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Seeking to complete my academic goals, any help or guidance appreciated!! - EdSeeker - 11-23-2013
Greetings fellow seekers of knowledge!
For starters, I apologize if I am posting in the wrong sub-forum, or if some of my questions that I ask have already been brought up. I have been perusing this forum for quite some time now and recently have taken the plunge and formally registered with this community in an attempt to avoid being accused of lurking any more. I have read with great interest some of the stories on this forum and I would have to say that so many of the struggles and tribulations that have been "penned" by the posters have been very appreciated, and I applaud your continuous efforts and I am motivated by your successes and especially by those of you whom have been able to obtain the validation of the degree that you have worked so hard for. Congratulations to you and thank you for sharing your knowledge to those of us who are still on the journey!
To introduce myself, I am 31 years old and have had a very interesting life thus far, I was raised as a MidWestern country boy, homeschooled at a very early age and earned my GED after leaving home when I was about 19 years old. From there I worked a few odd jobs before finding my way into the business world where I owned and operated a small insurance agency office, which was able to grow into three other agency offices with the help of my partners. I enjoyed this success at an early age but due to some serious soul searching I decided to walk a path less traveled after 5 years and decided to enlist into the Marine Corps when I was 25 years old. I felt that my calling in life was to be a bit more on the active side of life and I wanted to find the personal fulfillment in life, rather than settling for a "safe" career just because I happened to be proficient at it.
To avoid making this initial post longer than it needs to be, I will summarize by saying that after my deployment to Iraq with my unit I ended up spending 3 years working in federal law enforcement, and from there I proceeded to take a position with the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security where I have now been working for the past year and a half. I am very satisfied with what I am currently doing and altho my work certainly has it's challenges and stressful days, I feel much more fulfilled doing a career like this and cannot see myself doing anything else for the time being.
With all of that being said, I am seeking to advance myself within the academics area, I have taken some steps towards pursuing a college degree which I feel would make me to be a very positive candidate for any future positions I might seek out combined with my operations experience and work experience that I have gained within the military, my time in law enforcement as well as my time in this current position.
The steps that I HAVE taken are as follows:
-Enrolled at Excelsior University
-Enrolled in a Bachelors of Science in Military Studies program with EU, I feel that a bachelors in this area of study combined with my resume will allow me to stay competitive in this field for as long as I desire.
-Enrolled in StraightLiner
-Have completed approximately 25 credits, with most of these credits being transferred in from my military SMART transcripts and the remainder from a small private college that I attended in 2011.
As I type out the above "accomplishments I feel a bit underwhelmed at my progress, as it still leaves me with a LOT of credits left towards completing my degree program to be honest. But anyway, I would like to paint a complete picture for those of you are would be kind enough to guide me on my path and offer me advice towards completing my goal. With that being said, I feel like I should be frank and talk about some of my current weakness that might hinder my progress.
Weakness Areas:
-Weak mathematical skills
-Limited availability to textbooks (Currently assigned to the Baghdad area)
-Slow internet speed
-Typing skills
-Limited knowledge of the collegiate process (How some credits transfer, classes you can take for a degree, grading etc)
Strength Areas:
-Reading skills
-Determination
With all of that being said, I would love to hear from some of you who are vastly more experience than I in this pursuit. I know that the degree plan that I picked is a relatively new one, and I am not too sure of how it will be perceived as of yet but from all I can see it is basically a liberal arts degree with a concentration of military studies and history classes, and the fact that it is from a regionally accredited college is a majorly important factor of course.
I enrolled at the Straightliner website, but I am still waiting to hear back from them as to which classes would be accepted for actual college credit towards my degree. If anyone has anything to offer for advice towards this particular area I would love to hear from you.
Another option that I was considering would be to do a Prior Learning Assessment, I did the whole initial assessment with the Learning Counts website, and the results said I could earn well over 30 credits using PLA? I find that hard to believe but if I can get at least half of that is that a good option to pursue?
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!
Seeking to complete my academic goals, any help or guidance appreciated!! - sanantone - 11-23-2013
You can now take TECEPs with ProctorU, the same service that's used by Straighterline.
http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-thomas-edison-charter-oak-specific/20618-tesc-online-credit-exam-begins-january.html
Thomas Edison State College: Course Offerings
Have you also looked into CLEPs and DSSTs?
Seeking to complete my academic goals, any help or guidance appreciated!! - EdSeeker - 11-23-2013
Thanks for the info, but would that mean I would have to change my college and my degree as well if I utilized that option?
I submitted a request for more information on Straightliner to Excelsior, as to how many of their courses could be utilized for my degree plan, if it is a substantial amount I am planning on doing as many as I can use since I can do the course work and get proctored online while I am here.
sanantone Wrote:You can now take TECEPs with ProctorU, the same service that's used by Straighterline.
http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-thomas-edison-charter-oak-specific/20618-tesc-online-credit-exam-begins-january.html
Thomas Edison State College: Course Offerings
Have you also looked into CLEPs and DSSTs?
Seeking to complete my academic goals, any help or guidance appreciated!! - sanantone - 11-23-2013
No, anyone can take TECEPs.
Seeking to complete my academic goals, any help or guidance appreciated!! - EdSeeker - 11-23-2013
So, you mean that a TECEP is basically like a CLEP or other exam by credit that you can take, and than apply towards your own schools degree plan? That would be awesome actually!
sanantone Wrote:No, anyone can take TECEPs.
Seeking to complete my academic goals, any help or guidance appreciated!! - sanantone - 11-23-2013
Yes, except TECEPs are even better because you're earning credits from a regionally accredited school. I guess taking a TECEP is more like earning college credits at one school and transferring them to another. It's like how many Big 3 students take independent study courses at BYU or LSU as non-degree seeking students to transfer except TECEPs are challenge exams instead of courses.
Seeking to complete my academic goals, any help or guidance appreciated!! - EdSeeker - 11-23-2013
Outstanding information and great to know! I will definitely be looking at utilizing that option towards my degree plan. Thanks!
Seeking to complete my academic goals, any help or guidance appreciated!! - UptonSinclair - 11-23-2013
If I were in your situation, I would look at three primary sources of credit: BYU-Independent, CSU Pueblo, and KCTCS Learn on Demand. I have only taken courses through BYU and KCTCS so I will focus on them.
BYU is amazing, but they require a proctor. I am sure they would be willing to work with you to designate a proctor at your location. BYU is a four year university, so the credits gained through them transfer well if you choose to take a different route in the future. The course I took at BYU far surpassed anything I have taken at other institutions. The big bonus is that they don't require a bunch of hurdles to get started. You sign up for a class, buy the books, and get started right away.
University Online Course Catalog - BYU Independent Study
KCTCS is not quite the quality of BYU but the convenience may be just what you are looking for. They require transcripts and a letter of good standing from Excelsior to get started, but after that things move pretty smoothly. Their prices are comparable to BYU but they do not require a proctor.
Skills, careers, and programs >> KCTCS Online
Both options are self-paced which will allow you to move quickly if you have the time and motivation.
Be sure to read some of the threads regarding FEMA credits. They may work well for your line of work.
There is one bit of advice I will give regarding your choice of majors. I would avoid the military studies degree. If you ever leave government work, it would be more beneficial to have a degree that isn't so government centric. At Excelsior, the most flexible option is a liberal arts degree. All of the credits you transferred into the military studies program would still apply, but there wouldn't be so many defined requirements. You essentially build the degree that best meets your needs. Another option would be a management degree, but the requirements are far more defined.
Seeking to complete my academic goals, any help or guidance appreciated!! - sanantone - 11-23-2013
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.
Seeking to complete my academic goals, any help or guidance appreciated!! - EI2HCB - 11-24-2013
Welcome to the forum Edseeker, There are some of us here who are at Excelsior too!
although a lot of people are at TESC and have some great insight into gaining credit in a number of ways. Sounds like you are working as a civi CP I'm wondering if you still have access to a CLEP testing center during your R&R if you get any? Its certainly worth taking a few if you still have the Military ID and they pay for the tests. In some areas the exam is administer by pen and pencil and worth looking into if you still qualify. The marketability of Liberal arts degrees come up for debate. Check out the Naval Institute Proceedings article "Science does not always trump art" by commander Clay Harris on Excelsior's library system. Well worth the encouragement if you are doing liberal arts. You may also want to check out some of the proctoring requirements as you may be able to work through them even while you are "in country" Feel free to ask questions, there's a wealth of information inside some of these people on here, itching to escape.