Is TESU the best choice for my son?

[MaMichelle]

Questions/comments about what you understand:
1. I think TESU is the only one that specifically has BSBA Finance. Others have Accounting or something along those lines but not finance.
2. Which certifications? It looks like some are UL credit and some are LL credit.
3. This is okay. You don't need to have a bunch of transfer credits. But the AP exam will count as non-collegiate credits. I think he can use this in his gen eds.
4. Full tuition reimbursement or partial? What kind of limit? This is important!

5. How soon does he need to get his degree by? Is his employer expecting him to take the full 4 years in order for him to get a promotion or do they expect him to have it more quickly? To some extent, the faster he wants/needs his degree, the more expensive it could be.
6. SDC is good but Sophia is recommended for most courses because it's both faster and cheaper than SDC (unlimited courses at Sophia for $79/mo. vs. 5 per month at SDC). If he goes entirely with SDC, his degree could wind up taking longer than expected.
7. He should figure out which TECEPs he'd want to take first and then fill in the rest from SDC/Sophia. In general, you want to fill out your gen eds first and then go from there. See https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Sa...ts_Roadmap
8. The TECEPs for English Comp are actually easier than the courses! But, if he wants to avoid the TECEPs then he can get those classes at SDC, Sophia, Olivet Nazarine, or TEL Learning (RA credit).
9. The roadmap/plan is written to mostly utilize SDC and Sophia.

Things you don't yet understand:
1. Unless your son qualifies for the military plan, TECEPs do NOT count towards the residency requirement. However, ePack courses do. These are essentially TECEPs but you pay full tuition rate for them: https://www2.tesu.edu/listallc.php?type=EP

Depending on tuition reimbursement + timeline, one possible route would be to register for 2 ePack courses + the cornerstone + the 1-credit Jane Austin course ( https://www2.tesu.edu/course.php?CourseCode=ENG-298&sem= ) for one term and then the capstone + another ePack course later. This would bring your son up to 16 residency credits and avoid the residency waiver. Tuition reimbursement does not usually cover the residency waiver, though it wouldn't hurt to ask. The remaining 14/15 RA credits could come from TECEPs/TEL Learning/Olivet Nazarine University/etc.

If he needs a degree as of yesterday and doesn't want to wait for tuition reimbursement and then do two terms at TESU, paying the residency waiver is likely going to be unavoidable.

Again, you need to figure out which RA credits to use first before filling in the remainder of the degree with alt credits. Doing it backward could result in the duplication of credits/classes and a longer time to completion. This is especially important for a BSBA degree because there are very few electives compared to other degrees.

THANK YOU! This is exactly the kind of info that is incredibly helpful. 
1. He has his SIE, Series 7 & Series 66 (the 66 is the 63+65). Found the matrix showing which credits are granted for which exams.
2. I think the Human Geography AP will count for elective LL, non-RA credit. I couldn't find a course code or number of credits granted for this exam though.
3. Tuition reimbursement--we don't know, but I believe it is partial, and capped at a certain amount. He is working on getting details.
4. Company policy is that he must spend six months in his current position and then six months in the next one before he can be promoted to the next rung on the ladder. They would like to advance him as soon as possible, but can't do that last step before he has the degree. So once another eight months has elapsed the only thing keeping him from the next promotion is the paper. There is heavy pressure on him to get it done as fast as he can. 
5. The pay bump from moving into the degreed position is nearly $100K/year so having to pay even a fairly large sum like the residency waiver is well worth it to him.
6. THANK YOU for pointing out Sophia is cheaper and possibly faster. I think even on SDC he won't be able to plow through more than five courses per month, but on the off chance that he can, Sophia doesn't limit him. I'll look into that. He really does love the SDC format--he needs to take a look at Sophia and see what he thinks.
7. I think we've worked out a pretty good plan using mostly SDC for GE and TECEPs for the finance/business courses, but taking another look at it the other way around is a good idea. 
8. GOOD TO KNOW on the TECEPs fo English comp.; once again, THANK YOU!!

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Trying to decide which online degree program is best for my son. He has outsourced research into which is the best fit for him to mom...I'm glad he trusts me but want to make sure I'm picking the right option.

Factors that I understand:
1. TESU's BSBA in Finance is the perfect degree for his career path.
2. He has several FINRA certifications that will give him 12 credits in his major.
3. His only other transfer credit is a passing score on the AP Geography exam--I'm assuming that's 3 credits that will fit into his GE as elective credit if nothing else.
4. Speed, not cost, is the most important factor to him. That said, less cost is better than more. But his employer offers some tuition reimbursement. This benefit will not be available to him for 7 more months.
5. He is 23 years old, married, no kids. He's smart, works hard, and motivated. He consistently has the best metrics in the nation in his job. Most of his peers are degreed but he is not; his boss told him that he must have a bachelor's degree to get the promotion after his next promotion so he should finish one asap because they want to fast track him into that role.
6. He likes study.com's format and wants to maximize use of SDC credits.
7. For the RA credits he prefers the exam format so once he has his 90 non-RA credits, TECEPs are a good choice.
8. He is nervous about English/Composition requirements--would like to avoid CLEP/TECEP for those.
9. Consistency is good for him. Doing as many courses as possible in the same format is better than a buffet approach utilizing lots of providers

Factors that I don't understand:
1. What counts towards the "residency" requirement? Do TECEPS count? What is needed to get a fee waiver? 
2. I don't know what I don't know! Help me understand whatever else I need to be thinking about.

With all due respect, this is what he needs to do on his own - not “outsource” to you.

The umbilical cord was cut at birth - remind him of this.  As HE researches HIS degree...


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You don't know my son's history and background. If you did, I suspect you would be a little less judgmental and a little more supportive.