Help me in the right direction [Environmental Sciences/Biology/Ecology]

[ForestDude]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping you guys can help me in the right direction! I've been lurking here for a few weeks and there's so much information that I wouldn't know where to look.

Let me give you a bit of information about myself:

After high school, I went to my local Community College and got a associate's degree in Liberal Arts with a Business Concentration. I originally had the intention of transferring to the local state university, but after graduating CC, I didn't really know what I wanted to study or what to do with my life in general, so I put that the bachelor on hold and went working for my dad's accounting firm. I wasn't by far what I loved, but it gave me a pay check. I worked there for two years before my girlfriend got the opportunity to get a doctorate at a university in Europe. I decided to follow her, because we've been together since we were 16. Because of a fortunate incident, I kinda rolled into job as a forestry crew member (Like manual labor in forests). And I guess what, I loved it. I've been here for three years now and I've worked myself up to team leader. I've also learned a lot of information about forest conservation and management, natural resources, ecology. I finally found something I loved doing.

Meanwhile, my girl is finished up her doctorate and we will be moving back to the US in June 2017. With that move back in my mind, I looked what my options are back home and I found there are a few master's online that really interest me. An example: the master of natural resources at Oregon State University. Of course, I'll need a bachelor's degree for that. And I was kinda thinking that while I'm still here, I can already work on that.

I learned from this forum that TESU, COSC and EC are generous with transfer credits and can be done from a distance.

I found some degrees that might be useful:
TESU:
enviromental studies
biology
COSC
General Studies with a Biology or Chemistry concentration
EC
Natural Sciences with or without a Biology concentration
Social Sciences with an Environmental Studies concentration


I'm leaning more towards TESU, but I don't know if that's the best. Can you guys give me some pointers?

I've also learned that there are alternative ways to get credit. Correct me if I'm wrong. There are certain companies that provide courses (mostly general education) that can be put on a transcript and that university can accept as credit. I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but this is entirely new to me. If it's cheaper I am all for it.

What's next?
If I finally decide on a degree, how do I know if my CC credits will factor in the degree? Can someone help me with that? I'll add my credits.

ENG 101 Composition I B 3
ENG 102 Composition II A 3
COM 251 Public Speaking A 3
MAT 130 PreCalculus B 4
MAT 204 Calculus I B 4
HIS 111 US History I A 3
HIS 112 US History II A 3
ART 227 Art History B 3
REL 152 Introduction to Religion C 3
BIOL 101 Introductory Biology + Lab A 4
PHY 100 Inroduction to Physics A 3
GEO 122 World Geography A 3
ECO 130 Microeconomics B 3
PSY 101 Introductio to Psychology A 3
BUS 100 Introduction to Business A 3
MAN 150 Principles of Management B 3
CIS 101 Computer Applications A 3
MAR 101 Introduction to Marketing A 3
ACC 101 Accounting I A 3

Thanks for the help!

- Andrew aka ForestDude

PS: this turned out longer than I anticipated.