University Recommendations Please

[SophiaPrincess]

My younger brother is deployed overseas (not US military) and he'd like to find a transfer-friendly, asynchronous university program to complete his bachelor's degree. Already consulted the excellent information at https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Co...d_Programs

1) He strongly prefers exams rather than essays. Rules out UMPI.

2) He has over 100 credit hours of Sophia and would like to transfer as close to 90 hours as possible. Rules out WGU.

3) His schedule changes erratically without notice. He needs asynchronous courses.

4) If it matters, he is a US citizen.

5) His internet access is limited to unstable satellite and occasionally poor cellular connections. Rules out proctoring.

6) He plans to get an MBA latter so his bachelor's degree needs to be regionally accredited. Ideally, a public or nonprofit university.

7) Ideally, the tuition would be affordable.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions. 

[Jonathan Whatley]

5) His internet access is limited to unstable satellite and occasionally poor cellular connections. Rules out proctoring.

Rules out web proctoring. Some schools, even if they typically use web proctoring today, will arrange to use an old school in-person proctor if needed. The school could email a test to an acceptable individual who would administer the test. Common proctors in these scenarios include a work supervisor, work human resources official, local librarian, local school official, or local church official.

At TESU, look especially at TECEPs, e-Pack courses, and Guided Study courses.

If the target school is TESU or Excelsior, Coopersmith or LawShelf courses (both NCCRS) might work to infill credit beyond Sophia.

Check out Upper Iowa University self-paced courses, CpaCredits courses through UIU, Sophia acceptance, and distance learning degrees.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

My younger brother is deployed overseas (not US military) and he'd like to find a transfer-friendly, asynchronous university program to complete his bachelor's degree. Already consulted the excellent information at https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Co...d_Programs

1) He strongly prefers exams rather than essays. Rules out UMPI.

2) He has over 100 credit hours of Sophia and would like to transfer as close to 90 hours as possible. Rules out WGU.

3) His schedule changes erratically without notice. He needs asynchronous courses.

4) If it matters, he is a US citizen.

5) His internet access is limited to unstable satellite and occasionally poor cellular connections. Rules out proctoring.

6) He plans to get an MBA latter so his bachelor's degree needs to be regionally accredited. Ideally, a public or nonprofit university.

7) Ideally, the tuition would be affordable.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions. 

I think TESU might be the best option if that's the case. He can maximize those transfer credits from Sophia and use them towards TESU. TECEPS would help get him closer to the 114 credits that they accept, plus, it would also help in reducing the residency fee. I think that this is his best option.

[SophiaPrincess]

Thank you Jonathon and Mint Berry. I applied to TESU before settling on UMPI. They didn't handle my Sophia transfer credit particularly well. As I recall, TESU accepted less than 80% of my Sophia transfer credit. However, that might be the best option. Aren't TESU exams proctored? None of the men my brother is serving with speak English well. He is out in the field so he has access to a limited number of people who could serve as proctors. I will look into the proctoring requirements at UIU.

[Jonathan Whatley]

TESU exams are proctored. There's usually someone at a school who can arrange exceptions for exceptional cases like your brother's clearly is.

Distance education pioneer John Bear wrote on on the sister board,

During my nine years of involvement with the Heriot-Watt University/Edinburgh Business School MBA, which required nine 3-hour proctored exams, thankfully the Scots thrived on the challenge of complicated exam situations: the sailor on a nuclear sub under the polar ice cap (the Captain proctored), the sole literate person in a remote Siberian village (they found an Orthodox Priest two villages away), the 100% paralyzed woman (but she could operate a letter generator through eye motion; they gave her extra time). One of the few they rejected was a missionary couple on a tiny South Pacific island, the only English speakers, they said, who proposed that they proctor each other.

[SophiaPrincess]

TESU exams are proctored. There's usually someone at a school who can arrange exceptions for exceptional cases like your brother's clearly is.

Distance education pioneer John Bear wrote on on the sister board,

During my nine years of involvement with the Heriot-Watt University/Edinburgh Business School MBA, which required nine 3-hour proctored exams, thankfully the Scots thrived on the challenge of complicated exam situations: the sailor on a nuclear sub under the polar ice cap (the Captain proctored), the sole literate person in a remote Siberian village (they found an Orthodox Priest two villages away), the 100% paralyzed woman (but she could operate a letter generator through eye motion; they gave her extra time). One of the few they rejected was a missionary couple on a tiny South Pacific island, the only English speakers, they said, who proposed that they proctor each other.

Thank you for the clarification. We are all indebted to the legendary Dr. Bear for raising awareness for distance and nontraditional education. It would appear that TESU is off the table.  According to their website, UIU Flex Semester courses aren't proctored. Their traditional self paced paper courses require a proctor. I hope UIU works out because he doesn't appear to have other options.

Thanks again

[bjcheung77]

Your best bet right now is to complete classes from Sophia.org, up to a max transfer of 90 credits, into a few institutions. Create a spreadsheet for Excelsior, TESU, UMPI, WGU, whatever other institution interests you, and once you have a degree plan ready for these, cross reference the classes that transfer from Coursera, Sophia.org, Study.com, TEEX, whatever other NCCRS credits are available, until you have max that transfer. Most of the institutions will have similar general education and electives (except for WGU). Decide on the institution later on, not at this time, get the ball rolling and start with accumulating credits instead of debating on which institution to attend, you can do that after you reach 60-90 credits for transfer...

[Avidreader]

I only have experience with the Health degree, but University of the People accepted Sophia courses for some of the degree's proctored courses. If I can finish the remaining proctored courses with Sophia, I could do the degree without any proctored exams. If the college gets RA in February, it could become a viable option.

[SophiaPrincess]

Your best bet right now is to complete classes from Sophia.org, up to a max transfer of 90 credits, into a few institutions.  Create a spreadsheet for Excelsior, TESU, UMPI, WGU, whatever other institution interests you, and once you have a degree plan ready for these, cross reference the classes that transfer from Coursera, Sophia.org, Study.com, TEEX, whatever other NCCRS credits are available, until you have max that transfer.  Most of the institutions will have similar general education and electives (except for WGU).  Decide on the institution later on, not at this time, get the ball rolling and start with accumulating credits instead of debating on which institution to attend, you can do that after you reach 60-90 credits for transfer...

Thank you BJ. As I stated in point #2, my brother already has over 100 credit hours at Sophia. In addition, he has two Google Career certificates I didn't mention. Since he has taken virtually the same Sophia courses as I, and I applied to the Big 3, I am reasonably familiar with what will transfer. The bigger concern is his inability to use a proctoring service while deployed and his preference to avoid essays like UMPI.

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I only have experience with the Health degree, but University of the People accepted Sophia courses for some of the degree's proctored courses. If I can finish the remaining proctored courses with Sophia, I could do the degree without any proctored exams. If the college gets RA in February, it could become a viable option.

Thanks AvidReader. I was unaware of UofP's pending regional accreditation. Unless UofP offers enough courses without proctoring, my brother couldn't complete his degree while deployed. How does one discern which UofP courses don't require proctoring?

[bjcheung77]

Here's an example of a private message I got at around midnight yesterday/today in the morning depending on how you look at things, they're in very similar shoes as your brother... We know only the info provided by you and your posts, you may have 120+ credits from Coursera, Sophia.org, and other providers combined, but without creating a spreadsheet, you're not going to know how many credits will hit your institutions that may work for you. You're already rejecting some institutions because of possible deployment, we don't know when that time frame is either...

At the time being, you can only decide on the CBE or Big 3 options, if none of these fit, you'll have to do some research into other institutions not mentioned on the board. My suggestion so far remains exactly what I mentioned earlier in my post #7 - compare spreadsheets, decide from those institutions on the CBE & Big 3 and decide which one is closer to finish with least resistance. Hmm, Excelsior might fit the bill if you have 113 credits or TESU will if you have 114 credits transferable... What you should be concerned about is both what you mentioned, and the transferability of the credits you currently have.

Hello! BJ,

I hope this email finds you well.

I am pleased to share that I've made significant progress. I have successfully transferred my Sophia credits and units from other colleges to UMPI. However, I need your assistance with an issue I encountered. I transferred a total of 101 credits, but only 69 were granted, leaving 51 credits unaccounted for. Could I kindly request that the advisor reassess my transfer credits? I have the remaining degree requirements from UMPI, along with the transferred units, and would appreciate your support in resolving this matter.

Thank you

It's great you're providing an update, but I can't access the file, nor do I have the basic info. What degree again? I can't help without knowing the full picture. It's best to have the advising success coach send you a highlight of what you're missing, then complete the Sophia.org or Study.com courses recommended on the WIKI.