Thinking of getting a second TESC BA degree...

[Getiton1]

Hi All,

Okay, so in case anyone didn't know I am an RN that is started my InstantCert/CLEP journey with TESC just about a year ago. The plan was to bang out a ton of CLEP's,apply and get into TESC's Bachelors of Science in Nursing and take things from there. I did all that, and I am just shy of getting my BSN by 2 TESC courses and the dreaded math course. I didn't get my Math done in time to register for January Semester, which means I can't take my next class till April 2014. SO, just for kicks, I decided to plug in a BA degree in Humanities option at the TESC Student Services website. I love all the arts and if I wasn't a nurse, I would like have gone into interior decorating. This is what came up:

Program Status: In Progress
Current.......... Anticipated(*).......
Required Earned Remaining Additional Remaining
Institutional Credits: 93.00 0.00 6.00 0.00
Institutional GPA....: 3.925 Met
Combined Credits: 120.00 106.00 14.00 6.00 8.00
Combined GPA....: 2.000 3.713 Met

(*) Anticipates completion of in-progress and registered courses
================================================================================
Statuses: W=Waived, C=Complete, I=In progress, N=Not started
P=Pending completion of unfinished activity
================================================================================
I) 1: BA General Education (60 SH)
Credits: 42
Complete all 4 subrequirements:
I) A: Intellectual Skills
> Complete 15 semester hours (SH) of Intellectual and
> Practical Skills coursework, to include:
> *English Composition I, 3SH with grade of C or better

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> *English Composition II (Writing Intensive), 3SH with grade
> of C or better
> *Math, 3SH
> *Intellectual and Practical Skills Electives, 6SH
Credits: 9

C) ENC-101
ENC-101 English Composition I...... 05/01/05 A 3 *TE
C) ENC-102 (Writing Intensive)
ENC-102 English Composition II..... 08/31/05 A 3 *TE
N) Math
____________________________________________________ 3 credits needed
I) Intellectual and Practical Skills
HUM-102 Intro Hum II: Poet Drama Na 05/01/03 CR 3 *NE
____________________________________________________ 3 credits needed

I) B: Responsibility
> Complete 9 semester hours (SH) in Personal and Social
> Responsibility coursework to include:
> *Diversity or Global Literacy, 3SH
> *Responsible Ethical Leadership, 3SH
> *Elective, 3SH
Credits: 3
C) Diversity or Global Literacy
SOC-101 Introduction to Sociology.. 03/01/01 CR 3 *NE
N) Responsible Ethical Leadership
____________________________________________________ 3 credits needed
N) Personal and Social Responsibility Elective
____________________________________________________ 3 credits needed

C) C: Human Cultures
> Complete 18 semester hours (SH) in Human Cultures and the
> Physical and Natural World to include:
> *Humanities, 3SH
> *Social Sciences, 3SH
> *Natural Sciences, 3SH
> Choose electives from Humanities, Social
> Sciences, Natural Sciences and Interdisciplinary course, 9SH
Credits: 18
C) Humanities
HUM-101 Intro Hum I: Philos. Though 05/01/03 CR 3 *NE
C) Social Sciences
POS-110 American Government........ 03/01/13 CR 3 *NE
C) Natural Sciences
BIO-112 General Biology II......... 09/01/13 CR 3 *NE
C) Interdisciplinary
Credits: 9
BIO-111 General Biology I.......... 09/01/13 CR 3 *NE
HIS-114 American History II........ 02/01/13 CR 3 *NE
HIS-113 American History I......... 02/01/13 CR 3 *NE

I) D: General Ed Electives
> Complete 18 semester hours (SH) in General Education
> Electives.
Credits: 12 Required: 18 Remaining: 6
BIO-212 Anatomy and Phys II With La 04/01/04 CR 3 *NE
BIO-211 Anatomy and Phys I With Lab 04/01/04 CR 3 *NE
PSY-211 Developmental Psychology... 05/01/03 CR 3 *NE

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BIO-351 Microbiology............... 11/01/03 CR 3 *NE
____________________________________________________ 6 credits needed
================================================================================
I) 2: BA Humanities (15 SH must be At 300/400 level)
Credits: 12
GPA Achieved/Needed: 3.000 / 2.000
Complete both subrequirements:
I) A: Concentration (24)
> Complete 24 semester hour credits in the Humanities. Among
> the 30 credits required within the entire concentration:
> -At least THREE different subjects must be included for
> breadth of knowledge.

> -A student must earn at least 12 semester hours in ONE
> subject.
> -A maximum of 18 semester hours can be earned in any ONE
> subject area in order to have a balanced interdisciplinary
> concentration.
> -A maximum of SIX semester hour credits at the 100 level
> can be applied toward the area of concentration.
> **At least 15 of the 30 credits required within the
> concentration must be at the 300/400 level.**
Credits: 6 Required: 24 Remaining: 18
LIT-292 Analysis and Inter of Lit I 10/01/13 CR 3 *NE
LIT-291 Analysis & Interpre Literat 10/01/13 CR 3 *NE
___________________________________________________ 18 credits needed

C) B: Concentration (6)
> Complete an additional 6 semester hours of Humanities
> coursework.
Credits: 6
ART-166 History of Western Art I... 12/01/05 C 3 *TE
ART-100 A World of Art............. 12/01/04 A 3 *TE
================================================================================
N) 3: Liberal Arts Capstone (3 SH)
> Complete course LIB-495 Liberal Arts Capstone for 3
> semester hours (SH).
LIB-495 Liberal Arts Capstone________________________ 1 course needed
================================================================================
C) 4: BA Free Electives (27 SH)
> Complete 27 semester hours of Free Electives.
Credits: 27
NUR-531 Nsg Inf: Concepts and Issue 2013JUL A 3
NUR-418 Research in Nursing........ 2013JUL A 3
NUR-416 Health Assessment.......... 2013APR A 3
NUR-340 Nursing Informatics........ 2013APR A- 3
MAN-301 Principles of Management... 10/01/13 CR 3 *NE
NUR-221 Adult Nursing I............ 03/01/12 CR 4 *NE
NUR-261 Clinical Performance....... 05/01/11 CR 8 *NE
================================================================================
OTHER COURSES: Registered Earned
Credits Credits
LIS-101............. 12/01/04 CR 1.00 1.00 *TE
Intro. to Library Resources
NUR-222............. 05/01/08 CR 4.00 4.00 *NE
Adult Nursing II
NUR-223............. 05/01/08 CR 4.00 4.00 *NE
Adult Nursing III

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NUR-246............. 05/01/09 CR 4.00 4.00 *NE
Maternal & Child Nursing
NUR-236............. 12/01/09 CR 4.00 4.00 *NE
Fundamentals of Nursing III
NUR-299............. 12/01/09 CR 4.00 4.00 *NE
Spec. Stud. in Selected Topics
NUR-299............. 12/01/09 CR 4.00 4.00 *NE
Spec. Stud. in Selected Topics
NUR-428............. 2013OCT 3.00 ( 3.00) *IP
Leadership & Management
NUR-529............. 2013OCT 3.00 ( 3.00) *IP
Health Policy
(Credits in parentheses are anticipated earned)
==========================================

Can I CLEP or test out of the rest of this BA in Humanities degree (and of course do the capstone) in about 6 months? Would love some advice!

Thanks,
Tara

[cookderosa]

Just to be clear, the eval you are posting is an "instead of" eval. Meaning, if you got the BA Humanities INSTEAD OF nursing, this is where you'd be. At that point, you'd have to complete a bucket-load more credits to meet the "second degree" requirements for nursing. I'd read the catalog REALLY WELL before making that decision, or you might end up moving your original goal post very far back.

[clep3705]

Education is expensive. Getting a second degree at the same level is often a waste of time and money. The main justification for a second baccalaureate degree is because it is required for statutory reasons, such as becoming a nurse or professional engineer. It usually makes more sense to put the time and money into a master's degree instead of a second bachelor's degree. Now of course, for some people, going to school is fun. If that's how you want to spend your time and money, education is a good hobby. Better than sitting at home snacking while watching talk shows.

[ironheadjack]

You are three courses away from finishing your BSN, correct? Don't be a knucklehead now and start switching majors because you have to take a math course. :p

IMO, finish the degree you started and once you are done with that, ask yourself if want another bachelors degree or a Masters degree in Nursing.

[clep3705]

Did I misinterpret your question? Is this for a second degree after the BSN? Or is this instead of the BSN?

[Getiton1]

Hi All,

I didn't finish the Math in time to get into January Semester at TESC. Nursing courses are funny at TESC. They are only offered every 3 months. You have to take ALL...as in AAAAAAAALLLLLL your classes before they allow you to take the last 2 classes (Community Health Nursing (CHN) then Seminar in Clinical Competence (SCC)). Also you cannot take CHN and SCC together, they must be taken separately. CHN is a tough class and worth 7 credits. People complained it was hard, and all I know is that after July 1, 2013, they split CHN into 2 separate classes). I am a straight A student, so I thought it would be no problem finishing all the courses in the last 3 months. Wrong! The Bio CLEP, Analyzing and Interpreting Lit, Management course and the dreaded Math, plus one Master's Level Nursing Class and one BSN level class plus work and the holidays were too much for me. Not to mention, I was one of the unfortunate souls to have my credit card numbers stolen at the start of this month. So this BA in Humanities would be in addition to my BSN.

My thoughts for getting an additional degree were this:

1. I am stuck in limbo anyway. I will not be allowed to take Community Health Nursing OR Seminar in Clinical Competence for at least 3 more months, if I only have 20 credits left, and I can CLEP them, why not get an additional degree?
2. My current professor for my Masters Level class just told me that Community Health Nursing is only offered in OCT and JAN semesters! That means I am sitting here twiddling my thumbs for 9 months.
3. If I wasn't a nurse I would have gone into the fine arts. I love to paint, draw, listen to and perform music, I speak conversational French and I love logic and traveling the world. I am naturally pretty good at science. So the BA in Humanities seemed like a way to get the Bachelors while I wait to take my last few courses. But I trust you guys and I am hearing a pretty loud "are you nuts!?!?" through the screen as I read all your comments.

Also, I don't understand the lower portion of this evaluation...exactly how many more credits would I need to get the BA in Humanities anyway? If it's more than 40-50, I probably won't bother. If not humanities and I am stuck twiddling my thumbs for 9 months what other options do I have to get a Bachelors Degree quickly?

I applied to TESC for the BSN track, which automatically includes Masters Level classes. I will probably continue with TESC for my Masters because I like it and it's not that expensive (I live in NJ)...but I am not sure yet, I got into some pretty decent schools before deciding on a Big 3 college to save money, and I am looking to go into education for the rest of my career. I absolutely LOVE TESC! I think it's been one of my best decisions ever to attend. Anyway, some of the other schools I am looking are are overseas in England (with global recognition) University of Liverpool, Johns Hopkins and Villanova. I know I prefer online learning where I can find time to study and write around my work/family schedule. My thought is...If I can afford a school with some recognition, I think that will help me down the road if I want to go for my PhD and become a professor. I respect all of you that wrote back, so I am open to your thoughts and opinions.

Maybe I am SUPPOSED to be stuck in neutral now? It means I am trolling these boards more than usual ;D

Thanks All,
T

[sanantone]

As Cookderosa said, if you get the BA in Humanities before the BSN, you will have to complete 24 new credits in the area of study (major) for the BSN. Credits are only counted as new after the first degree is conferred. Since nursing is a BS and humanities is a BA, you can't double major.

[Getiton1]

Hi Sanantone,

Okay, so because I am in a Scientific Discipline (BS) that means I can't double major in an Arts (BA) degree? That sucks.

What might some other double major options be? Are there any science options that do not have this dreaded "Capstone" project I keep hearing people complain about?

I have 3 months to kill, where I am used to taking 2 TESC courses, one at the BS level and one at the MSN level, I think I am going to go nuts with all this free time in between now and April Semester. I was hoping to bang out another degree if possible and I love the arts.

Supposing I were to finish my BSN, could I then transfer those credits at TESC for a BA in Humanities? Would that still mean 24 more credits to earn in Humanities classes?

One more question...what test out options would work (count for the 24 needed credits) for the Humanities major at TESC? Any CLEP's? DSST's SL's or ALEC's? What is the capstone all about anyway?

I am getting the BSN no matter what... the BA in Humanities is more for personal satisfaction and just learning more about something in the arts.

Any additional advice?

Thanks,
T

[Getiton1]

In addition to my BSN

[Getiton1]

Hi Ironheadjack,

Thanks for your honest feedback. I am stuck for 3 months twiddling my thumbs because of the TESC nursing school rules, so this BA would be in ADDITION to my BSN. I have to take the math anyway, so that's not the real issue for me. My thought was, if I am doing nothing Jan, Feb, Mar, why not earn an additional degree in something that interests me while I am waiting? But I did just read that I can't double major, so maybe that's the problem?

Not sure what to do with the next 3 months, and was thinking of ways to use my time to my advantage and earn more college credit.

Love the arts, and thought Humanities might be a decent path to check out. Not sure if I can CLEP, DSST, SL or ALEC's out of the 24 remaining humanities credits? But if I could, why not do that now, while I am stuck waiting anyway?

Thanks for your honest feedback, reminds me of my Grandfather in Montana...short, sweet and to the point! He's my barometer for "is this do-able"! LOL!

Thanks,
T