Help Choosing the right degree plan….

[HUBBA]

Your Location: Fort Worth, Texas, United States (D.C / Maryland native)

Your Age: 34

What kind of degree do you want?: Open but would like something dealing with organizational management or leadership if feasible. 

Current Regional Accredited Credits: Zero

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: Zero

Any certifications or military experience? COR- Level 2(Recertification lapsed)

Budget: Under 10k ideally but I will consider more depending on how much more convenient it is to my plan. 

Commitments: I hybrid work full time in a management position for federal agency. I am a single parent to an elementary aged child. 

Dedicated time to study: I prefer to test out or PLA for credit based on my work experiences. I have some weekends to study but prefer testing out or writing over coursework. 

Timeline: Within the next year. I would like to finish as quickly.


I’m strongly considering the Management and Leadership BA from UMPI or BS in Business from Excelsior. Price is a factor and I’m starting from scratch so I would really appreciate any planning advice or program suggestions. 

Any and all suggestions are appreciated!!!

[dfrecore]

So, here's a breakdown of the degrees you're discussing (and a couple that you aren't):

UMPI
BLS w/Minor in Management
BABA w/Concentration in Leadership

EU
BPS in Management
BSB w/Concentration in General Business

UMPI is a bit more of a pain to do the GEC - EU's GE is extremely easy to meet, w/no lab science, no oral comm, no foreign language, etc. Very simple requirements. EU does require 30cr of UL, which I think is more than UMPI requires. EU is going to be more flexible in terms of time...until you get to the end and need to take the cornerstone and capstone.

Both the UMPI BLS and the EU BPS are more flexible than their business counterparts - and both have a good number of Free electives available (EU has 33cr of FE, and UMPI has 54cr).

So really, it just depends on whether you want a straight business degree, or if a business-y degree will work; and then if you want to choose the CBE model or not.

I'd probably look at all 4 and decide. They can ALL be done via alt-credit (except the 30cr you need to take at UMPI of course). Prices are similar I think. EU is $4000 + 113cr; UMPI is $1400 or $2800 or $4200 for 1, 2 or 3 terms + 90cr.

[bjcheung77]

@hubba bubba gum! Haha, you did the template - compact and concise! I would do things differently... I just have questions before I continue. What is the federal agency you work for? FEMA? How much do you make a year, under/over 100K? My suggestion is two fold. TAMUC BAAS Organizational Leadership for undergrad and then ladder up to a WGU Texas MSML for grad school... WGU is a state endorsed school in Texas.

The reasons are multi-fold, TAMUC is a local public/state school that would be more recognized than schools in other states... Instate pricing is half that of UMPI at $750/term. It's what you're looking for management/leadership... what is more interesting about this program is, you have 48 credits in professional studies, you can take anything for those, in fact, you can take enough such as 24 credits in another concentration and another 24 credits in a different concentration than Organizational Leadership.

Note: You can take ACE credits, up to 75% or 90 credits of the degree and finish the major requirements (30 credits) at TAMUC, those are the residency requirements. There are threads created for TAMUC, you may want to skim through those and see if it's a better choice for you than what has been mentioned. Having said that, depending on your answer to my queries, there might be an even better option... a FREEBIE if you qualify, stay tuned!

[HUBBA]

So, here's a breakdown of the degrees you're discussing (and a couple that you aren't):

UMPI
BLS w/Minor in Management
BABA w/Concentration in Leadership

EU
BPS in Management
BSB w/Concentration in General Business

UMPI is a bit more of a pain to do the GEC - EU's GE is extremely easy to meet, w/no lab science, no oral comm, no foreign language, etc.  Very simple requirements.  EU does require 30cr of UL, which I think is more than UMPI requires.  EU is going to be more flexible in terms of time...until you get to the end and need to take the cornerstone and capstone.

Both the UMPI BLS and the EU BPS are more flexible than their business counterparts - and both have a good number of Free electives available (EU has 33cr of FE, and UMPI has 54cr).

So really, it just depends on whether you want a straight business degree, or if a business-y degree will work; and then if you want to choose the CBE model or not.

I'd probably look at all 4 and decide.  They can ALL be done via alt-credit (except the 30cr you need to take at UMPI of course).  Prices are similar I think.  EU is $4000 + 113cr; UMPI is $1400 or $2800 or $4200 for 1, 2 or 3 terms + 90cr.

Thanks for this detailed breakdown! I didn’t realize the prices shook out so similarly. My main hesitation with UMPI is not being able to finish classes quickly. I will definitely look into all of the options you presented much more carefully. You definitely helped me to narrow down my search.

---

@hubba bubba gum!  Haha, you did the template - compact and concise!  I would do things differently...  I just have questions before I continue.  What is the federal agency you work for?  FEMA?  How much do you make a year, under/over 100K?  My suggestion is two fold.  TAMUC BAAS Organizational Leadership for undergrad and then ladder up to a WGU Texas MSML for grad school... WGU is a state endorsed school in Texas.

The reasons are multi-fold, TAMUC is a local public/state school that would be more recognized than schools in other states... Instate pricing is half that of UMPI at $750/term.  It's what you're looking for management/leadership... what is more interesting about this program is, you have 48 credits in professional studies, you can take anything for those, in fact, you can take enough such as 24 credits in another concentration and another 24 credits in a different concentration than Organizational Leadership.

Note: You can take ACE credits, up to 75% or 90 credits of the degree and finish the major requirements (30 credits) at TAMUC, those are the residency requirements.  There are threads created for TAMUC, you may want to skim through those and see if it's a better choice for you than what has been mentioned.  Having said that, depending on your answer to my queries, there might be an even better option... a FREEBIE if you qualify, stay tuned!

Thanks for this reply! I work for HUD, not FEMA unfortunately lol. I am a GS14 and do make over 100k annually. Do I qualify for what you were thinking of?


I hadn’t considered TAMUC. It definitely seems like a great alternative to UMPI. From the brief post I’ve read, they seem flexible with the credit they accept which is a plus but the process seems a little slow for finishing classes. I definitely intend to read more so I can start narrowing down credits to gather prior to enrolling.

[dfrecore]

A good way to see how you'd do at UMPI is to enroll at Sophia and try to bust through a BUNCH of courses in a short time - say 6 courses in a month, or 8-10 courses in 2 months. If you can do that, UMPI might be a good option.

I forgot that TAMUC is available for a great price for TX residents, so I would definitely put that on your list as well.

[bjcheung77]

@hubba, you aren't eligible for the freebie as you make over 100k/year, that's why I asked.  Do you have tuition assistance or reimbursement? You may also want to check out this thread, especially the last few posts, if you get in contact with TAMUC and see if there are options for further tuition discounts. Link: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...hip-Update

Anyways, this TAMUC option is your best bet... Here's a degree plan, since you're starting from scratch, get all the Sophia.org courses done first and reply to this when you've done them.  My advice is to invest in a second monitor for multi-tasking and using the second monitor for searching course materials/pdf's provided.  Link: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...egree_Plan