Degree Completion Advice Pierpont/TESU

[bjcheung77]

Shadowgem, I have homework for you (man, that's like my catchphrase on here). Do you have a spreadsheet created to document what courses are required for which cert, associates, bachelors? If not, make one! Read post 27/28 in the Beginners Guide and get a copy of the My Degree Plan! spreadsheet, I made that specifically for my cousin who wanted certs to go along with 2 associates, 2 bachelors. It's not easy to picture how far along your husband is and how many credits/courses he requires without one...

I usually tell people to use the My Degree Plan! worksheet as their own and the rest are used as a reference template, however; in your case, you can modify the Certs/Associates/Bachelors and use the My Degree Plan! as a reference for which course goes where... from a quick glance last time, he requires 4 courses for ASNSM Bio and 4 for ASNSM Math... document it completely. If you already have a spreadsheet, post it so I can see what may be done to get things completed faster.

Basically, this is the reason I tell my cousin - and now, you/your hubby, why I would recommend the Bio+Math vs a Comp Sci, it's because of subject specialization and recognition of those subjects in an Associates degree. The Comp Sci is available to you already through either Bachelors and through the CIS/CS certs. For Bio and Math, neither of them have a Cert option at TESU, and the Biology BA is hard to complete through test out options.

Not everyone would do this, but for my cousin, he wanted more subject specializations (two secondary subjects) and one major specialization. He also wanted a BALS NSM with mainly CS/CIS courses. So I said to him, he can focus on his BSBA GM/CIS and on his way to that degree, pick up ASNSM Bio and Math. He can also use 9 credits AOS credits and 90 credits from the BSBA into his BALS NSM and pick up the CIS/CS certs, and that's where the spreadsheet comes into play, it shows how it's done to max overlapping credit.

I recommend finishing the two ASNSM right away - your hubby can finish those required courses from SL/Study.com all in one month if he is taking his time off from work and using that downtime correctly, apply for graduation before Oct 1 and complete everything by the end of October, so he can transfer them into the two ASNSM for December graduation. If he has the time, he can do the CS/CIS certs as well, it's not a priority, it can be completed before the Bachelors - but I recommend more time should be spent on finishing the Bachelors.

Final thoughts: I think having ASNSM Bio and Math, along with the CIS/CS certificates would be more marketable for prospective jobs, it should look better on a resume than having an Associates Comp Sci, a redundant CIS/CS certificates and a BS Tech Studies with mainly CS/CIS courses showing on the transcript. Furthermore, there are secondary specializations he'll be qualified for, instead of just CS/CIS related positions.