eLearners Talks to an Advisor
And Gets the Answers You Need to Have!

eLearners:
"A lot of adults are searching for 'Degree Completion Programs.' Can you talk about those a bit? What are they? Who do they work for? When aren't they the right thing? How do you find the right one?"

Su:
"Degree completion programs are offered at the bachelor's level and are usually set up to help the student finish the BS or BA fairly quickly.  They almost always have a requirement that the student will come up with a specific number of acceptable transfer credit or, in some instances, with an associate's degree.  The minimum number of credits is usually 60 semester hours (equal to 90 quarter hours) and in most cases those 60 semester credits (90 quarter credits) must have fulfilled most or all of the general education requirements (these are courses in English composition, humanities, social sciences, math, and science).  The program is often focused on the major requirements and is largely upper level (junior/senior level for traditional students) courses.

Each school that offers a degree completion program sets it up a little differently, with more or less flexibility in terms of the courses accepted and required.  Some programs will accept an associate's degree as the equivalent of all the general education requirements, even if there is not a one to one match of the courses.  Others require a list of specific courses that one must have in order to be accepted into the program.  The kinds of majors I have seen offered through degree completion are largely in the business and computer fields.

These programs can be great for people who already have an associate's degree or have a lot of credits (60+ semester hours or 90+ quarter hours) in the arts & sciences fields (humanities, social sciences, math, science).  If you have fewer credits than that, but are interested in a particular degree completion program, talk with the school to see what else you would need to be able to get into the program and focus on getting those courses at a community college and then transferring. If you have a lot more than 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours, watch out! Some degree completion programs won’t accept more than that in transfer. So, you may lose credit relative to enrolling in a “regular” bachelors program that may accept a lot more than 60 or 90 transfer hours.

Degree completion programs can often help you finish up your bachelor's degree more quickly than a traditional route. So, if you fit the general profile, be sure to check them out. Figuring out which is best gets complicated, though, so, once again, the Credit Calculator we’ve developed may be a very useful tool if you’re in this situation. If you asked me to give you an answer to whether a Degree Completion program is best for you, I couldn’t possibly give you an answer without using the Credit Calculator to run through the possible scenarios for your specific credits earned. It will show us exactly which Degree Completion programs will match best with your prior learning. And, if we can find a regular program that will accept more credit and enable you to finish faster…well, that’s the goal in the first place. So, you may have a better alternative. You won’t know, though, until you crunch the numbers.

Good luck!"

About Su
Su Flickinger is the Chief Academic Officer at Learningforce, Inc., where she helped create the unique self-help tools for adults returning to college you’ll find at www.DegreeSeeker.com Check them out! Su has a Ed.D. in Education, has advised thousands of prospective adult students like yourself, and just completed an additional Masters Degree (in Conflict Resolution) as an adult learner herself! Su and Learningforce, Inc, are independent and are not affiliated with any particular colleges or universities.