Crippling self doubt! (aka starting college at 40!)

[Mil0]

Mil0

Is a degree from TESU truly as "valuable" as from a brick & mortar school with a well known reputation in DC (I live 15 minutes outside of DC). I've read the spiel from the big 3 about how their degrees are the same but I don't know how that compares to real life. 

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Go to LinkedIn under TESU, Excelsior College and COSC and click "alumni" and search Emergency Management.  See what their alumni do in the real world with their degrees.  You will learn a lot.

I want to make sure that wasn’t taken as offensive or dismissive of the work that everyone who went to one of the big 3 put in. I apologize if it was read that way!

I really appreciate everyone’s help! You’re all fantastic!

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Merlin

I'd recommend you drop the AA plan and jump directly into an accelerated bachelor's program, unless there is a compelling reason why you need the AA. Even if you can transfer in 45 of the 60 credits necessary for your AA, the balance of courses is going to be the slowest part. Plus you'll then have to wait for the degree to be conferred. In the time that takes you could probably be finished with the entire bachelor's degree, depending on the courses you take and how much prior knowledge you can use towards them.

Its possible to complete a bachelor's degree from scratch in under 6 months from WGU and in less than a year (maybe less than 9 months–though that would be pushing it) from TESU. The longest delays for TESU is the capstone, which takes 3 months no matter what, and waiting until the next degree conferral, which only happens quarterly (and you have to apply at least 3 months in advance).

Thank you! I kind of like the idea of having a degree in my field ASAP as the bachelors alone would open up several doors for me immediately. I can skip the AA though if that's the consensus. 

You pay $199 per month for a Study.com (aka SDC) subscription which gives you unlimited access to study materials for one month and includes two free exams. You can take as long as you like to finish the courses, but it is in your best interest to finish at least two per month so you don't miss out on any of the free final exams. Any additional exams cost $70 each and there is no limit to the number of additional exams you can take per month.

So you have the full picture, I'll describe StraighterLine (aka SL) as well since it is also a subscription service, but works differently.

For SL, you pay $99/month for the subscription. While your subscription is active you can take as many courses as you like, but there is a one-time fee to register for each course which varies (most run between $59 and $99). Once the fee is paid, you get access to the textbook and lessons and you can take as long as you like to finish the course, assuming your subscription is up to date. If you fail the course, you just have to pay the registration fee again to re-take the course.

For both providers, the final exams are proctored using your home PC and a webcam. The quizzes are not proctored. Some of the courses also require essays or project-based assignments in addition to quizzes and a final exam.

Thank you for the clarification! I appreciate it.

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I did not read through every word of every post because it's all too long (limited on time) but wanted to say this:

1) you asked about transferring courses to your local CC which has a degree that you want.  You need to check with them to see if you can use alternative credits to get your degree there.  If not, there's not a lot we can help you with here for that.

2) If you opt to go straight for a BA/BS at one of the Big 3, like getting a BALS at TESU, we can help you get that quickly/inexpensively - around $7500 or less, depending on which providers you use.  THEN, you could opt for the MA that you're looking for.  The entire process might actually be faster/cheaper than a BA through traditional means.

3) You can also choose to get the BA/BS through TESU, but I don't think it's what you actually want.

Sorry about that! I can be really wordy! 

1) MC has an incredibly lenient credit acceptance policy. They also have an "open education" agreement with the big 3 as well. The benefit of going through the AA at MC is that they have the matriculation agreements with all of the Maryland universities as well as access to a lot of funding. But I'm more concerned with doing it quicker than cheaper. The AA doesn't really get me anything, it's the BA and then the Masters that I'm truly after. I will have to check in with UCF and find out if I need a BA in EM to get into the UCF masters program. 

2) This is great information and I can't thank you all enough! 

3) The one benefit I really like about the AA and school locally for the EM parts of things is that I can go to classes locally and actually meet people in my field instead of just out in the field which mean we're always working a disaster. I've got a ton of amazing information now though and I've got to go to bed before driving down to DC for a meeting during what should prove to be ridiculous driving weather.

Thanks again!!