My degree situation - Looking for advice and suggestions

[Mykes68]

Good Evening,

I came across your forum while browsing the net. There is a lot of great information here and I hope to contribute after I figure out some things, but i need some guidance.

I am a military veteran who has managed to achieve good things based on experience. Like many of you, I have came to a point in my career where the degree is a checkbox on the promotion scorecard. I'm trying to find the school who will give me the most credit for what I have already done.

I work in a homeland security/IT type roll. Here are my questions and the circumstances that I hope you can help with. I have read many of the postings here and the information and programs seem like they change quite a bit so I am confused.

Who allows the most transfer credits for my situation below?

-I have a combination of military schooling/CLEP/DANTES and private training/certifications.

-I have read a bunch of posts in regards to FEMA credits. I have completed multiple courses from them due to my job function. What is the current situation on these?

-I hold IT certifications and have also completed govt. civilian industry type training. Does anyone know if these earn credit? I remember seeing a few courses labeled as ACE certified.

Thank you very much

[marquardt21]

Hello. You should list all of your courses that you have taken and the type of degree that you are seeking so the members can give you some different idea's of how to accomplish your goal.

[soliloquy]

See my responses in red below:

Good Evening,

I came across your forum while browsing the net. There is a lot of great information here and I hope to contribute after I figure out some things, but i need some guidance.

I am a military veteran who has managed to achieve good things based on experience. Like many of you, I have came to a point in my career where the degree is a checkbox on the promotion scorecard. I'm trying to find the school who will give me the most credit for what I have already done.

I work in a homeland security/IT type roll. Here are my questions and the circumstances that I hope you can help with. I have read many of the postings here and the information and programs seem like they change quite a bit so I am confused.

Who allows the most transfer credits for my situation below?

-I have a combination of military schooling/CLEP/DANTES and private training/certifications. You might want to consider either Excelsior, Charter Oak State College, or Thomas Edison State College. They are the "big three" and are the most generous with transfer credits.

-I have read a bunch of posts in regards to FEMA credits. I have completed multiple courses from them due to my job function. What is the current situation on these? Charter Oak State College still allows FEMA credits directly. They are accepted as free electives. I'm not sure about the others. http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...arter.html

-I hold IT certifications and have also completed govt. civilian industry type training. Does anyone know if these earn credit? I remember seeing a few courses labeled as ACE certified. Charter Oak State college offers credential assessments for a lot of industry certifications. I am a certified paralegal and my credential assessment earned me a 39 credits towards my concentration which obviously was huge! Credential Evaluation - Charter Oak State College

Charter Oak has a live webcast on Mondays where you can log in and answer questions. I think if you go to their main website page they have the details there. It would be a good time to chat with them and ask all of the questions you need to ask. Of the three, I found that COSC was the most informative even before putting down your application fee.

[COLOR="#FF0000"]Based upon your previous experience I'm thinking this might be a good concentration for you:

Public Safety Administration Degree Completion - Charter Oak State College

Public Administration - Charter Oak State College[/COLOR]

I think your best bet, IMO, is to submit transcripts to all three COSC, TESC, and Excelsior and see who gives you the most credits and then decide from there. Don't forget to request and submit your Joint Services Transcript. All of your military training will be on there and should garner you quite a few credits. I think COSC would probably go a long way with their credential assessment and you can contact Linda Wilder to see if there is already an assessment for your certifications in their system. If there is, she could tell you immediately how many credits that certification is good for. If not, they have to do an assessment from the beginning which can take some time but in the interim you can work on general education requirements, etc.

Thank you very much

[Mykes68]

Thank you very much for such a detailed answer to my questions. I will take your suggestions and see what I come out with. I will update this post with more detail after I look into your suggestions. It sounds like I should start with COSC first.

If anyone has any other insight I am all ears.

Thanks again!

[defscarlett]

It really depends on the courses, exams and certifications you currently hold and what type of degree you are looking to get on which would be the best option.

In regards to FEMA, for the other 2 colleges; Excelsior accepts them but only after they have been transcribed by Fredericks Community College at I believe $79/ credit hour. TESC will no long accept any FEMA credits regardless.

ACE credits for courses and certifications. https://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseacti...chCriteria You may use this link to see what is already ACE evaluated. Also all 3 of the colleges will evaluate certifications for credit even if they are not currently ACE evaluated.

[michaelfrye1970]

I wouldn't worry about the FEMA credits too much. Your military transcript will probably give you more than enough free credits anyway. I know mine did.

[UptonSinclair]

I was thinking the same thing. My CCAF transcript provides 59 credits which will be far too many to fill the free credits. Most military folks need not worry about FEMA credits.

[soliloquy]

I forgot one thing...

You can earn credit for this as well: Lifelong Learning Credit Portfolio - Charter Oak State College I've used CLEP, DSST, credential assessment, military training, traditional education, etc. but never the portfolio so I have no advice to give about it. But, it is an option since you state you have a lot of experience.