The 4 year degree has been a thorn in my side for far too long. I am fortunate to have a great union government job that compensates me modestly, owing in a large part to my military background. But I am now hard stuck salary wise absent a bachelor degree. I work as a laboratory technician for an environmental laboratory on the government side and would like to promote up to either a Microbiologist or Chemist. I need a degree that says Biological Science or Environmental Science ... I might be able to squeeze by with a degree with a major in 'Environmental Studies'.

I tried going back to retake the beginning Biology courses last semester in person, I did well in them but honestly ... I don't think I want to take the pre-med curriculum. I'm 35 years old, I don't want to go to graduate school or medical school. It's a waste of money to take the premed curriculum which is typically required for a biological science major, and way too time consuming. I just want a piece of paper from a not-for-profit college to slap on my resume, as fast as possible and without a big price tag. Time is of the essence as my workplace is a very comfy place to retire with our pension and we are paid quite well for our field. If I miss someone's retirement it could be 5-10 years until the next time someone retires and their position opens.

Right now I'm leaning towards TESU Environmental Studies bachelor online ... but I'm not sure how the transfer work since it requires so much transferred courses. If I could transfer all my old CC credits and get credit for work + military credits ... that would be awesome!

Your Location: USA
Your Age: 35
Work Experience: Army Reserve 6 years water treatment specialist, 18 months water treatment operator trainee, 6 months laboratory sample control tech, 3 years laboratory technician
What kind of degree do you want?: Bachelor
Current Regional Accredited Credits: 60+ 

(2007-2010) Community College
- 9 credits community college first year sequence of English Composition
- 15 credits community college first year sequence of for major General Biology
- 4 credit - Elementary Statistics
- 12 credit - General Psychology, Social Anthropology, Eastern Religion, Western Religion
- 6 credit - Political science, American History 
- 3 credit - Public Speaking
*More credits totaling over 60+ but i did not apply for an associates degree at the time

*4cr Human Anatomy (recently taken 2024)
*5cr General Biology I (recently taken 2024)

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: 0
Any certifications or military experience?: 6 years Army Reserve, 92W Water Treatment Specialist - Honorable Discharge
Budget: Current salary is $118,000 a year. Prefer not to take out any loan. $4500 a semester is doable. I can just put it on a credit card and pay $1,000 a month.
Commitments: Plenty of downtime at work, work is supportive of education. No children or spouse, plenty of time to commit at work.
Dedicated time to study: 4 hours a day after work on weekdays, 8 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday. Can squeeze in hours during work time.
Timeline: 1-2 years
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: $3,500 per fiscal year employer tuition reimbursement

Brian Kaylor in Word&Way Wrote:The first week of the new Trump administration was filled with attacks on the religious liberty rights of Episcopalians after Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde asked the new president during an inauguration prayer service to “have mercy” on LGBTQ children and migrant workers. The second week featured Vice President J.D. Vance attacking the Catholic Church for assisting immigrants and refugees as he made inaccurate claims to suggest they care more about money than people.

Over the weekend, another Christian group found itself in the crosshairs of Trumpian figures: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. […] On Saturday evening (Feb. 1), disgraced former Lt. General Michael Flynn went to war against the ELCA, accusing them, without evidence, of illegally taking taxpayer money. It’s not just that Flynn disagrees with their efforts to help immigrants, refugees, and others. Flynn also used scare quotes in his social media post to question the religiosity of Lutherans. Some of the groups he targeted for criticism are jointly affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which is a smaller, more conservative, and evangelical branch of the Lutheran tradition.

“Now it’s the ‘Lutheran’ faith (this use of ‘religion’ as a money laundering operation must end),” Flynn wrote on X, the social media platform owned by Trumpian oligarch Elon Musk. “Lutheran Family Services and affiliated organizations receive massive amounts of taxpayer dollars, and the numbers speak for themselves. These funds, total BILLIONS of American taxpayer dollars. … It’s time to hold these organizations accountable. American taxpayers deserve transparency. Enough is enough!”

Alongside his rant, Flynn posted a screenshot of grants received by Lutheran organizations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Although the focus of his attack seemed to be on immigrant and refugee assistance — things now targeted by the Trump administration — the nonprofits he attacked also assist with foster care, adoption, head start, food pantries, elder care, resources for victims of domestic abuse, and more. A few days earlier, Flynn had joined Vance in leveling similar attacks against the Catholic Church. As for the Lutheran groups, he pledged to “examine them all and shut them down,” and he labeled one ELCA-affiliated group a “snake oil organization.” […]

Flynn’s broadside over the weekend received lots of affirmation from his supporters. And it quickly grew in reach after Musk, who recently sparked headlines for twice making a Nazi salute, amplified Flynn’s post and added in the wee hours on Sunday, “The DOGE team is rapidly shutting down these illegal payments.” He offered no evidence to suggest any payments were actually illegal. […]

At various RAT stops [ReAwaken America Tour stops in recent years], Flynn offered a vision of authoritarian control over religion as he called for there to be “one nation under God and one religion under God,” urged pastors to preach more about the U.S. Constitution than the Bible, and claimed that those who disagree with him “don’t believe in God” and “have no soul.” Flynn’s also led QAnon-themed conferences at churches across the country.

Can we get the courses for the Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities through alternative means (Coopersmith, SDC, etc.). Sorry if it missed it on the Wiki somewhere.

Hey guys,
How do I register for a TECEP exam as a non degree student? The TESU website is very confusing I cannot find any information

DOGE ain't playing around.

Musk says he is working to shut down “beyond repair” USAID
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-gi...025-02-03/

JUST IN: The USAID website was taken down and their X account was nuked
https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1885890158773309752


USAID spent:  (According to press secretary)

$2.5 million to promote DEI in Serbia
$70,000 for a DEI musical in Ireland
$47,000 for a transgender opera in Columbia and;
$32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru

https://x.com/themarketswork/status/1886512606921548072

Some call the USAID a slush fund for corruption.

Democratic lawmakers response to USAID shut down
https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-us...6565985fe2

Hi!

I'm curious if there are any Slovenians in this forum who might have finished their degree through degree hacking and gotten it evaluated by ENIC-NARIC? Was it recognized and as what? Were there any problems with the timeline?

I'd appreciate any info, thanks!

I’m looking for cheap online masters in data programs aside from Wgu. 

I would prefer if it’s more based on business analytics or bi rather than pure data. I finished my bs in business from umpi and while they are in the process of releasing a masters in business soon, none of the upcoming concentrations interest me and they take awhile to release new degrees. So the bi concentration they want to offer may very well not come out until spring, summer or fall of 2026. 

Most of the masters in data programs I’ve seen are almost 15k and more which I can’t afford. So I’m wondering if anyone has other recommendations?

Quote:The record is clear that when America's total trade has increased, American jobs have also increased. And when our total trade has declined, so have the number of jobs.

Part of the difficulty in accepting the good news about trade is in our words. We too often talk about trade while using the vocabulary of war. In war, for one side to win, the other must lose. But commerce is not warfare. Trade is an economic alliance that benefits both countries. There are no losers, only winners. And trade helps strengthen the free world.

Yet today protectionism is being used by some American politicians as a cheap form of nationalism, a fig leaf for those unwilling to maintain America's military strength and who lack the resolve to stand up to real enemies – countries that would use violence against us or our allies. Our peaceful trading partners are not our enemies; they are our allies. We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends -- weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world – all while cynically waving the American flag.

I was registered with TESU a few years ago, and got a degree plan that is still the same as today. I want to take those courses this month, but am not ready to commit to registering with TESU again. If I take them now and move them to Credly, will they still count with TESU?

Accreditation-Reform Hopes for the Second Trump Administration

https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2025/01/...istration/

Lifted from Free republic.com

Just wow! "Accreditation-Reform"

This one is sure to be a "S" Show