please disregard.

It's hard to find information on what percentage of their curriculum is available online. The graduate certificate is fully online after a 2 or 3-day campus visit. They say they offer "distributed learning."

Luther Seminary appears to be very liberal, and they might be open to accepting UU and religiously-unaffiliated students. You do need at least one pastor/ministry recommendation for most of their programs. If you're anti-gay or anti-trans, this might not be the seminary for you. On the other hand, if you're turned off by seminaries that focus on anti-LGBTQ literature, then Luther Seminary might be a better environment.

A big bonus is that Luther is ATS-accredited.

https://www.luthersem.edu/admissions/tui...n=summer24

Hi all!

I'm moving slowly on my Aviation BSc  but just finished my AoS items other than the capstone.    I would like some more advise please for where to take these classes.

I need 18 RA credits from these and 9 TESU credits.    My goal is quickest and easiest (of course).   Study.com sounds like its a good option for Physics 1?    Not many e-packs available.  So need to find a full course to take at TESU.

Thanks ahead for any and all input!

A. Intellectual and Practical Skills 
English Composition I
English Composition II
Oral Communication - (SDC?)

B. Civic and Global Learning 
Diversity - (Introduction to Sociology e-pack?)
Civic Engagement - (American Government e-pack?)

AoS
Principles of Statistics. - (CLEP, or ASU,Outlier)
Physics I - (SDC?)
Physics 1 Lab only - (TESU?)
Physics II w Lab  - (TESU?)
PreCalculus - (ASU, or Outlier)

As Pierpont announces the end to their nearly-free BOG AAS program, I've decided to initiate graduation, which I'd been holding off initially (for student email discounts).

(Note: As I started writing this post, I saw that some of my transfer credits have disappeared from the ROAR dashboard! Has anyone else had this issue? I've emailed the transfer teams, as well as the apparent new head of the BOG AAS program, David Beighley.)

BOG AAS PLAN
Non-ACE credits
- Chemistry LL 8
- Mathematics LL 8
- English LL 8
- Physics LL 4 
Total: 28 LL credits

ACE credits
(Sophia)
- College algebra 3 LL
- Business law 3 LL
- Ancient Greek philosophers 3 LL
- Statistics 3 LL
- Developing effective teams 1 LL
- Essentials of managing conflict 1 LL
- Nutrition 3 LL
- Principles of Finance 3 LL
- Visual communications 3 LL
- Business communications 3 LL
- Sociology 3 LL 
- Health, fitness, and wellness 3 LL
Total: 32 LL credits

(Coursera)
- Google IT support 15 LL
- Google Project Management 3 LL 6 UL
- Real World Cloud Product Management 6 UL
Total: 30 credits - 18 LL + 12 UL

Total: 90 credits - 78 LL + 12 UL

(This is assuming my credits get fixed! Hopefully I'll be able to apply for the IT AOS in time.)

As the deadline to apply for graduation is October 4th, I'm also wondering if I can add in some more classes to the transcript, as a credit bank. Does Pierpont allow for post-admissions transfers?


Some fun credit banking ideas:
For a Washington State CPA (24 accounting credits including up to 9 LL; 24 business admin credits of any level)
(Accounting)
* Sophia
1. Financial accounting 3 LL
2. Managerial accounting 3 LL

(Business Admin)
* Sophia 
1. Business law (3 LL; included above)
2. Intro finance (3 LL; included above)
3. Business communications (3 LL; included above)
4. Intro business 3 LL
5. Business ethics 3 LL
6. Management principles 3 LL
* Coursera
7. Google project management (3 - 9 credits; included above)
8. Meta Facebook Marketing 3 LL 

Total: 6/9 accounting LL credits; 24/24 business admin credits.
Additional credits: 12 - 18


For completing med school prerequisites
Behavioral sciences
- Sophia Intro Psych (3 LL)
- Sophia Lifespan Development (3 LL)

Min. 1 year biology with lab, with cellular and molecular biology
- Sophia Human Biology with Lab (4 LL)
- Sophia Microbiology with Lab (4 LL)
- Sophia Anatomy and Physiology with Lab I & II (8 LL)
- Saylor Intro molecular and cellular biology (3 LL)

Min. 2 years chemistry with lab, including inorganic, organic, and biochemistry
- Sophia chemistry with lab (4 LL)
- No ochem, biochem options

Min. 1 year physics, preferably calculus-based with lab (min 6 LL)
- Saylor Mechanics (3 LL)
- Saylor Electromagnetism (3 LL)
- No lab or calculus-based options

Min. 1 year mathematics, including calculus and statistics (preferably biostatistics)
- Sophia Statistics (3 LL; included above)
- Sophia Calculus (3 LL)

Min. 1 year writing, preferably with second language
- Business communications (3 LL; included above)
- Visual communications (3 LL; included above)
- Sophia Spanish I & II (6 LL)

Total: All, except 12 credits of ochem w lab, biochem w lab
Additional credits: 44


For entry into GATech OMS CS/Analytics/CyberSec
(Computer Science): Coursera
- SAS Programmer (4 LL Intro Programming)
- SAS Adv Programmer (3 UL SWE)
- Sophia Intro Java (3 LL programming languages)

IBM
- IBM Full Stack (18 credits of CS electives), including:
* 3 LL Cloud Computing
* 3 LL Web Dev
* 3 LL Server Dev
* 3 UL Cloud Apps
* 3 UL Python for Data Science
* 3 UL SQL Applications

- IBM Data Science (31 credits), including: 
* 1 LL Intro stats
* 1 LL Intro programming
* 2 LL Intro database and SQL
* 3 LL Intro SQL programming
* 3 LL Intro data science
* 3 LL Data sciences
* 3 LL Data analytics
* 3 LL Data visualisation
* 3 LL Intro Python programming
* 3 LL Python for data science
* 3 LL Data mining
* 3 UL Advanced topics in data science


(Analytics): Coursera
- Google Data (12 LL)
- Google Advanced Data (9 LL)
- Google BI (6 LL)
- MS Power BI (5 LL)

IBM
- IBM Data Analytics with Excel and R (9 courses; 24 credits), including:

* Intro data analytics (3 LL; repeated course x 2) 
* Intro database and SQL (3 LL)
* R programming fundamentals (3 LL)
* Advanced in data analytics (3 UL; repeated course x 2)
* Data visualisation (3 UL)
* Intermediate data visualisation (3 UL)

- IBM Data Analyst (3 courses if done with above two IBM certificates; 20 credits), including:
* Intro data analytics (3 LL; repeated course from above)
* Intro SQL programming (3 LL; repeated x 2, course from above - note that the repeated courses are 3 and 2 credits individually)
* Intro Python programming (3 LL; repeated x 2, course from above)
* Intro Statistics in Python (2 LL)
* Advanced topics in data analytics (3 UL)


(Cybersecurity): Coursera
- Google Cloud Data Analytics (4 LL CS electives; 6 UL Cloud electives)
- Google Cybersecurity (9 LL)
- Google Cloud Cybersecurity (6 LL, 3 UL)
- IBM Cybersecurity (8 LL, 2 UL)
- Microsoft Cybersecurity (9 UL)

Additional credits: 152


For meeting other grad school program prerequisites
MA Economics - Sophia Micro and Macro (6 LL)
MA History - Sophia US History I & II (6 LL)
MDiv - Sophia Religion (3 LL)

Additional credits: 15

Total additional possible credits from Sophia, Saylor, and Coursera: 229

Hi guys, I just got approved for FAFSA and would like some guidance on the next steps. I’m ready to work on some credits via sophia, study, etc. I don't have a high school diploma in the US or any credits so, I'm starting from scratch.

I've been in the glazing industry for over 17 years with no degree and wanted to pursue a degree in something related like engineering. I only found two institutions with construction engineering programs relevant to my line of work: for hands on work, civil engineering at Liberty University-130 credits @ $390-400; for climbing the corporate ladder, engineering management at ASU-120 credits @ $710. Both programs around 3.5-4 years. The first obstacle was the admission without a High school diploma. I only have my diploma from Colombia 22 years ago. I'm a US citizen but haven't had any formal education in the US. So, is it worth it to get my international diploma translated and evaluated by the universities or just get an GED? 

I understand that in order to be below $10k per year, I may need to consider other avenues and change my major altogether. if that's the case, then computer science, software engineering or even the accelerated IT bachelor/master at WGU. Honestly, after all my research, I'm more educated about the process but at the same time, very confused. I was aiming for the more prestigious colleges  without knowing the other great online regional accredited schools available. Any guidance on a realistic roadmap would be greatly appreciated.


Your Location: Florida, United States.

Your Age: 42

What kind of degree do you want?: Undecided. This is my rationale but really want to know what you think. Based on intro above, I believe I have three paths:
#1: Grow within the design and architectural team. Based on my construction and engineering experience a degree in civic or architectural engineering would be ideal. I found engineering degrees at ASU and LU, but admissions, cost and length are issues for now.
#2: Transition into the exec team. Since getting into engineering is problematic at this time, I would consider a business admin or management degree from a college that I can hack credits into. Maybe WGU or any of your recommendations.
#3: Career change into what I really wanted for years. Computer engineering, software engineering or any VR/AR development degrees. SO, it comes to experience vs opportunity for higher paying career. Will it make sense to stay in the construction industry and climb the ladder or will I be better compensated in the IT industry at entry or mid level?

Current Regional Accredited Credits: N/A

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: N/A

Any certifications or military experience? N/A

Budget: Pell grant approved=$7,300. FAFSA loan approved for $9,500 max (to be repaid). I'd like to go the cheapest route possible and only use the Pell grant money but will consider using the FAFSA loan amount. Don't want to get into too much debt.
Question about FAFSA: Will the $7,300 Pell grant money be replenished every year cycle after I reapply? Or, is it just a one time deal?
After reading the terms for the Pell grant, I found out that the grant can only be used for bachelors but, will the accelerated IT bachelors/masters WGU degree be acceptable since is one accelerated program?

Commitments: Wife and kids. I currently work full time and can study full time in the evenings/weekends.

Dedicated time to study: I can study as much as is needed during the night or weekends. I estimate at least 2 hours every week night and on the weekends, around 5 hours each day, for a total of 20 hours. I can do more is needed to get a few extra credits.

Timeline: Finishing the courses required for the degree as fast as possible would be ideal. I would like to finish within 1-1.5 years (12-18 months)

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: N/A

I've been curious about STEM masters degrees for some time, especially for people who don't have a specific STEM major but have an interest or job in a related field (e.g. a science teacher with an education degree). Here's some of the programs I've compiled:

Math
Texas A&M University - Online Master of Science in Mathematics

Engineering
Open University - Master of Science in Engineering
CU Boulder - Master of Science in Electrical Engineering

Biology
University of Glasgow - Master of Science in One Health and Infectious Disease
Harvard Extension School - Master of Liberal Arts, Biology
King's College London - Master of Science in Applied Neuroscience
University of Texas at Austin - Master of Science in Nutritional Science

Maybe
Saba University/Medical University of America - Master of Science in Biological Science (Caribbean for-profit medical schools)
University of Florida - Master of Science in Forensic Science (Typically accepts science graduates but asks non-STEM grads to write in)

Feel free to add on if you know of any! The ones I've compiled have no or almost no STEM prerequisites and might be useful for career changers as well.

Wow!  Perdoceo to acquire University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, here's the info about Perdoceo from their Wikipedia page... So, they're expanding into the health field with this purchase!

Perdoceo Education Corporation (PRDO) is a public company that owns four for-profit universities in the United States: American Intercontinental University, Colorado Technical University, California Southern University, and Trident University International. The company was previously known as Career Education Corporation.

Link: https://www.investing.com/news/company-n...CH-3521213

In other acquisition news...

Instructure to be Acquired by KKR for $4.8 Billion (I've never actually used their services or their learning system before, but wow...)

Link: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases...06622.html

IXL Learning Acquires Leading Publisher, Carson Dellosa Education

Link: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases...14604.html

Behind a pay-wall...

Private school buys former Airbnb hub in San Francisco for $24M

Affiliate of UK’s Wellington College picks up troubled office building for pricey $368 psf

Link: https://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/202...g-for-24m/

I think this was mentioned before, I don't remember...

Prometric Announces Acquisition of EdPower

Link: https://www.prometric.com/test-owners/re...on-edpower

Durham University is the third-oldest university in England and is regarded as quite prestigious there after Oxford and Cambridge. Like most old and prestigious universities they don't offer any online bachelors degrees.

However, as an Anglican university, Durham has become the academic degree validator of professional courses offered for Church of England ordinands. Various local schools offer these courses across England, leading to a CertHE, DipHE, BA, or MA degree.

One school, the Queen's Foundation in Birmingham, offers their BA and MA degrees entirely through online learning. This is the only online BA degree that is issued through Durham, and one of Durham's few online masters degrees.

(For a bit of context: Academic "validation" in the UK just means that a smaller school or college teaches the programme while a large overarching university issues the degree. The degree won't mention what school it was taught through, or that it was done online.)

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/14/skip-col...ogram.html

"There’s an opportunity to skip an expensive four years and still go to grad school at one of the nation’s most competitive universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

Students can do so through the MITx MicroMasters, which has no degree requirements — not undergraduate or even high school — for students to sign up.

Passing students in the MicroMasters Data, Economics and Development (DED) policy program are then eligible to apply for a master’s program on campus at MIT."

The above article came out in 2017. That year, a high school student completed the course and proceeded to go onto a Masters and (later) PhD program at MIT — without a bachelor's degree!

https://fredric.mit.edu/

Two interesting points: First, the DEDP MicroMasters works on a need-based financial aid pricing model. Second, after transfer credits, the MIT MAS DEDP only requires one semester of in-person coursework at MIT. 

Other MicroMasters
The MicroMasters in Statistics and Data Science also helps for admissions to the MIT PhD in Social and Engineering Systems. According to the program FAQs, in lieu of "previous, substantial coursework in statistics and data science at the undergraduate or graduate level", applicants can use the MicroMasters to fulfil quantitative prerequisites as well as PhD-level coursework. However, the PhD still needs a prior degree; the SDS MicroMasters doesn't allow for direct entry.

The SDS MicroMasters also fulfils 1/4 of the coursework requirements for the online Northwestern Master of Science in Data Science.

The Finance MicroMasters waives the summer term for the MIT Sloan Finance MS, and a number of other MBA/MSc Finance programs. Programs in Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing are also available. A bunch of the program partners provide credit exemptions for their online masters degrees as well, including SNHU and Purdue. 

I'm wondering which of the program partners also allow for direct entry without a bachelors. Potentially, someone could do an SDS MicroMasters, get entry into an accelerated 6-month masters program, and then gain admission to the PhD program with another 6 months worth of coursework exemptions! That means saving 1 year of graduate coursework and another 4 years or so of undergrad.

Hi,
This question probably has already come up for different MS programs.
Does anyone have experience with an online MS in Software Engineering or MS in Information Systems program?
I am trying my luck to find a more practical driven school than writing many assignments. 
It feels like the fields I have mentioned above require more practical knowledge than theoretical and writing papers full of APA-style citations will not be very helpful in gaining the required knowledge.

Any input will greatly help me and anyone else reading this thread now or in the future.

Thanks,