The Big 3. Why?

[YankeeDoodle]

What makes the "big 3" worthy of the tittle?

[davewill]

Two things set the Big3 apart from the rest:

1. You can transfer in 114-116 units towards your 120 unit degree. 30-90 units is the norm.
2. They accept a wide range of alternative credit. Most schools only accept a small subset of what the Big3 do. Some don't accept any at all.

These combine to make the "test out" method popular here possible. It allows a cheap, fast degree.

The only other way to do it as fast and cheap is using one of the competency schools like WGU, however that approach has a big drawback. They charge by the term, not by the course, so it's only cheap if you can finish in one or two terms. If life happens to slow you down, you are suddenly on the hook for lots more money.

With the Big3, you get to choose the pace. I spent 20 months finishing my degree.
I did not wish to invest more of my time to do it faster. That would have cost a fortune at a competency school.

[Merlin]

I started a reply and then realized that davewill beat me to the punch and said everything I was planning to.

[Jenniferinfl]

What Davewill said.

Colleges near me are very stingy with transfer credit. You can only transfer in credit from regionally accredited schools. They usually won't even take all of those credits. They will take CLEP credits, but, again fairly limited. Some limit to just 30 credits of CLEP and only specific ones.

I could go to college for my bachelor's degree for free after financial aid. But, it would take the whole 2 years on top of my AA and they only have a few online classes, so I would have to figure out how to fit in classes around work.

The big three are the most convenient way for a working adult to earn their college credits. I've earned 11 credits since December 23rd. If I had signed up at a local college, I would just be starting those classes next week and in April I would finally earn that many credits.

[cookderosa]

Separately from the why, it's good to point out that the big 3 are all regionally accredited. This means that they check every major box in terms of legitimacy. That said, they are also going to be online degrees, and that doesn't work in every field.
Also, in order to do it the way it is done here, you have to be ready to DIY your degree. You won't really have the hand-holding you'll get when you enroll somewhere and take classes from them.
The big 3 are the cheapest/fastest only WHEN you apply maximum transfer (over 100 credits) but if you want to take classes at the college you'll graduate from, all 3 of the big 3 get very expensive very quickly. "Rack rate" tuition at Charter Oak State College is almost $50,000 for a bachelor's degree. No one here is paying that. People here are paying under $10,000 and many are paying under $5,000.

[natshar]

Separately from the why, it's good to point out that the big 3 are all regionally accredited.  This means that they check every major box in terms of legitimacy.  That said, they are also going to be online degrees, and that doesn't work in every field.  
Also, in order to do it the way it is done here, you have to be ready to DIY your degree.  You won't really have the hand-holding you'll get when you enroll somewhere and take classes from them.
The big 3 are the cheapest/fastest only WHEN you apply maximum transfer (over 100 credits) but if you want to take classes at the college you'll graduate from, all 3 of the big 3 get very expensive very quickly.  "Rack rate" tuition at Charter Oak State College is almost $50,000 for a bachelor's degree. No one here is paying that.  People here are paying under $10,000 and many are paying under $5,000.

If anyone has no college credit and is interested in pursuing an online degree using the traditional path, they should choose somewhere other than the Big 3 because the cost would be less and the quality of education would likely be better too. This is because the big 3 aren't designed for people to get there whole degree from them. Take TESU for example, there are many degree programs on their website that explicitly say, you need to transfer in most of the major (music, theater etc.). Their course offerings are slim and even if lots of their degrees can be earned with all TESU credit it wouldn't be convenient or cost effective.

[bjcheung77]

<gasp> No! Say it ain't so! I don't know if a majority of degrees from the Big 3 require "transfer credits", but that is actually their selling point and a dang good benefit. I would rather take a cheap/easy/fast course from one of the ACE/NCCRS providers instead of paying full price for a course. I save energy/money and time.

If someone is taking a BSBA or BALS, there are so many AOS to choose from and all can be done with TECEP or TESU Courses, but again, those combined would be expensive. Other degrees such as CS, Math, Psychology, can fully be completed with TESU courses, but no one would want to do it that way because of cost alone.

All I have to say is, Long Live the Big 3 and Competency Based Degree providers! If it's for you, go get that degree from them!

[jsd]

WGU gets talked about a lot as "almost" being part of the Big 3 (making it a Big 4), but as discussed in this thread, competency based education really is a different approach. As CBE evolves, I think there will be a Big X of CBE that eventually emerges, something like WGU, Nothern Arizona University, and JFK University. But it's really up in the air as how that plays out. We've seen other players in the CBE field like Hodges University fizzle out for no clear reason, and there's also other potential players in the field that could make a name for themselves (e.g. Purdue Global, UW Flex, Brandman Univ... and if you're comfortable opening it up to more questionable for-profit institutions: Capella, Walden, etc)

[Ideas]

I'm still sad about Hodges. I hope to see some new competency programs soon.

[natshar]

<gasp> No! Say it ain't so!  I don't know if a majority of degrees from the Big 3 require "transfer credits", but that is actually their selling point and a dang good benefit.  I would rather take a cheap/easy/fast course from one of the ACE/NCCRS providers instead of paying full price for a course.  I save energy/money and time.  

If someone is taking a BSBA or BALS, there are so many AOS to choose from and all can be done with TECEP or TESU Courses, but again, those combined would be expensive. Other degrees such as CS, Math, Psychology, can fully be completed with TESU courses, but no one would want to do it that way because of cost alone.

All I have to say is, Long Live the Big 3 and Competency Based Degree providers!  If it's for you, go get that degree from them!

Yeah you are right a lot don't require it, but some do. Like Theater, Music, Air Traffic Control and Religion can't be done unless you have transfer credit somehow. That kind of degrees might be done better off at a different University than the big three depending on your life circumstances and career path.