Would this work? COSC GRE Out

[funkEpunkEmonkE]

Gen Eds via CLEP and Dantes:

• Cornerstone/Capstone
  
• English Composition with Essay
  
• Analyzing and Interpreting Literature English Literature
  
• Principles of Public Speaking
  
• American Government
  
• Introduction to World Religions
  
• Social Sciences and History or Humanities
  
• Intro Educational Psychology
  
• Foundations of Education
  
• Ethics-Theory & Practice (via ECE cause it's an upper level credit and fills the Ethics req.)
  
• College Algebra, Trigonometry, PreCalculus, Introduction to Statistics, Business Statistics, and Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (via Aleks, cause it's cheap for Math credits)
  

"Concentration" in Individualized studies, "Science", via GREs:

• Chemistry
  
• Biology
  
• Physics
  

Here is my google doc with a chart.

[Jonathan Whatley]

This is an excellent start. Just a few things:

Each general education requirement at Charter Oak doesn't have to be met by one discrete course or exam: a single course or exam might fulfill more than one simultaneously. DSST Introduction to World Religions, for instance, would fulfill Global Understanding (g) as you have down, and also Non-U.S. History or Culture (n). You wouldn't have to take anything else to fulfill (n). There are several tests each of which will fulfill (g) and (n) and Social/Behavioral Sciences (b) at once: DSST Human/Cultural Geography, ECE World Conflicts Since 1900, ECE World Population, AP Human Geography, and AP Government & Politics: Comparative. (Adult learners can take AP exams, but they're only offered once per year and the process might be obscure.) For other correspondences, see the Master Exam List. Of course, a 3 semester hour exam will still add only 3 semester hours within your degree plan.

It isn't absolutely clear to me when this was implemented or is being implemented, but Charter Oak is adding a science lab requirement for new students enrolling at a certain point, and increasing the science gen ed requirement to 7 or 8 semester hours (DF thread). This lab requirement can readily be met by a distance learning lab course. Charter Oak offers a few itself, and of course others can be transferred in.

Generally, Charter Oak's concentration in Liberal Studies is for students with interdisciplinary combinations of more than one liberal arts subject. The concentration in Individualized Studies is for students with interdisciplinary combinations of at least one liberal arts discipline and at least one applied discipline. Chemistry/Biology/Physics would be a natural Liberal Arts subject. Put something like Management in there and it would be an Individualized Studies concentration. If you preferred the title Individualized Studies I'll guess that they might allow an all-liberal arts concentration there, but I wouldn't expect that they'd permit a concentration with an applied discipline in Liberal Studies.

During the Cornerstone, every Charter Oak bachelor's student completes a Concentration Plan of Study, including a course/exam list and answers to a short series of questions about the concentration's rationale. These are submitted to consulting subject area faculty who review and approve, or recommend changes. I can envision a great rationale for your concentration above. Of course I can't speak for faculty!

[rebel100]

I knew if I waited Whatley would answer this one with better than I could.

[Jonathan Whatley]

Well I'm not agreeing, but! Thank you.

[funkEpunkEmonkE]

Each general education requirement at Charter Oak doesn't have to be met by one discrete course or exam: a single course or exam might fulfill more than one simultaneously...There are several tests each of which will fulfill (g) and (n) and Social/Behavioral Sciences (b) at once: DSST Human/Cultural Geography, ECE World Conflicts Since 1900, ECE World Population.

No Way! Thanks so much for the advice. I can substitute some FREE FEMA courses in for any extra credits I need. Updating my spreadsheet now!

Update:
Gen Eds:
COSC Cornerstone/Capstone
CLEP English Composition with Essay
CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature English Literature
DSST Principles of Public Speaking
CLEP American Government
ECE World Population
ECE Ethics-Theory & Practice
ALEKS College Algebra, Trigonometry, PreCalculus, Introduction to Statistics, Business Statistics, and Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (cause it's cheap. I'll complete as much as I can in one month - I only need College Algebra for the req. )
FEMA Courses to fill any hours I didn't with ALEKS (I happen to like Math, which is why I'd rather just do those)

"Concentration" in Liberal Studies, "Science", via GREs:
Chemistry
Biology
Physics

During the Cornerstone, every Charter Oak bachelor's student completes a Concentration Plan of Study, including a course/exam list and answers to a short series of questions about the concentration's rationale. These are submitted to consulting subject area faculty who review and approve, or recommend changes. I can envision a great rationale for your concentration above. Of course I can't speak for faculty!

Thanks!

So, How hard are the GREs for a science buff/genius?

[Jonathan Whatley]

So, How hard are the GREs for a science buff/genius?

You tell us! :p

Seriously: Based on reports on this and boards like it, taking GRE subject tests for credit is a relatively rare tactic. Taking three, and in the natural sciences, wow! Even thinking in terms of 'GREing out' – a (very quick) web search suggests you might be the first person EVER to use GRE as a verb.

I don't think this is an unusual approach because it's inherently unreasonable. You could well blaze this trail.

First, have you looked into sample GREs and outlines from the College Board, and third-party prep material specifically for the GREs? The Princeton Review guides for the biology and chemistry GREs especially seem to be the best-reviewed on Amazon; Princeton Review hasn't published a guide for the physics GRE. For chemistry, I'd also look at the study guides the American Chemical Society publishes for their undergraduate exams.

A second step would be to work from an official outline on one hand, and textbooks, study guides, syllabi, lectures, notes, etc. for core courses in an undergraduate major in each subject in the the other.

You might also keep in mind that the GRE isn't the only credit by examination option in each subject. In a contingency where you didn't meet the cut score for credit on any of the three GREs but still had a strong foundation in each subject, you could take the CLEPs in Biology and Chemistry, the UExcel ECEP in Physics, and then start adding subject exams like ECE Anatomy and Physiology, TECEP The Science of Nutrition… Upper-level credit-by-examination options in the natural sciences are limited. You'd basically have to earn some upper level credit in the concentration (beyond the cornerstone) by coursework or prior learning assessment to build a concentration similar to yours above without any GRE. But you'd still have options.

[sanantone]

Earlier this year, I was thinking about taking GREs to create an interdisciplinary degree at COSC. However, they could not tell me how the credits were exactly transcribed. According to them, they don't create equivalents to specific courses. I wonder how this looks on a transcript. They told me the GRE subject tests mostly fulfill concentration electives, but I could use them for the individualized or liberal studies programs in theory.

[funkEpunkEmonkE]

I took the practice tests, and they were like gibberish to me. I guess I don't know as much as I thought, but studying would help!

[Jonathan Whatley]

Aww! Remember, GRE Subject Tests are primarily intended to test applicants to graduate programs in each subject. Typically (not always), a candidate would have taken a major in that or a close cognate field.

You've got a good ambition to have! And you could always scale it down, at least to start, by going for the CLEPs, UE Physics, etc. instead in some or all of the subjects.

[Daithi]

I had thought about doing something similar when I started on my degree program. I was going to take the Computer Science GRE, but then it was announced they were discontinuing the exam, and I didn't think I would have enough time to study, so I nixed the idea.