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+--- Thread: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? (/Thread-Can-you-add-a-Concentration-after-you-ve-already-graduated)
RE: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? - Daithi - 09-07-2021
(09-05-2021, 11:32 AM)dfrecore Wrote: Something to keep in mind with the cert: I've heard from credible sources at TESU that you need at least 50% of the cert to be UL courses; Study.com only has 1 UL CJ course, so you're going to have to find 2 more somewhere (AOJ-381 Victimology and Criminal Behavior & AOJ-310 Criminal Law). Not sure where you can find UL courses inexpensively, so I think this is going to cost a lot more than it should.
If that's the case, I think you're better off going to UMPI and getting the CJ degree there. It will be faster and cheaper than the Cert at TESU.
I did take a look at Study.com and it looks like just about everything matches up one for one. The required courses are
AOJ-102 Intro to Criminal Justice -- matches study.com CJ 101: Intro to Criminal Justice
AOJ-280 Forensic Science -- matches study.com CJ 106: Forensic Science
SOC-291 Criminology -- matches study.com CJ 104: Introduction to Criminology
AOJ-381 Victimology and Criminal Behavior -- matches study.com CJ 381: Victimology
AOJ-310 Criminal Law -- matches study.com CJ 107: Criminal Law (but LL instead of UL)
They list three electives of which one must be taken
AJO-303 White Collar Crime -- matches study.com CJ 301: White Collar Crime
AOJ-363 American Juvenile Justice System -- matches study.com CJ 305: The Juvenile Justice System
AOJ-484 Public Policy, Crime and Criminal Justice -- matches study.com CJ 103: Public Policy & Criminal Justice
So this leads to a few questions
1. Will TESU accept CJ 107: Criminal Law as meeting their AOJ-310 Criminal Law requirement?
2. If so, would I still need to take an additional UL to make up for Criminal Law being LL?
3. Do I need to take two extra courses so half are UL?
4. If so, could I add UL elective courses that weren't mentioned? (e.g. study.com CJ 306 Research Methods in Criminal Justice.)
To be honest the only thing that really worries me is that they won't accept the LL Criminal Justice course as meeting their UL Criminal Law requirement. That could be a deal breaker.
If they do accept it, but require half of the credits to be UL then that wouldn't be a big deal. It looks like I can do everything at study.com, and I should be able to complete it all it two months. The cost is $200 a month plus $70 per course beyond two courses a month, so if I have to take an extra course or two that would still be a total cost of $610/$680 ($200 x 2 + $70 x 3 or 4) plus the $1250 residency waiver from TESU.
BTW, I noticed that study.com has an Advanced Criminal Law course, but it hasn't been ACE or NCCRS approved yet. Hopefully that happens soon and makes all the above questions moot.
RE: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? - dfrecore - 09-08-2021
(09-07-2021, 11:19 PM)Daithi Wrote:(09-05-2021, 11:32 AM)dfrecore Wrote: Something to keep in mind with the cert: I've heard from credible sources at TESU that you need at least 50% of the cert to be UL courses; Study.com only has 1 UL CJ course, so you're going to have to find 2 more somewhere (AOJ-381 Victimology and Criminal Behavior & AOJ-310 Criminal Law). Not sure where you can find UL courses inexpensively, so I think this is going to cost a lot more than it should.
If that's the case, I think you're better off going to UMPI and getting the CJ degree there. It will be faster and cheaper than the Cert at TESU.
I did take a look at Study.com and it looks like just about everything matches up one for one. The required courses are
AOJ-102 Intro to Criminal Justice -- matches study.com CJ 101: Intro to Criminal Justice
AOJ-280 Forensic Science -- matches study.com CJ 106: Forensic Science
SOC-291 Criminology -- matches study.com CJ 104: Introduction to Criminology
AOJ-381 Victimology and Criminal Behavior -- matches study.com CJ 381: Victimology
AOJ-310 Criminal Law -- matches study.com CJ 107: Criminal Law (but LL instead of UL)
They list three electives of which one must be taken
AJO-303 White Collar Crime -- matches study.com CJ 301: White Collar Crime
AOJ-363 American Juvenile Justice System -- matches study.com CJ 305: The Juvenile Justice System
AOJ-484 Public Policy, Crime and Criminal Justice -- matches study.com CJ 103: Public Policy & Criminal Justice
So this leads to a few questions
1. Will TESU accept CJ 107: Criminal Law as meeting their AOJ-310 Criminal Law requirement?
2. If so, would I still need to take an additional UL to make up for Criminal Law being LL?
3. Do I need to take two extra courses so half are UL?
4. If so, could I add UL elective courses that weren't mentioned? (e.g. study.com CJ 306 Research Methods in Criminal Justice.)
To be honest the only thing that really worries me is that they won't accept the LL Criminal Justice course as meeting their UL Criminal Law requirement. That could be a deal breaker.
If they do accept it, but require half of the credits to be UL then that wouldn't be a big deal. It looks like I can do everything at study.com, and I should be able to complete it all it two months. The cost is $200 a month plus $70 per course beyond two courses a month, so if I have to take an extra course or two that would still be a total cost of $610/$680 ($200 x 2 + $70 x 3 or 4) plus the $1250 residency waiver from TESU.
BTW, I noticed that study.com has an Advanced Criminal Law course, but it hasn't been ACE or NCCRS approved yet. Hopefully that happens soon and makes all the above questions moot.
There are 5 required courses, and 1 elective. Out of those 6 courses, 3 must be UL. That means that even though you can find LL that meet the requirements, the UL won't come in, leaving you short. You can't make up the UL requirements with other courses.
This cert is NOT available using Study.com courses only. You MUST find 2 UL CJ courses that meet 2 of the requirements.
RE: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? - rachel83az - 09-09-2021
If you check the TESU CJ degree page on the wiki, I think that there are suggestions for those courses. I still think it would be easier and probably cheaper at this point to just get a CJ degree from UMPI.
RE: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? - bjcheung77 - 09-09-2021
As I mentioned in Post #3, my suggestion is, it may be better to do a second Bachelors at UMPI for a second BACJ degree, or a CBE for a Masters. In Post #8, I asked about TECEPS and courses at TESU, if you have residency requirements met, then a second BA at TESU is a no brainer as you just need to pay the capstone fee...
RE: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? - Daithi - 09-10-2021
I didn't take any TECEPS when I got my degree, and the only course I actually took at TESU was their capstone. Everything else I transferred in. I'll take a look at UMPI.
It is a shame that study.com doesn't offer an UL version of Criminal Law, as it appears this is the only course that is preventing me from using them to meet all the requirements, and accomplishing it all in 2 months. I could wait to see if study.com gets their Advanced Criminal Law course ACE approved as an UL course, or just take the UL Criminal Law course somewhere else (Penn Foster or Prospero?).
Or, I can just take a look at UMPI.
RE: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? - rachel83az - 09-10-2021
I would just go with UMPI. It's almost certainly going to be cheaper, easier, and more worthwhile to get a second degree than it would be to bring in credits for a certificate at TESU.
RE: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? - sanantone - 09-10-2021
Might as well get a master's degree at Walden, but I would verify with TESU whether you'd truly need 9 UL credits for the CJ certificate. Either way, the master's will be more valuable than a second bachelor's degree in an interdisciplinary field or an undergraduate certificate in an interdisciplinary field. I'm not a fan of adding a non-career-specific bachelor's degree on top of a non-career-specific bachelor's degree, especially when you can become a parole or probation officer with almost any degree. Getting some law enforcement, corrections, or social services experience would be more valuable than getting a second bachelor's in CJ.
RE: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? - bjcheung77 - 09-10-2021
Ah, I see, then yeah, if you don't have residency credits, I would skip TESU. My suggestion is the same as Sanantone's, go for the Masters CJ at Walden. If you finish in two terms for $5400, it's cheaper, easier, faster than completing a second Bachelors at TESU due to cost of casptone/residency waiver...
RE: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? - rachel83az - 09-10-2021
For someone who is semi-retired and who, presumably, has a tighter budget as a result, spending $5400+ for a Master's degree might not make much sense when you can get a second Bachelor's degree for about half that. Ultimately, you have to do what works best for your situation, though.
RE: Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated? - sanantone - 09-10-2021
(09-10-2021, 01:11 PM)rachel83az Wrote: For someone who is semi-retired and who, presumably, has a tighter budget as a result, spending $5400+ for a Master's degree might not make much sense when you can get a second Bachelor's degree for about half that. Ultimately, you have to do what works best for your situation, though.
How fast do you expect someone to complete 51 credits at UMPI?
When you don't have experience, you can qualify for many federal government jobs with education. Some of the jobs people might want are not offered at lower grades. Let's look at Dayton, OH.
Bachelor's degree - GS-5 - $36,247
One year of graduate education - GS-7 - $44,900
Two years of graduate education or a master's degree - GS-9 - $54,922.
The OP might be semi-retired, but the jobs of interest are full-time jobs that will bring in extra income on top of whatever retirement benefits are being paid out or will allow one to not touch retirement savings. Spending $5,400 to earn an extra $40k to $60k per year doesn't sound like a bad deal to me.