need help with degree planning for son for Bachelor's in Business Admin or Finance

[ss20ts]

I'd like to take a moment to remind everyone that remote proctoring is not much different or "creepy" than in-person proctoring, which we've all been doing since forever.  If you've sat in a class and taken a test, and your teacher is there, that's in-person proctoring.  Yes, they are watching you take a test.

Remote proctoring is VERY different than a professor being in the same room with you. There's more to it as well. I never had to show my driver's license and have it stored on some database God knows where to take an exam in a classroom. I have experience with Examity and never again. I will not take classes with proctoring again. Examity was an absolute nightmare. They wanted me to turn off my ac because of the noise. They wanted me to tell my neighbor to stop mowing his lawn because of the noise. The wanted me turn my clear glass of water upside down so they could see that it was a clear glass. What kind of moron asks that? They interrupt you while you're taking the exam. They are very difficult to understand as English is not their first language. It was a horrible experience.

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For me I spent 3 sessions at UMPI for my first degree so it was $4200. I took far more than 30 credits. Most people are done in 2 sessions. A few finish in 1. Some in 3. I only spent 3 sessions because I kept adding minors. If I stuck with 1 minor like the degree required I would have been done in 2 sessions which would have been $2800. I transferred 190 something credits to UMPI. Only 90 are counted towards the 120 required. I have been taking classes on and off for a long time and almost all of my credits were from other colleges. Only a handful came from Sophia which was free at that time.

Ashkir has a thread on the UMPI page about how much it cost him. He started with 0 credits and completed his degree in 6 months. He lists out how much he spent for all of his ACE courses in the thread as well.

[rachel83az]

With TESU, you can get a BALS with no proctoring. For a business degree, you can come really close. I think you would need 4-8 Study.com courses, depending on the degree. It also depends on how the Coursera certificates come in: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera These are not proctored, and you might be able to get a general management BSBA by utilizing multiple certificates.

For UMPI, he'd need one proctored exam: Biology 101L from Study.com. Everything else can come from Sophia, Coursera, or papers written at UMPI. But your son would need to be at least 20 years of age.

@rachel83az

Thank you for very helpful information and quick reply. 

For Study.com, based on other replies to this thread, it utilizes a recorded video proctoring software? 

So, it sounds like for the TESU Business Administration degree, depending on the Coursera certificates, he would need a max of 8 video recorded exams (depending on how many exams are required for the course? I am assuming it is just one pass/fail exam)? Sorry for all the questions, but, the concept of video proctoring is really new to me and pretty new to him. When I got my bachelors degree in the late 90s and MBA in the early 2000s, I was still doing in person traditional butt in seat classes.

For the Biology 101L from Study.com required for UMPI, I am assuming the "L" in the course name is a lab class and this would meet a Science with a lab general education requirement? Is Biology 101L the only allowable science requirement? He actually took a Weather course with a Lab. He met the requirement for taking the Weather course, but, failed or dropped the Lab because he blew it off and didn't attend the number of needed sessions to pass it. I am thinking about having him take just the lab portion of the Weather class at YSU this Fall, but, it sounds like it might be quicker and cheaper to take the Biology 101L course? YSU charges about $400 a credit hour and this would be over a 15 week semester. 

Conversely, my guess is that the Study.com BIO 101L course could likely be completed in under 1 month with a Study.com subscription that would be like $200 or less and could also pay for other course requirements. Would you recommend he take the Biology 101L even though he has a Weather course?

He is 20 and will be 21 in August so he meets the age requirement for UMPI. From a cost comparison standpoint, it sounds like the Bachelors in Business from UMPI would cost about $2500-3000 and a Bachelor's degree in Finance would be roughly about $4000?

Thanks,

Education Seeker

Yes, SDC is a recorded video proctor. During the exam, the webcam will record a video of the student taking the exam. They do not take video of you completing lessons or anything like that. Each SDC course needs ONE exam (same with Davar, Coopersmith, StraighterLine, etc. Just one exam) plus quizzes and possibly an assignment. 

I haven't done a breakdown of exactly how many SDC courses you NEED to get a TESU BSBA. So I may be off by a bit. Your best bet would be to make a spreadsheet utilizing information from the wiki. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap That way you can prioritize the non-video proctored courses from Sophia. 

Another thing I forgot is that Davar allows you to choose your own proctor. You can use a live video proctor, a recorded video proctor, or you can get a librarian, priest, etc. (non-family member) to register as a proctor. Then you can take your exams without any video at all, only a standard in-person proctor. So, if he's okay with going somewhere for exams, that could be an option.

Biology 101L does indeed stand for biology with lab. The other option from SDC is Chemistry with lab, and I've heard that one can be a challenge. I forgot that he could also do a lab science from ASU. They have a couple of Biology courses and an Environmental Science course that should be non-proctored. He will need at least one biology course and one physical science course. The lab can be for either the biology or physical science. Most students here are able to complete Biology 101L in 2-3 weeks, but a few have needed a bit longer than a month to complete the lab. 

If you're only doing the science class at SDC, once you account for the lab fees, there is not a huge cost difference between SDC, ASU, and the YSU lab you mentioned. He should pick the lab science that interests him the most. He might want to sign up for ASU this week to audit BIO100 that started yesterday. If he signs up now, he should still be able to audit it. It is FREE to audit the course (or you can upgrade for $25; only pay the remaining $400 if you decide to transcript the course), and he can see if he likes the format.

---

I'd like to take a moment to remind everyone that remote proctoring is not much different or "creepy" than in-person proctoring, which we've all been doing since forever.  If you've sat in a class and taken a test, and your teacher is there, that's in-person proctoring.  Yes, they are watching you take a test.

Remote proctoring is VERY different than a professor being in the same room with you. There's more to it as well. I never had to show my driver's license and have it stored on some database God knows where to take an exam in a classroom. I have experience with Examity and never again. I will not take classes with proctoring again. Examity was an absolute nightmare. They wanted me to turn off my ac because of the noise. They wanted me to tell my neighbor to stop mowing his lawn because of the noise. The wanted me turn my clear glass of water upside down so they could see that it was a clear glass. What kind of moron asks that? They interrupt you while you're taking the exam. They are very difficult to understand as English is not their first language. It was a horrible experience.

I am so glad that RPNow (used by SDC) is not like that! ProctorU can be pretty bad, but I've never heard of anything that bad. Thankfully, not all video proctors are the same. I wouldn't want to touch Examity, though.

[bjcheung77]

Saylor.org used to go with ProctorU, because of complaints, they've changed their proctoring provider and also got to lower their costs from $25 to $5, what a ripoff ProctorU was... thank goodness they made that change over. I highly recommend you to review the ACE/NCCRS providers that Excelsior, TESU, UMPI will accept and go with the ones that you think would work best for the price you can afford.

[EducationSeeker]

I'd like to take a moment to remind everyone that remote proctoring is not much different or "creepy" than in-person proctoring, which we've all been doing since forever.  If you've sat in a class and taken a test, and your teacher is there, that's in-person proctoring.  Yes, they are watching you take a test.

Remote proctoring is VERY different than a professor being in the same room with you. There's more to it as well. I never had to show my driver's license and have it stored on some database God knows where to take an exam in a classroom. I have experience with Examity and never again. I will not take classes with proctoring again. Examity was an absolute nightmare. They wanted me to turn off my ac because of the noise. They wanted me to tell my neighbor to stop mowing his lawn because of the noise. The wanted me turn my clear glass of water upside down so they could see that it was a clear glass. What kind of moron asks that? They interrupt you while you're taking the exam. They are very difficult to understand as English is not their first language. It was a horrible experience.

---

For me I spent 3 sessions at UMPI for my first degree so it was $4200. I took far more than 30 credits. Most people are done in 2 sessions. A few finish in 1. Some in 3. I only spent 3 sessions because I kept adding minors. If I stuck with 1 minor like the degree required I would have been done in 2 sessions which would have been $2800. I transferred 190 something credits to UMPI. Only 90 are counted towards the 120 required. I have been taking classes on and off for a long time and almost all of my credits were from other colleges. Only a handful came from Sophia which was free at that time.

Ashkir has a thread on the UMPI page about how much it cost him. He started with 0 credits and completed his degree in 6 months. He lists out how much he spent for all of his ACE courses in the thread as well.

@ss20ts

Thanks for the feedback on the cost of UMPI.  Given the standard 2 semesters/sessions, I think a budget of around $2800-3500 is probably a reasonable estimate. I recall seeing Askir's estimate of a Bachelors in Business at UMPI so I will look that up and contact that person if need be on cost. 

@dfrecore

There is no WAY my son would put up with that paranoid stupid garbage from Examity proctoring service, he would just hang up and not do the class. That is insane. His anxiety would kick up. The proctoring service should not be a block to a student performing well on an exam. I am really glad people are offering honest feedback on proctoring services as I have no experience with them.

Thanks,

Education Seeker

[EducationSeeker]

With TESU, you can get a BALS with no proctoring. For a business degree, you can come really close. I think you would need 4-8 Study.com courses, depending on the degree. It also depends on how the Coursera certificates come in: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera These are not proctored, and you might be able to get a general management BSBA by utilizing multiple certificates.

If I am understanding correctly, my son would not be required to take any proctoring sessions for the Bachelor in Liberal Studies (BALS) degree from TESU, correct? The 4-8 proctored exams for the TESU BSBA is not bad. I need to check out the degree plan @bjcheung77 provided.
Also, the UMPI Bachelor of Business (BSBA) program only requiring 1 proctored Lab Science class for Biology Lab 101 is not a bad option. I believe that Askir provided a Bachelor of Business Administration degree plan from UMPI in that respective page?
Thanks,
Education Seeker

[carrythenothing]

With TESU, you can get a BALS with no proctoring. For a business degree, you can come really close. I think you would need 4-8 Study.com courses, depending on the degree. It also depends on how the Coursera certificates come in: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera These are not proctored, and you might be able to get a general management BSBA by utilizing multiple certificates.

If I am understanding correctly, my son would not be required to take any proctoring sessions for the Bachelor in Liberal Studies (BALS) degree from TESU, correct? The 4-8 proctored exams for the TESU BSBA is not bad. I need to check out the degree plan @bjcheung77 provided.
Also, the UMPI Bachelor of Business (BSBA) program only requiring 1 proctored Lab Science class for Biology Lab 101 is not a bad option. I believe that Askir provided a Bachelor of Business Administration degree plan from UMPI in that respective page?
Thanks,
Education Seeker

For the liberal arts capstone, you'd only need a proctored exam (the ETS Major Field Test) for a BA in Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Mathematics, Psychology, or Sociology. It's a written assignment instead of a test for other areas of study.

[EducationSeeker]

With TESU, you can get a BALS with no proctoring. For a business degree, you can come really close. I think you would need 4-8 Study.com courses, depending on the degree. It also depends on how the Coursera certificates come in: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera These are not proctored, and you might be able to get a general management BSBA by utilizing multiple certificates.

For UMPI, he'd need one proctored exam: Biology 101L from Study.com. Everything else can come from Sophia, Coursera, or papers written at UMPI. But your son would need to be at least 20 years of age.

@rachel83az

Thank you for very helpful information and quick reply. 

For Study.com, based on other replies to this thread, it utilizes a recorded video proctoring software? 

So, it sounds like for the TESU Business Administration degree, depending on the Coursera certificates, he would need a max of 8 video recorded exams (depending on how many exams are required for the course? I am assuming it is just one pass/fail exam)? Sorry for all the questions, but, the concept of video proctoring is really new to me and pretty new to him. When I got my bachelors degree in the late 90s and MBA in the early 2000s, I was still doing in person traditional butt in seat classes.

For the Biology 101L from Study.com required for UMPI, I am assuming the "L" in the course name is a lab class and this would meet a Science with a lab general education requirement? Is Biology 101L the only allowable science requirement? He actually took a Weather course with a Lab. He met the requirement for taking the Weather course, but, failed or dropped the Lab because he blew it off and didn't attend the number of needed sessions to pass it. I am thinking about having him take just the lab portion of the Weather class at YSU this Fall, but, it sounds like it might be quicker and cheaper to take the Biology 101L course? YSU charges about $400 a credit hour and this would be over a 15 week semester. 

Conversely, my guess is that the Study.com BIO 101L course could likely be completed in under 1 month with a Study.com subscription that would be like $200 or less and could also pay for other course requirements. Would you recommend he take the Biology 101L even though he has a Weather course?

He is 20 and will be 21 in August so he meets the age requirement for UMPI. From a cost comparison standpoint, it sounds like the Bachelors in Business from UMPI would cost about $2500-3000 and a Bachelor's degree in Finance would be roughly about $4000?

Thanks,

Education Seeker

Rachel83az

In your response above for UMPI, to clarify, where you mentioned him needing the 1 proctored exam of Biology 101L (lab) from Study.com, would this be for a Bachelor of Liberal Studies/General Studies or for a Bachelor of Business Degree from UMPI? He would consider both degrees. Just wanted to make sure the proctoring requirement was for the right degree I thought you were mentioning.

Education Seeker

[rachel83az]

All degrees at UMPI require one lab science. SDC is usually the fastest/easiest/cheapest for most students, but it doesn't have to be SDC.

[EducationSeeker]

All degrees at UMPI require one lab science. SDC is usually the fastest/easiest/cheapest for most students, but it doesn't have to be SDC.

@rachel83az
In your earlier response, you mentioned getting a degree from UMPI. Were you referring to a Bachelor of Liberal Studies (or whatever the correct terminology is at UMPI...sorry I am a newbie) or a Bachelor of Business Administration? I figured the need for a proctored class would be the same for Bachelor of Liberal Studies or BSBA for Business, but, just wanted to make sure.

Thanks,

Education Seeker

[rachel83az]

All degrees at UMPI require one lab science. SDC is usually the fastest/easiest/cheapest for most students, but it doesn't have to be SDC.

@rachel83az
In your earlier response, you mentioned getting a degree from UMPI. Were you referring to a Bachelor of Liberal Studies (or whatever the correct terminology is at UMPI...sorry I am a newbie) or a Bachelor of Business Administration? I figured the need for a proctored class would be the same for Bachelor of Liberal Studies or BSBA for Business, but, just wanted to make sure.

Thanks,

Education Seeker

I was referring to both. Basic degree requirements are mostly the same among UMPI degrees. There are only a few minor differences. For instance, the History degree requires 6 credits of foreign language instead of just 3.