Aleks or Straigterline?

[Can219]

I'm pursuing a BSBA in Accounting with TESC. I am tackling my FEMA Classes right now but I want to get my math classes out of the way next.....Just not sure if I should go Aleks or Straighterline? I will need Pre-algebra, College Algebra and Pre-calc. Math is not my strong suit. Also do we need to order any study materials?? I could go ahead and order them while I'm busy with the FEMA Classes....THANKS for any feedback!

[Pjbarney]

Hi Can219 - I'm using Aleks for math. $20/mo. I started with Beg.Alg., even though TESC doesn't give credit for it, I needed the refresher before moving onto Inter. Alg., then Pre-Calc. I'm using Straighterline for some business classes, then I'll CLEP/DSST the rest. Many people do fine with just jumping in on the CLEPs, but this path works for me.

If I remember correctly, you have a lot of medical credits to transfer. For your BSBA, you may find your free electives will be filled up. My transfer credits were mostly art and business. The art courses that didn't go into Humanities, went to free electives. I have no room for Femas', and you may not need them. You may want to use your time elsewhere until you get your evaluation from TESC. If you have extra science courses, etc., they would probably go under free electives.

You don't need to order any materials for Aleks. Just jump in and work each course until you reach 70%, then onto the next one after your credit is transferred.

[NAP]

Also, ALEKS will give you a free trial for 1 or 2 days. You can try it and see if their method could work well for you.

[bluk30]

Go with ALEKS.

I was able to bust out all of their accredited math courses in one billing cycle (and I'm someone
who failed high school algebra from apathy). The algebra courses only took two days each.
You'll have to work to get through them, but it's worth it to get 15 credits for 20 bucks. No study
materials needed, just sign up and start today.

Also, let me give you some advice. You'll be evaluated, and the first evaluation is just a gauge to
tell the program where to start. Don't worry what you get on it initially.

PRINT A PDF WITH THE SOLUTION TO EACH TYPE OF QUESTION as you work them and keep them
in a folder on your computer. Name them with a key phrase from the question like "find the slope
of a graph", and you can simply search them to give you hints during your next evaluation(s). It's
easy to work a problem if you have a finished example right in front of you.

This is what they'll transcribe them as at TESC:

Intermediate Algebra (MAT-115)
College Algebra (MAT-121)
Trigonometry (MAT-129 *counts as precalculus)
Intro to Statistics (STA-201)
Business Statistics (OPM-351 *only for BSBA business majors, otherwise it duplicates STA-201)

***VERY IMPORTANT - If you go this route, you'll need to complete 70% on ALEKS then
go onto the ACE website and apply for credit. DO NOT move on to another ALEKS course until
the credit shows up on the ACE transcript or you'll lose your progress and have to start from
scratch. (It never took them more than three days to credit me, they're very quick.)

You can sign up for an ACE account here. It's free to bank your credits (transcripts cost 40 bucks
when you're ready to send them in, cheaper than my community college!)

https://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseacti...ripts.main

[Publius]

I'd say go with ALEKs.

If you're not sure, both companies offer free trials. You could check those out and see which one works best for you.


EDIT: StraighterLine is moving their courses to Moodle soon instead of Blackboard. They plan to do this around Dec 12, so if you really LOVE SL, in the blackboard format and/or hate moodle, you might want to sign up in the next week.

[Yanji]

ALEKS is fast, and if you know maths there's no faster way to get some basic maths credits. (and you can apply a lot of those towards a TESC BSBA!) Even if you're not so good at maths, the software is pretty good for learning and it doesn't have that "for-profit feel" of SL. I got credit for Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra and Pre-calculus all in a day because I got over 70% on the initial assessments.

[Can219]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice!!! My goal is to do 6 FEMA Classes to fulfill my electives. Then I will do the ALEKS and knock out the 3 math classes ( I will need all three as a refresher....it's been awhile!) Then my goal is macro/micro....... THEN once everything is sent to TESC I will have them do my first evaluation......The lady I spoke to at TESC confused me....Something about I had to start in a certain time after my evaluation?? I couldn't really understand what she meant....But I really wanted to get these type classes out of the way first so I sent them an email to please hold off on my first evaluation. I just don't want to get bombarded with TESC classes and doing ALEKS...etc...So I'm trying to evaluate myself what classes I will need and which ones I can knock out now at the low cost....etc!! Thanks again everyone!

[Pjbarney]

You have six months to enroll after your application date. If you are not ready to enroll at six months, send in another application and $75 fee. I don't know what the point is, or what you accomplish in holding off your eval. since you've already applied.

[IrishJohn]

I'm pursuing a BSBA in Accounting with TESC. I am tackling my FEMA Classes right now but I want to get my math classes out of the way next.....Just not sure if I should go Aleks or Straighterline? I will need Pre-algebra, College Algebra and Pre-calc. Math is not my strong suit. Also do we need to order any study materials?? I could go ahead and order them while I'm busy with the FEMA Classes....THANKS for any feedback!

I would definitely recommend ALEKS. The format is well-suited for those with a weak background and possible dislike for math. It's not without its own set of frustrations but the price is cheap and you have far more opportunities to get through the material with all the time you need compared to SL. Math is also not my strong suit and you can read about my own experiences in this thread after not having taken the subject for 20 years or so. Yes, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll pull your hair out trying to escape from "ALEKS Hell" but it's well worth it and affords you the opportunity to complete the necessary credits once and for all. Good luck!

[rvm]

You didn't ask this, but I hope this helps, none-the-less. Do you need pre-algebra for your degree or credits? (I don't know b/c I'm not a TESC student.) If not and you're doing it as a refresher, I would use West Texas A&M U's Math Lab WTAMU - Virtual Math Lab. It's free and it has videos for each concept. The site has labs for beginning Algebra, Intermediate Alg & College Alg. If you understand the examples, you can likely skip Pre-Algebra. Even if you decide to do pre-Alg, the examples will help refresh your memory quickly. I'm planning to start ALEKS soon. I thought I would need to begin with Pre-Alg b/c it's been so long since I've had the math. After, the Math Lab refresher, I'm going to jump in to College Algebra with both feet. Good Luck!