Warning: The War & Peace of Road maps

[Rebecca150]

First of all, sorry for the length. I'm trying to be thorough and I'm trying to figure all this out. It's a lot of information, a lot of choices and a lot of conditions. I think I have one degree plan figured out and this is the start of my road map. If you have time to sift through this, I would love to know if this would be workable. I'd like to get feedback so I can make adjustments before I seek out an advisor at Charter Oaks.
For a frame of reference I have worked in public libraries for 7 years and I would eventually like to go for my MLIS. The Bachelor of Arts degree at Charter Oak school would serve me well and I'm leaning towards the Liberal Studies concentration. For my concentration I would like to do a combination of possibly literature and history. I think that would serve me fairly well. In addition I am interested in the genealogy certificate program through BYU.
If I understand correctly there are three basic categories of classes I have to take at Charter Oak. General Education, Concentration and Electives. I want to do mostly testing out if possible, but I do have up to 10,000 dollars per year available in tuition reimbursement through my work if I need to take an actual class here or there. I could use this money for the capstone course and the genealogy courses I'm interested in.
I counted and I do have the 90 liberal arts credits including general education, concentration and elective credits. But I am not sure, How many total Upper level credits will I need totally for the entire degree?

I laid it all out for myself.


General Education Requirements
Written Communication
-English Comp 1 / 3 Credit hours (community college)
-Technical Writing / 3 credit hours (dsst/tecep)
Oral Communications
-Principles of public speaking / 3 credit hours (dsst)
Information Literacy
-Capstone / 3 credit hours (charter oak)
Ethical Decision Making
-Ethics in America / 3 credits (dsst)
US History/Government
-HIstory of the United States 1 / 3 credit hours (clep)
Global Understanding
-Introduction to World Religions / 3 credit hours (dsst)
Literature and Fine Arts
-Music History II / 3 credit hours (clep)
Social/Behavioral Science
-General Anthropology / 3 credit hours (dsst)
Mathematics
-College Algebra / 3 credit hours (clep)
Natural Sciences
-Biology / 6 credit hours (clep)
-Basic Genetics / 3 credit hours (UExcel) Equals 39 credit hours

Concentration – Liberal Studies (2 to 3 areas...Possible Literature and History)
Total 36 credits with 18 credits at the upper level with a logical distribution between the various disciplines in concentration.
Literature in English / 18 Credit Hours (GRE) (Upper Credit) (will these three satisfy UC)
Civil War and Reconstruction / 3 credit hours (dsst) U (will these three satisfy UC)
Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union / 3 credit hours (dsst) U (will these three satisfy UC)
History of the United States II / 3 credit hours (clep)
Western Civilization I / 3 credit hours (clep)
Western Civilization II / 3 credit hours (clep)
World History 1600- present / 3 credit hours (tecep) Equals 36 credits

Electives – Need 45 additional electives (15 courses)
American Literature / 3 credit hours (clep)
Analyzing and interpreting literature / 3 hours (clep)
Human/Cultural Geography / 3 hours (dsst)
Humanities / 3 hours (community college)
Organizational Behavior / 3 credit hours (uexcel – upper level)
Introduction to Music / 3 credit hours (uexcel)
Music History II / 3 credit hours ( tecep)
Cultural Diversity / 3 credit hours (uexcel – upper level)
World Conflicts since 1900 / 3 credit hours (uexcel – upper level) Equals 45 credits

If I can take BYU courses for Genealogy then these are some possible choices They are not all independent study I don't think but I think I could still take them, or something like them.
The Family Historians craft
English language handwriting and documents
Colonial family, local and social history research
Historical narrative, a writing workshop
Southern united states family, local and social history research
Computers in Family historical research and publication

Looking forward to Comments and Advice :-)

[dfrecore]

I can't help with COSC, but I did want to comment on 2 things:
1) in the Literature & Fine Arts section for GE, you listed Music History II (CLEP), but there is no CLEP for that; you also listed the same course as a TECEP under Electives, not sure if you can have it in 2 places?
2) General Anthropology and Rise & Fall of the Soviet Union DSST's are not available, they're being revised and haven't been available since 1/1/15.

Regarding COSC's history major, it looks to me like you need 33cr in History, with at least 6cr in at least 2 countries besides their own. I don't think you have enough credits in history, nor do you have the credits you need. But I'm certainly not an expert in COSC's plans, so I'll leave that up to someone else to help you.

[cookderosa]

Also not helpful for the specific degree plan, but just general comment too- if you're considering grad school at any point in the future, you might want to use some of that $10k for classes in your desired major. There are a lot of benefits to that approach as opposed to taking the lower gen eds. Also, you didn't ask, but I'm totally going to throw it out there - Harvard has a wonderful liberal arts degree that allows you to study the best literature and history classes money can buy - and degrees you can do mostly online. They are not 100% online but the few classes that have to be in person can be worked into a short session or summer session. They are open enrollment, and when you pass 3 courses, you can apply for degree seeking status. The hard part about their degree is those first three classes are out of pocket cash because not being officially enrolled, people are not eligible for financial aid, but, for someone with reimbursement funds- wow. If money weren't an object for me, I'd finish the master's I started with them in a millisecond. Truly the best classes I'd ever taken. Undergraduate Degrees | Harvard Extension

[topdog98]

But I am not sure, How many total Upper level credits will I need totally for the entire degree?

You will need 30 total upper level credits to receive a bachelors degree at COSC.

If I am understanding you correctly, you are wanting a degree in Individualized Studies with a concentration in Literature/History. Here is what you need in your concentration:

"The number of credits and distribution by level consists of a minimum of 36 credits with a minimum of 18 at the upper level. The 18 upper level credits must represent a logical distribution from various disciplines in the concentration. The concentration needs to show breadth and depth in each subject area chosen."

Here are a few thoughts:

If you haven't seen it, this master exam list will help you. http://www.charteroak.edu/exams/exams-master-list.pdf

You can kill a lot of birds here with one stone. For example, you have World Conflicts Since 1900 on your list under your concentration. (I took this exam). This exam satisfies the Behavior/Social Science, Global Understanding, and Non-U.S. History requirements for General Education. It also counts as upper level in your concentration. Similarly, Civil War and Reconstruction will satisfy the U.S. History General Education requirement and also upper level for your concentration. So you will be able to consolidate several of these if you are smart up front with planning this out. If you do this, I think you will be able to shave off quite a few courses from your list.

You will need to take a lab as part of your Natural Sciences. There are several ways to do this online if necessary.

If you have completed general education, upper level, and liberal arts requirements, you can use free FEMA courses as free electives to get you to 120.

You have a good start. I hope this helps.

[Rebecca150]

Thank you! I took out the music course duplication and I took off the two test that are no longer available.

I want to have my concentration be split between history and literature, so I don't have to have them all be history, I'm hoping I will be able to accomplish that but I am not really sure at this point.

Thank you for catching those classes for me.

[Rebecca150]

Hi Jennifer,

I'm trying to avoid taking classes as much as possible, especially ones that are not independent study. I need the flexibility to get things done on my own timeline, I have a lot of kids at home still so I think having to complete a course withing specific time frames might be a lot of stress for me. Plus the reimbursement is graded, so for every grade letter I drop I lose 25 percent of the total. So I really want to make sure I'm taking course I KNOW I highly likely to get an A grade in (like the genealogy).

I will definitely keep that site bookmarked though.

[Rebecca150]

Hi Topdog

Good to know, total of 30 upper level credits, got it.

Yes, you are understanding my degree plan properly. I was using that master exam list from Charter Oak. It looks like not every thing on there is completely accurate, but I am getting closer with a plan. Do you think I would be okay with just the GRE in literature and one history course being upper level? It would give me 21 credits within the concentration.

I just want to make sure I am understanding correctly, if I take world conflicts then it will satisfy Global understaning and Behavioral Social Science? But the credits would only count once so I would need more electives.

Hmmm, I think I have some reworking to do.

[topdog98]

Do you think I would be okay with just the GRE in literature and one history course being upper level? It would give me 21 credits within the concentration.

I just want to make sure I am understanding correctly, if I take world conflicts then it will satisfy Global understaning and Behavioral Social Science? But the credits would only count once so I would need more electives.

Hmmm, I think I have some reworking to do.

COSC counts the literature GRE this way: "The GRE Subject Test in Literature, evaluated at 18 credits (15 lower, 3 upper)" So you would only get three upper level credits for this exam. The capstone course at COSC would also count for three upper level credits.

Yes to your other question. You may satisfy many requirements with one course, but the credits would only count once toward your total, so you would need more electives.

[Rebecca150]

Ouch, then I'm not sure how I will get enough upper credits for the Literature/History Concentration.

hmmm

[dfrecore]

Here are some UL History & Lit options:

TorCollegeCredits
Eastern European Jewish Immigration and Settlement in the US

The History of Anti-Semitism in the United States
Medieval Hispano-Jewish Poetry

CSU-Pueblo IS

4 UL History

University of Idaho IS

6 UL History

BYU IS
16 UL English
8 UL History

LSU DL
6 UL English
5 UL History