Hi all,

I just got an email about Sophia having an "Advisor of the Year" contest and I thought we should nominate Nancy Parks because she has been so monumentally helpful to so many of us. She takes on a lot of questions and I'm sure a barrage of emails (I know I sure sent her a lot!) and still keeps up. 

Just wanted to pass this by the forum in case anyone got the email or wanted to nominate her (or someone else -- you can nominate up to 5 advisors.)

https://www.sophia.org/lp/advisor-of-the-year/

"Each of five winning advisors will receive a $500 prize. Plus, you could win a free month of Sophia."

So... It was about this time two years ago, I was bickering with everyone on the other channel. A comment by Rachel83az led me to digress in the conversation about my daydream of planting a vineyard in my backyard. 

I so love realizing a daydream! I have reached year ONE of my Experimental Vineyard 2.0

I planted three varieties of grapevines last year. I planted Viognier, Chambourcin, and Petit verdot. When my rootstock arrived last April the vines were pretty much just twigs with roots. However, they all came to life and grew well over the summer. That was year Zero.  Just this weekend all of my vines experienced a very nice bud break. My dream of becoming  a vigneron is indeed an exercise in patience. Next spring I'm  planning on building my trellis system

I'm waiting just another couple of weeks to replant my tomato seedlings outside. Last year the Paul Robeson variety were the stars of my Experimental Salsa Farm. This year Im planting Black Crim, Better Boy, and some Beef Steak. Later in the season I will be planting some Paprika peppers, hot peppers, and some herbs.

UniAthena are promoting a new UK bachelors degree.

BA(Hons) Business Management from Abertay University in Scotland for US$9900 (total, not per year)

It takes 3 years complete and you don't seem to be able to speed up that timeline (tbc).

This is probably too expensive and long for a lot of people on this board, but if anyone in the UK wants a British bachelors degree so there are no awkward questions asked by employers, this could be a good bet!  Way cheaper than the standard bachelors degrees in the UK anyway.

https://uniathena.com/ba-hons-in-business-management

Having just completed my doctorate, some well-meaning friends and colleagues insist I update my LinkedIn profile.  I am an executive at a non-profit and a consultant with another organization.

Question 1: Should individuals include their highest educational degree (e.g., PhD, Master's) next to their name on LinkedIn?

Question 2: How do you view the inclusion of professional certifications (e.g., CPA, PMP) next to names on LinkedIn?

Question 3: How should the name be styled? Title (e.g., Dr.) or post-nominal degree (e.g., MD, PhD, DBA, DPA, EdD)?

I have seen a lot of debate about this online. There is also a rather robust debate about the etymology of the term Doctor, who used it first, and who should use it today. Some people seem to think that only medical doctors should use the title. Others think that anyone with a doctorate should use the title.

Lost cities hidden for thousands of years discovered under forest

Yes, so, this French researcher was able to find a 'valley of lost cities'.

Link: Lost cities hidden for thousands of years discovered under forest (msn.com)

I went to college for a semester after high school but dropped out due to lack of direction and chose to pursue a career in cosmetology. I've been working behind the chair for the past 16 years which has been really great but it's time for a change. While I love the technical and creative aspects of my job I've come to realize how much I enjoy working with people and making genuine human connections -- there are so many aspects of what I currently do that align with the goals of social work. Obtaining an MSW + LMSW appears to be the best and most versatile option to continue working with people and also do work that feels more fulfilling and challenging. I'm looking for the quickest route to an MSW so I can rejoin the workforce in a more meaningful way. My spouse and I are able to fulfill financial responsibilities on one income so I won't have to worry about working alongside schoolwork. I have no credits to my name so I'll be starting from scratch. I was looking at Wayne State University's online MSW program but I found this forum via this degreeforum.net google result which led me to posting here. Any advice would be super appreciated! 


Your location: Michigan, United States
Your age: 36
What kind of degree do you want?: Master of Social Work/LMSW
Current regional accredited credits: 0
Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS credits: 0

Any certifications/military experience?: no

Budget: Ideally as inexpensive as possible. I'm really committed to making a career change so price/student loan debt isn't super on my radar

Commitments: One preschooler and my spouse. I work two days a week and my spouse is able to work from home when needed

Dedicated time to study: 20-30 hours per week

Timeline: As quickly as possible, preferably >5 years

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: none

Howdy folks,

Trying to take another run at my degree now my own kids are all in college. I had WES evaluate some credits from the UK a number of years ago (2001) - does anybody know if anyone is likely to take them or they have 'expired'

Thanks in advance!

Your Location: USA
Your Age: 31

What kind of degree do you want?: TESU BA CS + BS CIS, after that Georgia Tech online computer science ( OMSCS )

Current Regional Accredited Credits: None

Current ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: calculus 1, french ( both cleps ) (not sure if these will get me credits towards my degree)

Current Regional Accredited Credits: Yes, I've attended a CC and these are the classes that got transferred to TESU according to the advisor.
- MATH1314/Coll Algebra
- BCIS1405/Business Computer Application
- ENGL1301/Composition I
- PSYC2301/Intro to Psych
- COSC1436/Prog Fund I Intro C++
- PHYS2425/University Physics I
- MATH2305/Discrete Mathemathics
- GOVT2306/Texas Govt
- HIST1301/Hist US
- ENGR1201/Intro to Engineering

for a total of 32 credits ( didn't get to send cleps yet )

Any certifications or military experience? no

Budget: the cheaper the better, I would like to save as much money as possible.. 

Commitments: Full time employment.

Dedicated time to study: I can study everyday and probably can put in ~30-35 hours a week.

Timeline: Finishing as soon as possible. 

Tuition assistance/reimbursement: Its unlikely there would be any help, but I can do modernstates to get free voucher through CLEP.


thank you for helping me navigating this whole process just need to have the degree plan going so I can graduate ASAP !! Great community =)

Has anyone started with the YourPace program but then switched to the regular online program - or even attended in person?

If so, how was your experience with that? Was it no big deal, or a headache?

Hey guys first time poster, long time lurker. Just need some advice on how to go about getting a bachelors. A bit about myself: 
-Age: 35
-Credits: 27 from Kingsborough Community College (CUNY) school in NYC. Accredited.
-15:FEMA credits. 
-CLEP:Spanish 1 and Spanish 2.
-Uexcel exam: Sociology

In total I have 60 credits but only 27 are accredited credits from an actual college I attended. I needed 60 college credits for a law enforcement job and that’s how I ended up with random credits. I moved from Puerto Rico to NYC just for the job but after 10 years I’ve come to terms that this is job is not for me anymore. Prior to that I worked for the airlines and my old company is offering me a supervisory position back home in Puerto Rico but I would need a bachelors degree. I would like to get a bachelors degree in the quickest time and I’ll be paying cash. I have several transcripts ranging from my original college, Frederick Community college ( they accepted my FEMA credits) and then after that Excelsior put all my credits together onto one transcript. I have been enrolled in Sophia.com since December and should have about 30 credits from Sophia by the end of this month. I plan to take many more Sophia exams. Don’t know if any college is willing to give me credit for being in the police academy which lasted almost a year or for obtaining an FAA Flight Attendant license that lasted 6 months. I think my FEMA credits are worthless since I don’t think they can be converted into actual credits at any school. Any recommendations on which route to take? My first thought was taking as many Sophia exams as possible then transferring them to UMPI then taking their mandatory 30 credits to obtain a bachelor’s with them. Then I saw Excelsior will take up to 113 credits but don’t know if all 113 will transfer from Sophia and my current credits. Any suggestions or better options? Thanks! Sorry for the long post!