Questions From Future Student Looking to Enroll at TESU, Excelsior, or WGU

[Kalpa]

Hi, I have a handful of questions that perhaps the community can give me some insight to. I figured I'd put them all in one place instead of starting multiple threads. 

1. TESU has a policy of issuing a maximum 2 associates degrees & 2 BA degrees. Are most schools like this?
   
2. I'm seeing some schools IT programs are ABET certified like Excelsior & WGU and others are not like TESU. Is ABET certification something that stands out or employers look for in non-engineering titled computer related programs?
   
3. Similarly some Cyber security programs have the NSA & DHS CAE - CD / CO certification like Excelsior and others do not like TESU. Is this also something that tends to stand out to employers for this field or does it not really have that much impact?
   
4. I see WGU mentioned quite a bit but what's it's advantage compared to the big 3? I can't anything on their site on what the maximum credit transferred in is allowed or what kind of alternate credits they accept like Saylor & Study.com
   
5. If I'm initially just trying to get all my alternate credits bundled into a degree quickly would you recommend going for degrees - AA or BA - that have no capstones? Or will it not really help much? There's quite a few on TESU that have no cap like ASNSM Biology, Math, & Criminal Justice / BA IT & Data Science.
   
6. WGU offers quite a few certifications with their computer programs, Excelsior less so, and TESU looks like little to none. Does this add much value to the program or would it be just as easy to do these on my own?
   
7. If I were to enroll at TESU and just want to get my alternate credits bundled quickly would there be any reason not to get two AA 1st and then do two BA's there in different programs or would it be better just to do the BA first? I am currently not urgently needing any of these degrees for career / promotion purposes but I think getting something in hand sooner helps to keep the motivation for continuing up.
   

      To give some background at the moment I'm finishing up all the CLEP's I intend to take and hopefully by the end of the year / beginning of next year to be enrolled at probably TESU or Excelsior. Since these both accept a very large amount of self paced, cheaper, and probably easier alternate credits I would like to use them to bundle all those up into a diverse foundation of degrees to use as a springboard into an MS or more at more reputable schools. Thanks for any useful feedback.

[dfrecore]

I won't answer all, since I don't know all.

1) This is fairly common, many schools won't even issue a 2nd BA/BS degree. BTW, not only will TESU not issue more than 2 bachelors degrees, they won't issue a degree if you already have 2 from somewhere else.

4) WGU will take 90cr in transfer, from ACE (no NCCRS). The advantage is cost - if you can transfer in a lot of your degree and then finish in 1 term, it will be THE cheapest degree hands down. They also have the advantage of around a 75/25 split of Major to GE, as opposed to the Big 3 which have around a 50/50 split. If you're coming in with few or no credits, then this is a great way to go - less time spent on things that don't interest you, and more time spent on the stuff you actually want your degree in.

5) Most of TESU's Associate degrees, and COSC's AA, don't have capstones. Makes no difference though for TESU - it's too expensive to get your AA there ($1,137 for the cornerstone and $2,800 for the residency waiver is too steep for an AA). I wouldn't waste my time. I'm not a huge fan of AA's in general, so I personally wouldn't get one at COSC either.

6) I don't think any of the Big 3 gives you certs as part of the degree. They may accept certs for credit, but they don't give you the cert. This is a big value-add with WGU, and I would highly recommend WGU for IT degrees over just about anyone else.

As to your wanting to "bundle" your credits into a "diverse foundation of degrees" I think this is about the strangest way to put things that I've ever seen. I don't get it.

I do notice that sometimes as people are beginning their journey, they have these BIG plans to get a bunch of degrees. I think you're much better off focusing on a single degree that will ultimately take you where you want to go.

[allvia]

All the Bachelors have a Capstone, the Big3 and WGU - each capstone may differ in what it involves, but they all have some version of a Capstone.

[quigongene]

I do notice that sometimes as people are beginning their journey, they have these BIG plans to get a bunch of degrees. I think you're much better off focusing on a single degree that will ultimately take you where you want to go.

This, all day long. If I saw 2 associates and 2 bachelors and not much work experience, the first thing I'm going to think is "career student" (which isn't a good look to a potential employer).

[dfrecore]

All the Bachelors have a Capstone, the Big3 and WGU - each capstone may differ in what it involves, but they all have some version of a Capstone.

This is actually the direction most schools are going.  I've seen it at a lot of "regular" 4yr schools as well.

[natshar]

WGU could be the best option for you. It is the cheapest and potentially the fastest and you get the certifications too. If you want to get a solid technology-related degree quickly, WGU is a smart choice.


Associates degrees don't really add much especially if they are just general ones. Trust me, I've got three. Many people on this fourm try to earn multiple degrees at once and I was this way when I first joined. But it just makes things more difficult, to plan and to finish what you started. Four degrees is not four times as valuable as one degree.

I'm confused about bundling your credits, you just use clep credits to meet degree requirements, no bundling needed.

[PrettyFlyforaChiGuy]

Don't spread yourself too thin to try to pick up multiple AA/AS + BA/BS degrees. If anything, you could look into requirements for a double major BA/BS degree, plan out a reasonable path, and drop the AA/AS idea entirely. They aren't so beneficial.

Your focus on racking up multiple degrees is common when you are starting out and feeling impressed by the relative ease of earning credits online, but it's going to be a better bet for you to work toward a single BA/BS--one maybe with a double major--depending on where you enroll.

[bjcheung77]

Kalpa, you're looking at too many things all at once, in other words, you're overthinking too much. My suggestion is, get the prerequisites done for the Masters program you're looking for at whichever respectable/reputable school you're referring to...
But to answer your questions, you may have things mixed up and too cautious of extra recognition of specific program.

1) Most schools limit the amount of second degrees, from all levels, and require you to get the deans approval before you begin a second associates or bachelors. A second bachelors degree at TESU requires at most 144 credits. If you're looking at multiple degrees for the cost/utility, TESU is the ticket...

For example, I think COSC doesn't award second associates, for a second bachelors, they require dean approval as most of their Bachelors are in General Studies with a concentration in something, it's like having two Bachelors of General Studies unless you go for a specific Bachelors they offer. Further to that, a second concentration is 30 credits, so you will need 150 credits at minimum for two degrees or one degree with a double concentration.

COSC Second Bachelors Link: https://www.charteroak.edu/prospective/a...degree.php

2) You're mixing up the ABET accreditation, currently only Excelsior and TESU have ABET accredited program, WGU's in candidacy but not yet accredited by them. Excelsior has a BSIT, BSEET, and BSNET. TESU has similar programs, except no BSIT that's ABET... Each school has some type of programmatic/secondary accreditation for their degree offerings.

WGU: https://www.wgu.edu/about/accreditation.html
TESU: https://www.tesu.edu/about/accreditation
Excelsior: https://www.excelsior.edu/about/accreditations/

3) You're referring to the secondary recognition of Excelsior's Cybersecurity program, the reason Excelsior has it is because their program is probably the longest running (oldest) of the Big 3 and/or WGU's program. I think the other Big 2/WGU just added their programs in 2016 or later. The recognition isn't that great or useful in this regard, employers will look at the Excelsior degree the same way - I would only go for the BSIT Cybersecurity track as it has the extra ABET, otherwise, they're all the same.

Excelsior 2015 Link: https://www.excelsior.edu/article/excels...editation/

4) For WGU, I only recommend them if you're going for a degree in Business, IT, Nursing or Teaching as that's all they offer, if you want something specific other than those offered, well then - you'll have to look elsewhere. They are very good options for those 4 types of degrees, the main difference is, they're not test-out but competency based. The max transfer is up to 90 credits before you enroll. If you can finish in a term, it's under 4K/term - I actually really recommend them for grad school as they are exclusively online vs a state university or if you're going for a Bachelors/Masters combo and not going any further.

5) As I mentioned in the beginning of the post, you're taking in too many things at once. You haven't decided on your final Masters or your end goal, getting all of these is a waste of energy/money and time. The reason I would do this is because it will take the same amount of courses - Yes, at TESU, you can have two associates/two bachelors with exactly 120 credits, but the utility of the associates would be pretty useless as the Bachelors will be looked at instead, you can use the associates as an ego booster or show your progression from A to B.

6) Certifications you're referring to from WGU are included in the cost of tuition for most if not all of them, that's the main reason I would recommend them for people going for one of the 4 types of degrees. I tell people to work on 3 things, degree, experience and lastly, certifications. If it's bundled into the degree, great. If you can get the certs free from work, that will do as well... For me, I don't get tuition assistance/reimbursement for school, but I do get reimbursement for business/it exams as long as I pass.

7) Read #5 again, hahaha, it'll be worth it... yes, if you're getting the Associates en route to your Bachelors FREE and if it doesn't take any extra courses, energy, money, or time, sure... I would go for it since it's just perfect planning of your classes towards your Bachelors degrees, if you can plan that like I did for my cousin, you can do it without the need for any extra classes.

[UptonSinclair]

Hi, I have a handful of questions that perhaps the community can give me some insight to. I figured I'd put them all in one place instead of starting multiple threads. 

1. TESU has a policy of issuing a maximum 2 associates degrees & 2 BA degrees. Are most schools like this?
   
2. I'm seeing some schools IT programs are ABET certified like Excelsior & WGU and others are not like TESU. Is ABET certification something that stands out or employers look for in non-engineering titled computer related programs?
   
3. Similarly some Cyber security programs have the NSA & DHS CAE - CD / CO certification like Excelsior and others do not like TESU. Is this also something that tends to stand out to employers for this field or does it not really have that much impact?
   
4. I see WGU mentioned quite a bit but what's it's advantage compared to the big 3? I can't anything on their site on what the maximum credit transferred in is allowed or what kind of alternate credits they accept like Saylor & Study.com
   
5. If I'm initially just trying to get all my alternate credits bundled into a degree quickly would you recommend going for degrees - AA or BA - that have no capstones? Or will it not really help much? There's quite a few on TESU that have no cap like ASNSM Biology, Math, & Criminal Justice / BA IT & Data Science.
   
6. WGU offers quite a few certifications with their computer programs, Excelsior less so, and TESU looks like little to none. Does this add much value to the program or would it be just as easy to do these on my own?
   
7. If I were to enroll at TESU and just want to get my alternate credits bundled quickly would there be any reason not to get two AA 1st and then do two BA's there in different programs or would it be better just to do the BA first? I am currently not urgently needing any of these degrees for career / promotion purposes but I think getting something in hand sooner helps to keep the motivation for continuing up.
   

      To give some background at the moment I'm finishing up all the CLEP's I intend to take and hopefully by the end of the year / beginning of next year to be enrolled at probably TESU or Excelsior. Since these both accept a very large amount of self paced, cheaper, and probably easier alternate credits I would like to use them to bundle all those up into a diverse foundation of degrees to use as a springboard into an MS or more at more reputable schools. Thanks for any useful feedback.

There have been many excellent answers already, but I will share some knowledge that I have gained through many mistakes. When planning your education you need to start from the end. What do you hope to gain? Begin with your job plans, then your graduate education, then your undergraduate education. This should help you focus on why you are doing what you are doing. For example, I was considering a Master's degree at Fort Hays State University after completing my BSBA at TESU. After completing my BSBA with less than 20 graded credits I found out that FHSU required a minimum of 60 graded credits to qualify for a Master's program and wanted two letters from undergraduate professors. This was the first major eye opener for me. If you want to get into a Master's program, it is important that you plan your undergraduate with graduate admissions in mind. Is there a maximum number of ungraded credits your Master's program will accept? Do they accept ungraded credits for major specific courses?

Good luck on your journey.