sanantone Wrote:I don't see how a liberal arts degree would be any better in the private sector. There are degrees sort of related to military studies that would have more flexibility. The marketability of these degrees at the undergraduate level isn't great, but definitely better than liberal arts: political science, criminal justice, homeland security, and public administration.

EdSeeker Wrote:Another question I had was if there are any test-for-credit options using just the internet as I cannot get to a Pearson center?

I hope that all of this makes sense, and if anyone of you have anything to add or resources that you think I would be best served by using or really anything at all (Even some motivation!) I would very much appreciate hearing from you!

Thanks!

UptonSinclair Wrote:All of the degrees you just listed are liberal arts degrees.

Let me give an example of two similar degrees and the different impression they might present. A criminal justice degree and a sociology degree are very closely related. In the criminal justice system, the criminal justice degree might have a slight advantage over a sociology degree, but if one were to seek a degree outside criminal justice I believe the sociology degree would be far more flexible. I believe the situation for military studies to be similar. It is essentially a social science degree with a little management thrown in. A degree in political science, international relations, or public administration would be far more flexible.

Finally, in a situation where the student is in their field and wants to advance, the major is far less important. My Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies combines computer technology and electrical technology. Though it is technically a liberal arts degree, it fits a niche in my industry.

Anyway, I am sure the op knows what is best in his circumstances. I just figured it wouldn't hurt to throw the thought out there.

Quote:Bachelor’s degree with major in Clinical Psychology, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, Family Relations, Guidance and Counseling, Rehabilitation, Criminal Justice-Corrections (not Law Enforcement or Police Sciences), Education (or education certification), or other related social sciences field. No experience required.

publius2k4 Wrote:This will show you how your Straighterline courses will transfer to Excelsior.

Straighterline/Excelsior

Sanantone provided a link to TESC. As said, their TECEP's will be done through ProcterU real soon.

Your options are limited since there are no test sites in Baghdad, that I'm aware of.

PLA is a bit of a crap chute, because you can only gain credit in PLA for courses that do not already have a credit by exam available. Also, it's pretty difficult to get credit for general education courses through PLA, since PLA goes off of life experience. In other words, most of your credits in PLA will be electives or courses for your specific major.

Sanantone posted about a program called Sophia, which is similar to Straighterline, but not yet as popular or robust. But, it might be worth a look. They have several course offerings that Straighterline does not. Here's a link to the thread.

Ace Credits From Sophia

If you are open to the idea of changing from Excelsior to Charter Oak State College or Thomas Edison, TESC and COSC grant credit for many of the FEMA Emergency Management Institute courses. It's possible to get as many as 30+ credits at no charge, which would probably satisfy all of your elective needs.

Charter Oak has a fantastic Public Safety Administration program. I've taken 3 PSA courses at COSC, and I'm very pleased with the content of the courses. I've learned quite a bit. Their PSA courses are 5 weeks each.

Most of my experience is with Charter Oak, so I can't speak much about the other two of the big 3. YMMV.

Best of luck, brother.

sanantone Wrote:Charter Oak might be worth a look if they'll accept FEMA credits toward the Public Safety concentration. TESC has the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness degree where you can use FEMAs toward the major electives. It's still great to be able to use FEMAs to fill up the free electives in almost any degree, which would be expensive to do at Excelsior. As Publius2k4 said, COSC and TESC will take these directly for free. While I'm not a huge fan of criminal justice degrees, they do have more flexibility and are easier to complete with alternative sources than a military studies degree. Propero and Penn Foster offer a lot of criminal justice courses that are ACE-approved. You might also want to look at Propero in addition to Straighterline and Sophia for other courses. Propero works a lot like Straighterline.
Courses | Propero | Pearson

EdSeeker Wrote:Does Propero offer online proctoring like Straightliner does? I looked at their website that you provided, but I couldn't see where they detailed the testing for credit procedures.

Another question I had was if I took classes from TESC, or transferred in the FEMA courses for credit, would I be able to than transfer those courses to Excelsior for credit towards my program?

I realize that utilizing TESC for a degree via their CJ program seems to be the best route, but I really do not want to seek out a CJ degree as I see the market is flooded with many CJ graduates, and to be honest my type of employment is not "regular" law enforcement,hence my interest in pursuing a Military Studies degree or an International Studies program.

Thanks for all the information that you have all given me, it is very appreciated and it is helping me format an action plan to help me complete this goal, getting information from those who have BTDT or are in the process is so much more reliable than trying to make sense of the information passed out from each individual school!