Transcript Review - Help, which of the big 3?

[JohnnyHeck]

You did not mention who is your "global IT company" but check out if they have qualified any of their in-house or contracted training through ACE: ACE CREDIT | The National Guide to College Credit for Workforce Training
If you find the organizations here in which you have taken training you can see if ACE has a course equivelent that it recommends to colleges for credit. Both TESC and EC will usually have some transfer (TE) course that they'll give you credit, but there's no guarantee that this course fullfills any specific degree requirements. Also in the TESC catalog pg 20 and additonally within the discussion of their BSAST degrees, you will find many certifications and licenses for which they have already evaluated for transfer credit that I have not seen approved for credit anywhere else.

If you have creditable couress at ACE, follow the intructions there to get them onto an ACE transcript and send in this transcript to EC and TESC so that info will be used in your application initial evaluation. I think you are a lot closer to your BSBA than you know. With all this professinal training, you may be a good candidate for PLA. You don't have to think about this now, but when you get your initial evaluation from TESC and you see upper level (UL) courses required for which there is no credit-by-exam (CBE) option, check out the TESC PLA database here: http://www2.tesc.edu/plasearch.php If you believe you know the content of any of these degree applicable described course(s), PLA would be the shortest and cheapest route to complete these courses. You can talk a little with Todd Sibben at TESC before you enroll. Based on my personal experience with EC, I don't think they're willing to discuss anything until you enroll. But if you have PLA courses in the TESC database, you may be able to qualify them trough Learning Counts and use them at EC. Although you can qualify the TESC PLAs through TESC and use them at EC, as non-TESC enrolled student, this could be very expensive compared to Learning Counts or just taking the required course on-line at EC as an enrolled EC student.

Good Luck - P.s. TESC is very slow (6 weeks) with completing your evaluation. You'll have to just be patient. However, you can verify that they have received your transcripts once you have your student ID which you will have once they accept your application (<2 weeks).

[andrewtn]

Just wanted to give an update and take everyone for the help and support. In the past 10 days since I posted this thread I've applied and been accepted to the TESC BSBA MGMT program, completed ALEKS College Algebra, passed my first CLEP (Analyzing and Interpreting Literature - 70) this morning, and I'm currently working on ALEKS Stats. I hope to complete the stats soon. I believe that I now have what I need for my Associates and want to continue knocking out classes towards my BSBA. It's been a busy week and I've been hard at work.

Aleks College Algebra - 5/13
CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature - 5/18
Aleks Stats - In progress

Any suggestions on what I should focus on next since it may be a month or more until my transcripts are reviewed by TESC? I currently have a paid membership on InstantCert so I should probably make some use of it but I don't want to take things I don't need.

[mrs.b]

Just wanted to give an update and take everyone for the help and support. In the past 10 days since I posted this thread I've applied and been accepted to the TESC BSBA MGMT program, completed ALEKS College Algebra, passed my first CLEP (Analyzing and Interpreting Literature - 70) this morning, and I'm currently working on ALEKS Stats. I hope to complete the stats soon. I believe that I now have what I need for my Associates and want to continue knocking out classes towards my BSBA. It's been a busy week and I've been hard at work.

Aleks College Algebra - 5/13
CLEP Analyzing and Interpreting Literature - 5/18
Aleks Stats - In progress

Any suggestions on what I should focus on next since it may be a month or more until my transcripts are reviewed by TESC? I currently have a paid membership on InstantCert so I should probably make some use of it but I don't want to take things I don't need.

Wow, way to go! That's some efficient use of time.

As for what to work on next while you wait, I didn't see Principles of Finance or Principles of Management completed, but could have been mistaken. They would be good next steps. From there, once you have Finance, Management, and Marketing intro courses complete, you could go ahead and take the Strategic Management TECEP (this is the BSBA capstone). You should have your evaluation by then.

Principles of Finance has a few completion options. My personal preference was through Penn Foster. It's a bit more money, but it was very well-designed for a course from PF, self-paced, and did not require a proctored exam so I was not held to anyone else's timetable.

[JohnnyHeck]

Refer to the TESC Thomas Edison State College: Access all student publications, including the College Catalog and Advisement Degree Planning Handbook College Catalog pg 125 for BSBA, it looks safe to me to continue on with ALEKS and complete Precalculus Math. Since you've already signed up for Insta-Cert you could also do the CLEP study for Business Law and the DSST study for both Management Info Systems and Principles of Finance - see catalog pg 11-12 for TESC transfer equivalency (TE) to these tests

Also, refer to the Wiki Search results for 'Bsba' - Degree Forum Wiki - Degree Forum Wiki for other possibilities for now and in the future.

You might also find the Degree Planning Handbook (download from first link above) useful.

Keep up the great work! With your experience and motivation, you'll have your Bachelor's as early as Christmas.

[andrewtn]

Refer to the TESC Thomas Edison State College: Access all student publications, including the College Catalog and Advisement Degree Planning Handbook College Catalog pg 125 for BSBA,

So I looked at pg 125 and I wonder if this is outdated. My understanding is that precal was required but is no longer. It looks like pg 125 says Precal or Quantitative Business Analysis are required but I have a general understanding from what I've read on the fourum that this is not the case. Also, The Degree Planning Handbook (http://www.tesc.edu/documents/Degree_Pla..._12.09.pdf page 18) shows precal as well.

Looking at the online degree require requirements (BSBA in General Management Degree Program) I don't see it as required. Also, when I login to TESC WebAdvior and look at my Academic Evaluation it doesn't show precal or quant bus analysis as required courses.

Hopefully I am correct in my plan to not worry about the precal requirement. I would hope that my Academic Evaluation is the most accurate source of information to determine require courses, though it hasn't yet been updated with my transferred transcripts.

[JohnnyHeck]

You are completely correct that the Academic Evaluation is the official degree requirements document. I looked in WebAdvisor and was able to run a a "what if" for BSBA against my transcripts, and I saw the same thing you did. College Algebra and Stats. You seem to be well up on how to use the TESC tools available, and since I am not a business major, I don't think I can help you anymore than you can help yourself. The only exception will be later if you want to meet any of your degree reqs with PLA. I've got real experience in this tricky matter. Good Luck.

[mrs.b]

So I looked at pg 125 and I wonder if this is outdated. My understanding is that precal was required but is no longer. It looks like pg 125 says Precal or Quantitative Business Analysis are required but I have a general understanding from what I've read on the fourum that this is not the case. Also, The Degree Planning Handbook (http://www.tesc.edu/documents/Degree_Pla..._12.09.pdf page 18) shows precal as well.

Looking at the online degree require requirements (BSBA in General Management Degree Program) I don't see it as required. Also, when I login to TESC WebAdvior and look at my Academic Evaluation it doesn't show precal or quant bus analysis as required courses.

Hopefully I am correct in my plan to not worry about the precal requirement. I would hope that my Academic Evaluation is the most accurate source of information to determine require courses, though it hasn't yet been updated with my transferred transcripts.

Andrew, you are right; the BSBA math requirement was recently reduced from trig/pre-calc to college algebra/equivalent. You've applied prior to July 1, but...I would really caution / encourage you to focus on your Business core requirements until you get that evaluation. You should be on the current evaluation with the pre-July 1 changes for Gen Eds, but stranger things have happened with TESC. According to the various releases, major requirements are remaining unchanged, though, so you should be safe completing core courses until that comes. Here's where I see your credits falling if you're going for a BSBA-General Management, and it leaves plenty of stuff to do in the meantime. From there, look at others' degree plans on the Wiki to choose the alternatives you want to complete each requirement marked "NEED," as they are incomplete.

A. Business Core (27)
Principles of Financial Accounting - might be fulfilled by ACC 100 Applied Accounting 3 credits, so wait to see what Registrar says
Principles of Managerial Accounting - NEED
Principles of Management - NEED
Principles of Finance - NEED
Intro to Marketing - complete; MKT 203 Principles of Marketing - 3 Credits
Strategic Management - NEED
Intro to Computers - complete; IS 103 Info Systems for Business 3 Credits
Business in Society - NEED
Business Law - NEED

B. Area of Study - Gen Mgmt (18)
NEED
NEED
NEED
NEED
NEED
NEED

C. Business Electives (9)
BUS 104 Intro to Bus Admin - 3 Credits
NEED
NEED


I'd suggest starting with Principles of Mgmt CLEP, and completing Principles of Finance either by taking the Penn Foster course (my fav), the DSST exam, or one of the other completion means others can suggest. Then knock out the Strategic Mgmt TECEP. Then there's Business Ethics in Society DSST, and Intro to Business Law CLEP. That would leave only the two Accounting courses in the Business Core, and one of those might be completed by your prior course, so I'd suggest waiting on those. You'll have the eval by then to dial in for missing requirements more specifically. Should you knock those out quickly before the evaluation comes, you can start working on the 18 credits (6 courses/tests) of Area of Study - Gen Mgmt, and the 6 credits (2 courses/tests) left in your Business Electives. You'll definitely have the evaluation by then to see where your Gen Ed chips fall.

[LaterBloomer]

Since College Algebra is one of the three remaining beasts I have to slay before I can get my TESC -BSBA, I'm curious. How much time did it take you? (Total hours, please.) Also, what is your math background? Finally, how are you doing on the stats? I'm trying to teach myself to take the DSST exam, and I am just not getting it. That's frustrating as folks said M&B was hard, but I "got" those concepts.

[andrewtn]

Since College Algebra is one of the three remaining beasts I have to slay before I can get my TESC -BSBA, I'm curious. How much time did it take you? (Total hours, please.) Also, what is your math background? Finally, how are you doing on the stats? I'm trying to teach myself to take the DSST exam, and I am just not getting it. That's frustrating as folks said M&B was hard, but I "got" those concepts.

I used ALEKS for Algebra and I passed the assessment (barely) but that was it so I was done (maybe 2 hours to test online). I am not strong in math but I had been study for the Algebra CLEP previously and I also took community college courses in Elementary and Intermediate Algebra. The stats isn't going as well but I'll get through it eventually. If you aren't strong in math I recommend the ALEKS because instead of needing to pass a big test you just keep working and knocking down areas until you've passed it. Also, you can force the system to give you assessments and you can just keep working at it until you pass. Good Luck

[JohnnyHeck]

Anything under 60 hours is doing great if your math experience verges toward the phobia scale. But compare this to a 15 week online course: 45 hours of lecture + 20 hours reading + 45-60 hour of homework practice. I know from other threads that this comes as a shock to those persons who can within days can cram Insta Cert flash cards and take a test for recall of facts by the end of the week. But the math and "hard sciences" are theory and rules application subjects. In some other threads it has been reported that if the tediious nature of ALEKS gets too much to bear, Insta-Cert CLEP has been reported to work. If you are struggling repeatedly with the same basic concepts because your "missing" something, you should maybe try a Dummies or Idiots' type book. Perhaps, here you would be back in your familiar territory, reading for knowledge. Another very simple point: Do not try to solve the math problems in one step on the computer screen! Have scratch pad handy and do it by hand on the pad step by step. It may be extra tedious at first, but you will finally begin to get it, step by step. Trust me on this. I'm a former Quality Control Engineer, and when I went checking out ALEKS for my ADD son, I did not score a passing grade on Behavioral Stats! I had to redo the eval. and solve eveything step by step and then I passed with ease, although it of course took me twice as long to do it the second time. There really are no shortcuts in math that you do not discover for yourself as you work through exercises step by tedious step.

Regarding your stats: Would the Straighterline Business Stats work? With Stats, not only do you have to have solid basic algebra skills (ALEKS the best here.) and and use them with new mathematical models (ALEKS ok here), but you have to have some understanding of how to apply the knowledge to word type problems. This is probably not going to be a strong suite for ALEKS. I recommend you take a self guided course for Stats perhaps backed up with ALECKS practice.