fast BS to work in Education/German Teacher with an emergency teacher's certificate

[Deutschlehrer]

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
[b]Your Age: 45
[b]What kind of degree do you want?:any BS – preferable in education/ foreign language – currently looking at UMPI – BS – Liberal Studies – education minor
[b]Current Regional Accredited Credits: 85.5 GPA 3.91 accredited by WES (World Education System)

School Name Total Credits: Academy of Social Work – Vienna completed a 3 year program there. WES accredited 84 credits. Yes I have the official transcript as well. My credits are 24 years old.[/b][/b][/b]

[b][b][b][b]Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits:
none as of now - but will start soon
Any certifications or military experience?
[/b][/b][/b][/b]
None, I have a bunch of training ours in Special Education and Education in general.


Budget: I have a max of $10 K.  I'd like to go the cheapest route possible, but will consider spending more for easy and fast.  
Commitments: Honestly, just kids/spouse. I currently work full time and can work on my studies part time – I have an easy work load.
Dedicated time to study: I can study as much as is needed during the night or weekends as long as my schedule is free. I estimate at least 3 hours every week night and on the weekends, maybe 6 hours, total would be roughly 15+12=27 hours or slightly more.
Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal.  I would like to finish within 1 year
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Yes, my workplace may give tuition reimbursement but has to do with education and usually a masters program. So I may or may not qualify up to $5.000 a year. This will be more interesting if I can find a job as a German Teacher and or Sub and will have to enroll into a teacher prep program (post-bacculerate program). I would like to attend Wilson University for that.

I am interested in a competency based – work at your own pace program for the BS. I hope I will secure a job as a German teacher (Foreign Speaker) after I have the BS. I had a job offer for a cyberschool to be a German teacher but my foreign credentials were evaluated as an Associates Degree with 84 credits and not a BS as I was hoping for. The Austrians stated that this degree is equivalent to a Bachelors degree. From the looks at it I am missing all general ed classes. It is very common for 3 year programs in Europe to not have gen ed classes. I have worked in the US for over 20 years and I get by very well with my English skills. All my schooling is from Austria. I would like to get the right credentials to pursue my journey to become a German teacher. If I can not get a job at a cyber school I may change my career route again but I would like to try.

Transcript: attached 

Questions:

·      Can I be excused from the English admissions test? If not Is the Duolingo English test easier/ or the Toefl?

·      Does it it make more sense to complete the CLEP in German or the ACFTL? UMPI doesn’t offer German, can I still get credit for German Clep or ACFTL?

·      IS UMPi’s program accredited by the Department of Education?

·      Which Sofia credits can I take in preparation? I was thinking American Government, Art History, Public Speaking, American History

·      Shall I take math at UMPI or get it done with Sophia?

·      I am hoping to get all education related coursework done with UMPI

·      Shall I take English Comp at UMPI? Sophia or Clep out?

·      Can my Austrian degree be accepted instead of my HS diploma – I don’t want to have it evaluated and translated – more money to be spent in the wrong place.

What could a possible degree plan look like?
[b][b][b] [/b][/b][/b]

[ss20ts]

UMPI will accept pretty much any foreign language so German will be 100% fine.

What do you mean by: IS UMPi’s program accredited by the Department of Education?
UMPI is an RA university. It is a state university.

[Jonathan Whatley]

The US Department of Education does not accredit colleges directly. It recognizes accrediting agencies, which are independent non-profit associations, to do so. UMPI is accredited by a US Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency, specifically a regional accreditor (RA), specifically the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

[RachelB]

Questions:

·      Can I be excused from the English admissions test? If not Is the Duolingo English test easier/ or the Toefl?

·      Does it it make more sense to complete the CLEP in German or the ACFTL? UMPI doesn’t offer German, can I still get credit for German Clep or ACFTL?

·      Which Sofia credits can I take in preparation? I was thinking American Government, Art History, Public Speaking, American History

·      Shall I take math at UMPI or get it done with Sophia?

·      I am hoping to get all education related coursework done with UMPI

·      Shall I take English Comp at UMPI? Sophia or Clep out?

·      Can my Austrian degree be accepted instead of my HS diploma – I don’t want to have it evaluated and translated – more money to be spent in the wrong place.

What could a possible degree plan look like?
[b][b][b] [/b][/b][/b]

UMPI probably is your best bet. Honestly, if I were you, I would just apply and send all your docs. After UMPI tells you what you need, it'll be easier to make a plan for which Sophia classes to take.

You'll need to take 30 credits with UMPI, so 10 classes. There are 7 classes for the education minor, so you'd need to take a minimum of 3 more classes with them. Which classes you should choose really depend on how your other credits are applied - upper level vs lower level, etc.

[bjcheung77]

@Deutschlehrer, Welcome to the board, UMPI BLS Educational Studies minor is a very good choice... You should have the 84 credits transferred in, you can see what other two classes you can get from Sophia.org if you're missing any gen eds or electives to max it to 90 credits, then complete the minor entirely at UMPI plus take the 3-4 classes that can go towards the MAOL later as the minor itself doesn't have enough upper level credits if I recall correctly...