/ADV Woodwinds, 2, A
Music 40 Concert Band 3, A
BA 10 Intro to Business, 3, C
BUS 6 Computer Concepts, 3, C
PSY 2 General Psych, 3, C
MUS 40, Concert Band, 3, A
HLTH 1, Dim Personal Health, 3, A
Geog 4, Cultural Geography, 3, B
Econ1A, Macro-economics, 3, D
Stat 2, Elem Statistics, 3, C
Biol 10, Human Anatomy, 3, C
Chem 3A, Intro to Chem, 4, A
Music 45, Symphony Orchestra, 2, B
BA 38, Small Business Management, 3, C
SPCH 8, Interpersonal Communication, 3, A
Mus 49, Advanced LG Ensembles, 1, A
FN 1, Food Preparation, 3, B
ACCTG 4A, Financial Prin, 4, B
BA 51, Entrepreneurship, 1, A
FN 40, Nutrition, 3, B
FSM 35, San/Safety/Equip, 2, A
IS-52, Word Processing, .5, A
ENGL 2, Logic and Composition, 3, C
HIST 18, People of the US, 3, B
NUT FD 18, Nutrition, 3, A
Music 295a, Sequoia Winds, 1, A
Biol 100, Survey Anat/Phys, 3, A
Bio 31, Microbiology, 4, B
ESCI-119, Physical Geology w/o Lab, 3, A
PHYS-111, Descriptive Introduction to Physics, 3, A

National University - Total 49.5 Quarter Units TOTAL
Was pursuing an MBA in International Business (Didn't finish) - 27 Quarter Units
EXE 689 Leadership/21st Century, 4.5, A
EXE 680 Human Resource Management, 4.5, B+
EXE 687 Foundations of E-Business, 4.5, B
EXE 684 Global Management Strategies, 4.5, B
EXE 686 Data & Research Analysis, 4.5, B
EXE 682 ACC For Managers, 4.5, C+

Was pursuing a Masters in Forensic Science (Didn't Finish) 22.5 Quarter Units
FSC 643 Forensic Psychology, 4.5, B
FSC 648 Forensic Photography, 4.5, B+
FSC 631 Major Case Investigation, 4.5, A-
FSC 647 Crime Scene Investigation, 4.5, A
FSC 654 Profiling, 4.5, B-

Currently In progress at Community Colleges - 15 Credits done by May 2025
FM-26 Fabrics/Textiles, 3
GEOL 7, Weather and Climate, 3
HIST210 - History of CA, 3
FAM&CS31 - Family Life and Parenting, 3
ECON 201 - Microeconomics, 3


Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: These are things like Study, Sophia, InstantCert InstantCredit, CLEP, Straighterline, Davar etc

None

Any certifications or military experience? Certificate in Small Business Management

Budget: I'd like to go the cheapest as possible but don't really have a budget.
Commitments: Husband and son, and subbing at schools on a part-time basis.
Dedicated time to study: Right now, through Summer, I can work on school mostly full-time.
Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal.
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: none

Would like opinions on the best way to go about this. I need to do everything online and am OK at test taking but don't want to CLEP out of any classes.

[Avidreader]

Welcome! You might wish to have a quick look at the TESU Biology degree plan. Seems like you might need Sophia's Biology and Bio Lab along with the Environmental Science. The Biology and Env courses at least for now have no touchstones so they can be done super fast. The lab has 2 touchstones but they give you grades quickly.

I think you should sign up for TESU with the 1 credit Medical Terminology TECEP that will let you send transcripts and see what are the exact courses you still need. You have tons of Humanities and Social science courses, but will need more hard science ones. You have Chemistry 1 but not Chemistry 2 and no Precalculus. Your Physics course should satisfy the Physics requirement. I am unsure if this degree requires a foreign language.

This is the wiki sample that could help orient you. Tesu accepts NA credit.
https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan

[Laurie9973]

Thank you for your reply.  Do I have to sign up with Study.com for the 1 credit class?  I put my application into TESU today.

Thank You,
Laurie Gentry

[Avidreader]

Tecep is a proctored online challenge exam exclusively offered at TESU. You are free to study for it and pass it for RA credit, but most forum members only sign up to become an active matriculated student so that they gain access to course evaluations and also see how each course can be applied to different degrees offered at the university. Feel free to look at the wiki and learn more.

[bjcheung77]

Welcome to the board, you're pretty far off from the BA Biology degree at TESU. I would suggest you take a look at WGU Teaching degrees here as they have several offerings that may be closer to what you're looking for: https://www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degrees.html

[Laurie9973]

Welcome to the board, you're pretty far off from the BA Biology degree at TESU.  I would suggest you take a look at WGU Teaching degrees here as they have several offerings that may be closer to what you're looking for: https://www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degrees.html

Thank you for your input.  I already have a teaching degree from WGU / Master's degree and I have looked at their Secondary Biology degree, however I would have to do student teaching all over again and I am definitely not going to do that.  I could simply take the Science CSET and be qualified to teach general science with what I already have, which I may just end up doing.  I really wish I could do WGU, I had a great experience and finished very quickly.

[Jonathan Whatley]

Thank you for your input.  I already have a teaching degree from WGU / Master's degree and I have looked at their Secondary Biology degree, however I would have to do student teaching all over again and I am definitely not going to do that.  I could simply take the Science CSET and be qualified to teach general science with what I already have, which I may just end up doing.  I really wish I could do WGU, I had a great experience and finished very quickly.

Look under the first body subheading on the secondary biology bachelor’s landing page from WGU:

Educational Studies Option

Wanting to explore biological science concepts and how to apply them in a classroom setting, but not looking for licensure and student teaching? Students who want to study biology education but aren't quite ready to pursue the clinical experiences can earn a Bachelor of Arts in Educational Studies with an emphasis in Secondary Biology. This allows students to learn the same material and complete the same courses, but not include the student teaching component of their education.

[Laurie9973]

Thank you Jonathan-

   I guess I'm not explaining myself well.  For all of their science degrees, you still have to go and teach in a classroom for approximately 1-2 weeks, even if you already have your teaching license.  It's their final assessment.  I won't be able to do that and I really prefer not to have that additional stress on me if I am already in a teaching position (that isn't science based).

[Jonathan Whatley]

The TESU BA in Biology isn’t bad! If the WGU BS in Health Science is close enough to biology for your needs, you might look at that.