TESU Aviation Degree Plan

[chopperjock22]

Hello all,

In California, 41 years old.  Commercial/Instrument Helicopter Pilot CFI/CFII considering an Aviation Flight Technology degree (Bachelors) from TESU.  Am aware they'll grant credit for my experience and have the following CLEP tests passed, scores mostly in the high-50s to mid-60s.

US History 1
Business Law
American Gov't
Introductory Psychology
US History 2
College Composition
Social Sciences and History
Human Growth and Development 
Intro to Educational Psychology
Introductory Sociology

Testing for Natural Sciences at the end of the week, and it seems I'll need College Mathematics as well at some point.

As indicated in another thread, I'm interested in some DSST exams, but can't find a test center that's willing to open up yet.  Once they do, I'd love to take History of the Vietnam War, Astronomy, and the History of the Soviet Union.

Question is: what other CLEPs and DSST's could I take to fill requirements for the AFT degree?  I just love that they are totally self-paced!  Open to TECEP and Study.com down the road, for now just looking to maximize CLEPs and DSSTs.

Thank you all!

[rachel83az]

First off, STOP before you take any more CLEP exams. You're going to need RA credits for a TESU degree. You need a total of 30 credits. 3 come from the cornerstone (SOS-110) and 3 come from the capstone (APS-401). The remainder can come from any regionally-accredited college or university. Top suggestions here include taking TECEPs (like CLEPs but $150 for lower-level exams and $225 for upper-level exams), UExcel exams https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/UExcel_Exams , TEL Learning https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/TEL_Learning , and ONU or Olivet Nazarene University https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ol...University While not self-paced, another top contender is ASU's Universal Learner courses https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Ar...al_Learner

I would strongly suggest that you visit https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap to figure out which RA courses you're going to take for your general education requirements. They are mostly the same for every degree. For Aviation Flight Technology, you MUST also have Physics I & II w/ lab and meteorology. Those can be taken at New Mexico Junior College online. That leaves you with 5 further RA classes to choose from. Personally, I would also choose ASU's College Algebra. You can get Algebra through Sophia cheaper and easier but I'm not sure that Sophia's Algebra would be sufficient to carry you through Physics. Not sure the CLEP one would either.

[dfrecore]

Yes, TESU requires 30cr of RA, so you'll need to plan that in. Did you take the CLEP College Comp w/Essay or w/o? That makes a difference.

The physics courses you need are algebra-based, so no worries on math there. You will also need Precalc.

You can take everything except Physics at Study.com or Sophia or elsewhere. Even Meteorology (Study.com).

I would look at a local CC to see about Physics I & II w/labs - I'm betting some will have them online, and it will be cheaper than almost anywhere else since your tuition is only $46/cr if the school you choose isn't offering free tuition (many are).

[chopperjock22]

First off, STOP before you take any more CLEP exams.

I would strongly suggest that you visit https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap

I only have 36 credits of CLEP so far, hopefully add 6 more Friday    seems like I have quite a way to go no?  Seriously asking, what other CLEPs/DSSTs should I take at this point?

The roadmap is awesome thanks!

Yes, TESU requires 30cr of RA, so you'll need to plan that in.  Did you take the CLEP College Comp w/Essay or w/o?  That makes a difference.

I would look at a local CC to see about Physics I & II w/labs - I'm betting some will have them online, and it will be cheaper than almost anywhere else since your tuition is only $46/cr if the school you choose isn't offering free tuition (many are).

I took college comp with the essays.

Sadly my work schedule prevents me from taking ANY class that has a regular set schedule.  My job has a day and nights rotation so regardless of when a class is scheduled at some point I will not be able to attend.  At least that's what I saw when I looked at my local CC... but that was pre-pandemic.  Hence my love of self-paced classes.  TESU has told me that their classes are "self-paced" with assignments due on a weekly basis.  That format works.



Sounds like between the cornerstone and capstone I have to do at least 6 credits at TESU correct?  Is the idea to knockout the remaining 24 RA credits at another school because it would be cheaper?  Please pardon the naivete, that's why I'm here asking.

[rachel83az]

You have a limited number of gen ed credits. That's where the easiest (self-paced) and cheapest credits lie. If you continue to take CLEPs then you'll fill your gen ed requirements and then be faced with taking more expensive/not self-paced courses or else overlapping with what you already have credit for. When the 30-credit requirement was announced, a few people found themselves having to do things like take the English Comp TECEPs even though they already had English Comp from CLEP/Sophia/Study.com.

You only have 60 gen ed credits. You've taken 36 CLEP credits. 6 more on Friday is 42. That leaves you with EXACTLY 18 gen eds + 15 free electives or 33 credits left in your degree. Your Aviation credits will come from your licensing and are not RA credits.

As already stated, if you keep going with CLEP then you're going to have to retake things you've already covered with CLEP. You might already be at that point. Please take a look at the roadmap page linked in my post to figure out which RA credits you're going to take.

ASU Universal Learner is self-paced in that things are due weekly and not on specific days. Any final exams are proctored but do not need to be scheduled. You can take the exam as soon as it's available & convenient for you.

TEL & ONU are 100% self-paced. Any exams can be scheduled at a time that is most convenient for you.

UExcels & TECEPs allow you to schedule your exam for a time that is most convenient for you.

[dfrecore]

Sadly my work schedule prevents me from taking ANY class that has a regular set schedule.  My job has a day and nights rotation so regardless of when a class is scheduled at some point I will not be able to attend.  At least that's what I saw when I looked at my local CC... but that was pre-pandemic.  Hence my love of self-paced classes.  TESU has told me that their classes are "self-paced" with assignments due on a weekly basis.  That format works.

Sounds like between the cornerstone and capstone I have to do at least 6 credits at TESU correct?  Is the idea to knockout the remaining 24 RA credits at another school because it would be cheaper?  Please pardon the naivete, that's why I'm here asking.

Yes, you do 30cr total, 6cr of which are at TESU - meaning the other 24cr must come from somewhere (your choice).  Options: TECEP or UExcel exams, ONU or TEL for self-paced courses.  If you're a good test taker, I'd do TECEP's and UExcel's.

Since you're bringing in your entire major of 45cr, and have 36cr of CLEP already, you have to think strategically to get those RA credits in.  If you continue doing CLEP exams, you're going to run out of space to put them, because they'll just have to get replaced by RA credit.  But here are some options:

CLEP
College Algebra
Precalculus
Computer Info Sys
Anything else you want that will work as Free Electives (you have space for 12cr of those)

DSST
Public Speaking
Any Ethics course (Ethics in Technology, Ethics in America)
Statistics
Computing and Information Technology
Anything else you want that will work as Free Electives (you have space for 12cr of those)

Here's my suggestion for RA:
Physics I & II (RA school)
Public Speaking (TECEP)
College Algebra (TECEP)
Principles of Statistics (TECEP)
Computer Concepts & Applications (TECEP)
PHYx120: Weather & Climate (UExcel)
1 additional TECEP or UExcel Exam (I'd choose MATx100: Contemporary Mathematics UExcel or Applied Liberal Arts Mathematics TECEP)
That puts you at 26cr RA, and then the cornerstone and capstone put you at 32cr.

Then you need Ethics (DSST), Precalc, and 12cr of Free Electives that can be non-duplicating CLEP or DSST Exams.

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With Covid, many schools have more robust offerings for online (especially CA since they haven't done in--person classes for a very long time now in some schools).  So I would check again. Look for a school with free tuition, there are lots of them. https://cvc.edu/

Some other options for online Physics courses:
Logan University ($275/cr) - not sure if they offer an online version or not
AMU/APU - $285/cr
Doane University ($329/cr) - Physics 107 & 108 are algebra-based, don't do 201/202 which are calculus-based
UNE Online ($340/cr, self-paced)