Help with degree plan for mom

[videogamesrock]

I just spoke with WVUP, there might be a reduced tuition option for out of state residents taking online courses as early as Friday. If they follow Marshall University and WVU Tech's lead, this would make classes as low as $402 a course.

[bjcheung77]

I just spoke with WVUP, there might be a reduced tuition option for out of state residents taking online courses as early as Friday. If they follow Marshall University and WVU Tech's lead, this would make classes as low as $402 a course.

That's an awesome price for an Associates Degree, I was reading/researching on this...
It rivals the AA/AS from COSC, even with the FEMA credits factored in.
The cornerstone is already more expensive at COSC than the one course at WVUP.
If the fees add up the same for courses transferred over from ACE sources, WVUP wins!

[videogamesrock]

The AAS is nice too, because you can create your AoE. It wont appear on your diploma but it will appear on your transcript.

[JTP]

Awesome thanks for all of the responses!!!

My mom is extremely organized and has always worked in Office management, admin support type roles.

I will talk to her about the options you wonderful people have listed and see how she wants to proceed.

[cookderosa]

Awesome thanks for all of the responses!!!

My mom is extremely organized and has always worked in Office management, admin support type roles.

I will talk to her about the options you wonderful people have listed and see how she wants to proceed.

I don't have degree specific advice for her, but tell her I'm impressed! I think it's great that she's going back to school- you're never too old!

[ndelco]

If someone was to go through WVUP for the associate's degree then they would not need to complete the TESU Cornerstone course after transferring in, correct? Only the Capstone to complete the Bachelor's requirements?

[dfrecore]

If someone was to go through WVUP for the associate's degree then they would not need to complete the TESU Cornerstone course after transferring in, correct? Only the Capstone to complete the Bachelor's requirements?

I wouldn't count on that. I'm going to assume that each school has their own cornerstone, and they won't let one be transferred in. Just like you can't transfer in a capstone (any longer, anyway, if you're talking about the BSBA program - all the rest of them haven't allowed a transfer at all).

[JTP]

Reviving an old thread. So my mom got word this week that if she gets an associates degree related to her job (something business oriented), that she will get a 10% increase on her hourly wage. With renewed motivation she is looking to complete something as quickly as possible. I assume the best bet would be the ASBA from TESU. If so, can someone chime in on advice based off of her current credits, and cost breakdown. Initial cost isn't a big concern as it will pay itself back within a year or two.

Also, do you think TESU would take her courses from 1986?

BIS-1220 500 WORD PROCESSING SOFTWARE
A
3.00
17/FA

BIS-1230 500 SPREADSHEET SOFTWARE
B
3.00
17/SP

BIS-1120 5B1 INTRO TO SOFTWARE APPS
A
3.00
16/FA

ENG-1101 HN1 ENGLISH COMPOSITION I
A
3.00
16/FA

ACC-112 51 PRIN ACCOUNTING II
B
3.00
06/FA

BIS-M75 50 THE INTERNET
A
2.00
06/FA

ACC-111 53 PRIN ACCOUNTING I
B
3.00
06/SUC

MAT-105 50 BUSINESS MATHEMATICS
A
4.00
06/SP

BIS-160 54 INTRO TO WD PWRPT & EXCEL
A
3.00
05/SUC

DEV-085 70 FUND OF ARITHMETIC
S
4.00
86/SP

MAN-105 52 INTRO TO BUSINESS
B
3.00
86/SP

[bjcheung77]

The first choice I would recommend would be the BOG AAS from Pierpont, it looks like your mom already has at least 12 credits from a Regionally Accredited school. She can do the rest quickly with CLEP/MS or Saylor, if she would like, StraighterLine or Study.com and she should be done relatively quickly.

The other option is COSC/Excelsior, it should be much cheaper than TESU, even a Patten AA would be cheaper. She can finish her Associates at Pierpont with an "emphasis" in Business, if she takes the remainder of her courses in "Business" (15 credits minimum).

Finally, if she decides to go to TESU or WGU in the future, or remain at COSC, all the course she takes should go into their Business Admin Bachelors just fine.

[dfrecore]

So, first she needs to see if it's worth the cost to get the AA.  I have no idea how much your mom makes, but let's say it's $15/hr.  A 10% increase would be $1.5/hr.  Multiplied by 2080 (normal number of hours in a work year for full time employment), that's $3,120 a year.  So it's going to take a year to recoup a $3,000 degree.  Less time if she makes more than that, more time if she makes less.  And, now we get to the cost of a degree.

All of these schools will take your mom's old credits, no problems there.  All of them will take ACE/NCCRS credit, so inexpensive there.

- EC is going to cost $4600.  Too expensive, and you have a capstone.
- TESU is going to cost $4107.  Still expensive, and the price will be going up after 6/30, so it will be closer to $4800 after that.
- COSC will cost $3,300 - a better price, but she won't be able to get her ASBA, it will be a general AA.
- Pierpont is free, but they are taking a LONG time to evaluate credits and get people through graduation.  Still a good bet though.  Your cheapest option by far.
- Patten is going to cost $2100 for an AA in General Studies with a Concentration in Business.  Not bad.

I think her best bet is the Pierpont BOG AAS with an Emphasis in Business.  But I would ask her company if that will work before starting.

If not, then her second best option is Patten.  Again, check with the company.  Leave at least 4-10 courses to complete at Patten, because you're paying tuition for courses, you might as well take as many as you can through them.  But choose ones that are easier, since you want to get through them as quickly as possible, and you have 4 months to do so.  My spreadsheet shows 7 Patten courses, but I just randomly chose which ones, they can all be found elsewhere.

I would take as many courses as possible from CLEP/Modern States if money is an issue.  If money isn't an issue, then I'd probably do Study.com or Straighterline (I would do Study.com but that's just me).  I'd probably sign up for and do College Algebra and Stats through ALEKS now before the courses expire (7/31 I think).  Any other free courses as well, if she wants.

Good luck to her.