XAMK question

[k-k-k-katy]

At one point someone here had recommended that I look into XAMK to help fulfill the TESU AOS courses for (L.A.) Health and Wellness.  I am still looking ahead a bit, but am trying to find/line up (non-credit) courses, certs. etc. that might help with PLA-ing for those courses.  I did see a course offered by XAMK called "Gerontological Nursing" and am wondering if it might actually fulfill (credit-earning) the required TESU course GER-312 Biological Aspects of Aging.  I am not enrolled with TESU yet, is this something I need to ask TESU directly?  I am asking here first because I have read multiple posts where students get mistaken information when asking TESU sometimes.  :-( My first thought was it might be a good source for PLA material because the course descriptions are very similar, but then I read a thread here that seems as though these XAMK credits actually do transfer to TESU.  Any input would be appreciated!  Thanks!

[rachel83az]

That's not something that you can ask TESU directly. They'll give you one of two answers: 1.) The course doesn't transfer (which isn't true) or 2.) They can't tell you until you have the foreign credits evaluated properly (the truth).

I would just go ahead and take as many health-related courses as you are able to. It will cost exactly the same whether you have 1 course evaluated or 10 of them. I would especially take https://www.xamk.fi/en/open-amk-courses/...5-ects-cr/ as it might (should) count for UL credit at TESU because it's a Master-level course.

[k-k-k-katy]

That's not something that you can ask TESU directly. They'll give you one of two answers: 1.) The course doesn't transfer (which isn't true) or 2.) They can't tell you until you have the foreign credits evaluated properly (the truth).

I would just go ahead and take as many health-related courses as you are able to. It will cost exactly the same whether you have 1 course evaluated or 10 of them. I would especially take https://www.xamk.fi/en/open-amk-courses/...5-ects-cr/ as it might (should) count for UL credit at TESU because it's a Master-level course.

Thanks for the quick reply!  Did I read correctly that these credits are considered RA credit by TESU?  And, how do you tell if the particular course is self-paced?  So far I have been looking at options that closely align with the AOS Health and Wellness specific courses (course descriptions).  I would feel like I hit the jackpot if it came in as an equivalent :-).  Earlier I had skimmed the rehab course through XAMK and wasn't sure it would fit in with those required TESU courses:
HEA-305 Women's Health
HEA-306 Men's Health
FIT-211 Kinesiology
FIT 230/250 Health and Wellness Assessment/Services
(of course the GER-312 course)
I guess I am just a question type of person because I feel like I have so many more questions regarding XAMK but I will stop for now :-) Thank you for your input!!

[ROYISAGIRL]

So I had XAMK evaluated by ACEI before I sent it to TESU. They do take them, however you may get one or two courses where they don't like how it was presented in the syllabus (I had it happen and I didn't feel like fighting the issue). I would say take a few courses through XAMK to make it worth your money getting it evaluated by ACEI or any other foreign credit evaluator.

[rachel83az]

Yes, XAMK courses are RA credits at TESU. Take as many as you can and at least fill up your electives with RA credit for only about $200 (the cost of the evaluation)!

If it says "continuous start" then it's almost certainly self-paced, though I think they usually give you a deadline to finish. Like 2-3 months after you are admitted to the course. The others are usually more self-paced than not, though you'll find an occasional instructor who insists on quizzes/exams only on specific days at specific times. That's a bit ridiculous. Thankfully, most of them are NOT like that.

[ROYISAGIRL]

Yes, XAMK courses are RA credits at TESU. Take as many as you can and at least fill up your electives with RA credit for only about $200 (the cost of the evaluation)!

If it says "continuous start" then it's almost certainly self-paced, though I think they usually give you a deadline to finish. Like 2-3 months after you are admitted to the course. The others are usually more self-paced than not, though you'll find an occasional instructor who insists on quizzes/exams only on specific days at specific times. That's a bit ridiculous. Thankfully, most of them are NOT like that.

Or the odd group project I had to drop that one since everyone on my team was in Finland and I wasn't able to do the presentation

[k-k-k-katy]

Yes, XAMK courses are RA credits at TESU. Take as many as you can and at least fill up your electives with RA credit for only about $200 (the cost of the evaluation)!

If it says "continuous start" then it's almost certainly self-paced, though I think they usually give you a deadline to finish. Like 2-3 months after you are admitted to the course. The others are usually more self-paced than not, though you'll find an occasional instructor who insists on quizzes/exams only on specific days at specific times. That's a bit ridiculous. Thankfully, most of them are NOT like that.

Or the odd group project I had to drop that one since everyone on my team was in Finland and I wasn't able to do the presentation

Thanks for the information!  I hope to keep to as straight a line as possible to the degree, so I'll spend some time tonight looking at course descriptions.  I will play around with my degree plan to see how it would look if I go this route, and get some feed-back from my study partner.  I feel that even if TESU won't actually take the Gerontology Nursing course in the AOS I can use it as part of my PLA for it.  Is it possible to assess what level these courses will come in as?  Most of my experience is with Sophia, so I am hoping this leap won't be too crazy.

[rachel83az]

There's no good way to tell what level these courses will be equated to, unfortunately. I would just figure that everything will come in as LL except anything labeled "Master's" which should come in as UL.

[k-k-k-katy]

There's no good way to tell what level these courses will be equated to, unfortunately. I would just figure that everything will come in as LL except anything labeled "Master's" which should come in as UL.

Have you taken any "Master" level XAMK courses and compared to Sophia, what should we expect?  We're both pretty good students normally.  Did you take more than one course at a time?  How much time did you invest (ie:  daily/weekly) in your courses?  What about writing (homework) and testing?  Thanks for input!

[rachel83az]

I have not yet completed any Master level XAMK courses. I have one scheduled but it doesn't start for another month (Chinese Business Culture).

I do take more than one course at a time, yes. Depending on the course, I usually spend 1-3 hours per week per course reading everything and doing whatever assignment/quizzes need to be done. But I'm a fast reader, so someone with a slower reading speed might expect to spend 3-5 hours per course. If it's a course with multiple essays, I would probably expect to spend even more time writing them.

I would suggest only doing 1 or 2 XAMK courses at a time to start. You can always add more if you're comfortable with the course load.