AA/ASNSM from TESU then finish BS elsewhere?

[sanantone]

Lab experience will be important if you want to go on to a PhD. I don't see why a bachelor's degree in biology wouldn't be good for a PhD program. You'll mostly need to worry about your GPA, science GPA, GRE scores, and letters of recommendation. 

While earning your undergraduate degree online is not recommended if you want to earn a PhD in a science or just work in a lab, if that is your only option, University of Florida has an online bachelor completion program in microbiology. I was briefly in their online master's in microbiology with a concentration in biochemistry, but it doesn't include labs.

I have the ASNSM; it's a natural science degree with a concentration in biology. It's not really a good 2+2 degree because it doesn't require the typical lower level credits in a 4-year degree in biology. However, it was good enough for me to earn admission to UF's master's program. I don't have a bachelor's degree in a natural science.

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I forgot that Arizona State University has an online bachelor's in biochemistry. It requires in-person labs.

Thanks for your reply!

I've looked at ASU and UF's online bio programs: UF's microbiology has in person labs too. They both seem like pretty good options. I'm not actually opposed to finishing the rest of a bachelor's in person, though. My reasoning for doing the Associates' online is purely economical. I was sort of thinking that maybe getting some lab experience in the latter half of the degree would make up for things, assuming I could find a school that would accept it.

So do you think earning a standard A.A. through the big 3 would be better for a 2+2 plan, or also not ideal for a biology degree? If lab experience is an issue for transfer, do you think it would be possible to do the most important courses for lab experience in person from a community college and put that towards the AA big 3?

There are online lab courses, but it's going to get expensive. University of New England has virtual labs, I believe. Some community colleges have students buy lab kits and do the labs in their home. 

I almost thought about completing an associate's in biology at Central Texas College because they award 8 credits for the biology and chemistry CLEPs. So, you could earn lab credits without completing labs. Of course, that isn't ideal if you really want to learn hands-on stuff. 

Just about any AA or AS program will take care of most of the general education requirements for a BA or BS. It's just better to have physics I and II, chemistry I and II, biology I and II, and organic chemistry I and II completed before you transfer since those are lower level credits that can be done cheaply at a community college. 

As Mnomadic said, you can look for bachelor's programs at schools that accept CLEP and DSST. Many will accept up to 30 credits from non-traditional sources; a few will accept 60-90.