06-23-2023, 01:40 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-23-2023, 10:27 AM by rachel83az.)
What kind of money are you looking at for vocational rehab? Do they only cover the cost of Utah schools or would they cover classes anywhere?
There are a few issues at play here: inexpensive credit for the bulk of your degree, residency credit for the school in question, and UL credit for the major. There may also be an issue with a required number of Regionally Accredited credits.
For the first point, Saylor and OnlineDegree seem like the cheapest option, but not necessarily. Saylor is $5 per exam and OnlineDegree is $9; there is no coursework, so everything rides on the exam. Cheap, right? Not so fast! If you need to do any retakes, you're doubling or tripling your costs. Now, you're looking at $10/$15 or $18/$27 for one class. I don't have any strong stats to back it up, but I would guess that people are able to pass on the first time 50-60% of the time, needing 2 exams would be maybe 30-40%, 3 exams would be 10-20% and then a small portion never pass their exams. For someone on a very strict budget, that's not ideal!
Not to mention, Saylor and OnlineDegree courses can be slow. It can take weeks of studying, then you don't pass, and you have to wait a month to be allowed to retake.
There are also CLEP exams; they're completely free through ModernStates, assuming you pass on the first attempt. However, each one does require a monetary investment from you. You get a voucher from ModernStates to cover the testing fee, but you still have to pay the location/proctoring fee out of pocket. ModernStates will reimburse you, but this process can take 3-4 months if you're lucky. With a proctoring fee of $50-$60, this isn't ideal. Though, I think some locations will allow you to pay a single fee and you can complete multiple CLEP exams if you're able to finish within the given time?
Enter Sophia. Sophia is $99/mo. and you are allowed to complete as many classes for that $99 as you can during this period. If you are doing this full-time, there is a good chance that you'll complete classes every other day, on average. Completing 20+ Sophia courses in a month isn't typical, but it's not unheard of either. This brings the cost per class down to below OnlineDegree, possibly even cheaper than Saylor. Especially once you factor on the cost of retakes to both OnlineDegree and Saylor.
For most students, Sophia will actually be cheaper than attempting credits at OD or Saylor. Definitely faster, and often more affordable, than "free" CLEP exams. If you can manage $100/mo. for 2 or 3 months, you'll have all the LL credit you could need for your degree.
There are also some credits available 100% free through Coursera. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera (look for The American Dream Academy/TADA).
Now, residency credit. Excelsior has no residency requirement, per se, but there are 7 credits that can't be covered by outside credit. At $510 per credit tuition + $68 misc fees per credit, you're looking at $4046 for the required Excelsior tuition.
TESU allows you to choose your poison, in a sense. They have a 16-credit residency requirement, but you can get around that by only taking the required capstone & cornerstone with them. Then you would pay the $3288 residency waiver fee. This fee is usually not covered by financial aid, tuition assistance, etc. 6 credits x $535 + $3288 = $6498 tuition & fees to TESU. But, if you have the time/energy, it's also possible to take 16 credits in a single flat-rate term. Tuition for this would be a flat $4778. Because you'd be taking 16 credits, there'd be no residency waiver fee. Kind of spendy for someone with a limited budget, but they do have a Computer Science degree available.
Finally, possibly the best for last. UMPI! UMPI has a 30 credit residency requirement. You can fill out the bulk of your credit needs through Sophia and maybe Coursera (depending on degree). This will leave you with 10-15 classes (30-45 credits) to complete at UMPI. UMPI charges a flat-rate $1500 per 8-week session and they allow you to complete as many classes as you're able to within that period. Some students are able to finish off the remainder of their classes within one session. Most take 2 or 3 sessions. If you qualify for a Pell Grant and work with UMPI staff, this degree will likely be FREE and you may even get money back. This school requires the least amount of class juggling and planning to have Financial Aid cover the bulk of the cost. For the highest financial aid award, I think you need two sessions. UMPI has a bunch of Business and Liberal Studies degrees available.
Now, to UL credit.
Excelsior requires 30 credits of UL classes. Saylor has some UL, but I think the bulk of your credits would need to come from Study.com and/or Coopersmith. SDC is about $200/mo. for up to 2 exams per month. Coopersmith is $150 per course (plus proctoring fees, I think?). You're looking at about $1000 for Excelsior and SDC/Coopersmith UL credits.
TESU only requires 18 UL credits, 3 of which can come from the Capstone. For some degrees (such as Computer Science), TESU would require classes that are only available through SDC and not other sources. This drives the cost up. Depending on degree, you're looking at somewhere around $600-$1200 for UL credits. Saylor is mostly business-type courses and most of those credits wouldn't apply to the cheapest Liberal Studies degree.
UMPI: bad news is that it depends. Good news, it's all part of the classes you have to take from them anyway. They require about 24 UL credits and you need to complete at least 30 UMPI credits. Again, most students are able to complete these required credits in 2-3 sessions.
Finally, RA credit requirements. Of the schools mentioned above, only TESU has this requirement. They require students to have at least 30 RA or foreign RA-equivalent credits in a Bachelor's degree. There are ways to get these credits inexpensively, almost free, but it takes planning. If you really, really want a TESU Computer Science degree, this will likely add another $200-$500 to the cost of your degree.
Lastly, would having an Associate's degree help you in your journey? It is possible to get one for approximately $150 from Pierpont. Costs would breakdown as follows: 1 month of Sophia for $99, $25 for a class from Arizona State University, $15 to send the ASU transcript to Pierpont, $0 for credits from Coursera through The American Dream Academy (if desired/needed). More information here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC
I know this is all a lot of information to digest at once, feel free to ask any questions!
There are a few issues at play here: inexpensive credit for the bulk of your degree, residency credit for the school in question, and UL credit for the major. There may also be an issue with a required number of Regionally Accredited credits.
For the first point, Saylor and OnlineDegree seem like the cheapest option, but not necessarily. Saylor is $5 per exam and OnlineDegree is $9; there is no coursework, so everything rides on the exam. Cheap, right? Not so fast! If you need to do any retakes, you're doubling or tripling your costs. Now, you're looking at $10/$15 or $18/$27 for one class. I don't have any strong stats to back it up, but I would guess that people are able to pass on the first time 50-60% of the time, needing 2 exams would be maybe 30-40%, 3 exams would be 10-20% and then a small portion never pass their exams. For someone on a very strict budget, that's not ideal!
Not to mention, Saylor and OnlineDegree courses can be slow. It can take weeks of studying, then you don't pass, and you have to wait a month to be allowed to retake.
There are also CLEP exams; they're completely free through ModernStates, assuming you pass on the first attempt. However, each one does require a monetary investment from you. You get a voucher from ModernStates to cover the testing fee, but you still have to pay the location/proctoring fee out of pocket. ModernStates will reimburse you, but this process can take 3-4 months if you're lucky. With a proctoring fee of $50-$60, this isn't ideal. Though, I think some locations will allow you to pay a single fee and you can complete multiple CLEP exams if you're able to finish within the given time?
Enter Sophia. Sophia is $99/mo. and you are allowed to complete as many classes for that $99 as you can during this period. If you are doing this full-time, there is a good chance that you'll complete classes every other day, on average. Completing 20+ Sophia courses in a month isn't typical, but it's not unheard of either. This brings the cost per class down to below OnlineDegree, possibly even cheaper than Saylor. Especially once you factor on the cost of retakes to both OnlineDegree and Saylor.
For most students, Sophia will actually be cheaper than attempting credits at OD or Saylor. Definitely faster, and often more affordable, than "free" CLEP exams. If you can manage $100/mo. for 2 or 3 months, you'll have all the LL credit you could need for your degree.
There are also some credits available 100% free through Coursera. https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera (look for The American Dream Academy/TADA).
Now, residency credit. Excelsior has no residency requirement, per se, but there are 7 credits that can't be covered by outside credit. At $510 per credit tuition + $68 misc fees per credit, you're looking at $4046 for the required Excelsior tuition.
TESU allows you to choose your poison, in a sense. They have a 16-credit residency requirement, but you can get around that by only taking the required capstone & cornerstone with them. Then you would pay the $3288 residency waiver fee. This fee is usually not covered by financial aid, tuition assistance, etc. 6 credits x $535 + $3288 = $6498 tuition & fees to TESU. But, if you have the time/energy, it's also possible to take 16 credits in a single flat-rate term. Tuition for this would be a flat $4778. Because you'd be taking 16 credits, there'd be no residency waiver fee. Kind of spendy for someone with a limited budget, but they do have a Computer Science degree available.
Finally, possibly the best for last. UMPI! UMPI has a 30 credit residency requirement. You can fill out the bulk of your credit needs through Sophia and maybe Coursera (depending on degree). This will leave you with 10-15 classes (30-45 credits) to complete at UMPI. UMPI charges a flat-rate $1500 per 8-week session and they allow you to complete as many classes as you're able to within that period. Some students are able to finish off the remainder of their classes within one session. Most take 2 or 3 sessions. If you qualify for a Pell Grant and work with UMPI staff, this degree will likely be FREE and you may even get money back. This school requires the least amount of class juggling and planning to have Financial Aid cover the bulk of the cost. For the highest financial aid award, I think you need two sessions. UMPI has a bunch of Business and Liberal Studies degrees available.
Now, to UL credit.
Excelsior requires 30 credits of UL classes. Saylor has some UL, but I think the bulk of your credits would need to come from Study.com and/or Coopersmith. SDC is about $200/mo. for up to 2 exams per month. Coopersmith is $150 per course (plus proctoring fees, I think?). You're looking at about $1000 for Excelsior and SDC/Coopersmith UL credits.
TESU only requires 18 UL credits, 3 of which can come from the Capstone. For some degrees (such as Computer Science), TESU would require classes that are only available through SDC and not other sources. This drives the cost up. Depending on degree, you're looking at somewhere around $600-$1200 for UL credits. Saylor is mostly business-type courses and most of those credits wouldn't apply to the cheapest Liberal Studies degree.
UMPI: bad news is that it depends. Good news, it's all part of the classes you have to take from them anyway. They require about 24 UL credits and you need to complete at least 30 UMPI credits. Again, most students are able to complete these required credits in 2-3 sessions.
Finally, RA credit requirements. Of the schools mentioned above, only TESU has this requirement. They require students to have at least 30 RA or foreign RA-equivalent credits in a Bachelor's degree. There are ways to get these credits inexpensively, almost free, but it takes planning. If you really, really want a TESU Computer Science degree, this will likely add another $200-$500 to the cost of your degree.
Lastly, would having an Associate's degree help you in your journey? It is possible to get one for approximately $150 from Pierpont. Costs would breakdown as follows: 1 month of Sophia for $99, $25 for a class from Arizona State University, $15 to send the ASU transcript to Pierpont, $0 for credits from Coursera through The American Dream Academy (if desired/needed). More information here: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Pierpont_C%26TC
I know this is all a lot of information to digest at once, feel free to ask any questions!
In progress:
TESU - BA Computer Science; BSBA CIS; ASNSM Math & CS; ASBA
Completed:
Pierpont - AAS BOG
Sophia (so many), The Institutes (old), Study.com (5 courses)
ASU: Human Origins, Astronomy, Intro Health & Wellness, Western Civilization, Computer Appls & Info Technology, Intro Programming
Strayer: CIS175, CIS111, WRK100, MAT210
TESU - BA Computer Science; BSBA CIS; ASNSM Math & CS; ASBA
Completed:
Pierpont - AAS BOG
Sophia (so many), The Institutes (old), Study.com (5 courses)
ASU: Human Origins, Astronomy, Intro Health & Wellness, Western Civilization, Computer Appls & Info Technology, Intro Programming
Strayer: CIS175, CIS111, WRK100, MAT210
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