Transferring Credit from Aspen University

[Ann.E]

So I have been researching online schools for what feels like forever. Every time I think I have found a school I want to attend, there seems to be a road block. Currently I am trying to decide between Aspen University and Grand Canyon University. Both offer discounts through my employer. Aspen University is much cheaper, but the fact that they aren't regionally accredited sorta scares me. I talked with a recruiter who said that I should research what schools I would possibly want to transfer to after getting my bachelors, but the problem is that currently I have no idea what area I want to go into after. And I don't want to rush into a masters program. So it's a little hard to do research for future programs and whether they would accept credit from Aspen. Grand Canyon offers a 20% discount to me through my place of employment and has all the good accreditations. Ultimately my question is, are there students out there who have been able to transfer credits from Aspen to other graduate programs? I don't want to get a degree from Aspen and then feel stuck, that I would have to attend their school if I wanted to get a graduate degree. Any help any one could provide I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

PS: I looked in Western Governor's University and they want me to retake a lot of classes such as some science and math classes. No go for me!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Aspen University's credits will transfer only to a handful of schools if you wanted to earn the MSN, namely American Sentinel University, Grantham University, Western Governors, and a few others.

Grand Canyon University costs in the $500 range per credit hour, so a 20 percent discount would bring the cost down to $400 per credit. Even with the 20 percent discount you'll still be paying upwards of $14,000+ for your BSN degree, not including fees and textbooks.

I attended Western Governors and enjoyed the experience. Due to the flat rate pricing, your degree could cost less than $4,000 if you complete all your credits in one six month term. Multiple people in the WGU forum completed 50+ credits in one six month term. I took 10 months and spent $5,800 total.

In addition, the pass/fail grading has not been a hindrance for admission into MSN programs. I'm currently enrolled in the MSN program at Eastern New Mexico University. Other grads in the WGU forum are attending the University of Southern Indiana, University of Alabama, and other reputable schools.

It boggles my mind why anyone would spend $15,000+ for the same degree that could be earned elsewhere for a fraction of the cost.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Attending a school that is not regionally accredited is a big red flag- just don't. Most MSN programs require your BSN to be from a regionally accredited school, so you'd be hindering yourself from the get go.

Ditto the WGU bit. I'm a two time WGU grad in a DNP program right now- I was accepted to TWO dnp programs AND a post-master's NP with those degrees. And as for re-taking science classes- WGU is competency based, so if you know the content, you can demnstrate competency in a weekend and be done with it.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Aspen University's credits will transfer only to a handful of schools if you wanted to earn the MSN, namely American Sentinel University, Grantham University, Western Governors, and a few others.

I forgot to mention that most of the schools to which Aspen University's credits will seamlessly transfer (e.g. American Sentinel Univ, Grantham Univ, etc) are other investor-owned schools that lack regional accreditation.

Affordable options for the RN-to-BSN include:

1. Fort Hays State Univ RN-to-BSN $186/credit

2. Eastern New Mexico Univ RN to-BSN $202/credit

3. Grantham University RN-to-BSN $265/credit

4. UT Arlington RN-to-BSN $257/credit

[featherzRN, MSN]

As everyone else said, don't do Aspen. No regional accreditation makes it not worth the money. GCU is accredited but is expensive.

As for WGU, I attended and they made me retake several science courses. The courses were no big deal and I finished them quickly since I had already had them - that's what is great about WGU. My WGU BSN cost me about $3400.

[Ann.E]

I was sorta afraid of that with Aspen University. I guess a couple hold ups for me with WGU is that pass/fail grading. I don't know what I would like to do beyond bachelors, but I do know I do want to continue at the graduate level. Which means that it's hard for me to research to know if whatever program I might want to go into would accept transcripts from WGU. The other thing that I am not sure about is how classes are done. I like having dead lines and structures, so I am afraid that other than the six month deadline that it might stress me out to do school this way. Feel free to offer any input, I would gladly listen! The price of Grand Canyon is a little high, but I guess I am attracted to the structure of their program. Thanks in advance for any help!

[target98765]

I was enrolled I the Aspen program, however, when I submitted the class to my employer, they would not approve it because it is not regionally accredited. That was a red flag to me. So far I am not sure where I will land Western goveners university wants me to take a math class, so I have no interest with that. I applied at Capella, not sure if I will need a math class, but I am just not going to do it.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I was enrolled I the Aspen program, however, when I submitted the class to my employer, they would not approve it because it is not regionally accredited. That was a red flag to me. So far I am not sure where I will land Western goveners university wants me to take a math class, so I have no interest with that. I applied at Capella, not sure if I will need a math class, but I am just not going to do it.

Virtually all of the online RN-to-BSN programs will require you to take a math course. It is a core curriculum requirement to fulfill the quantitative literacy mandate that is associated with almost all bachelor of science degree plans.

The only RN-to-BSN program I found that requires no math course is Oklahoma City University, but tuition was $800 per credit and it was not fully online. No thanks.

At least with WGU, the college mathematics requirement is waived for all students with an associate degree in nursing. The statistics course was self-paced, contained no hardcore math or calculations, and took me four weeks to complete.

[target98765]

Capella did not require me to take math. I have a lot of science and math and science are under one umbrella at Capella. I only have to take 11 nursing courses.

[target98765]

"At least with WGU, the college mathematics requirement is waived for all students with an associate degree in nursing. The statistics course was self-paced, contained no hardcore math or calculations, and took me four weeks to complete."

Not sure if requirements have changed. They sent me the credit evaluation last week and according to what was on there I needed to take a college level math before the statistics course.

And, I did apply a year ago to WGU, and on my transcript evaluation I did not need to take a math class; upon revaluation THIS year by WGU, I need to take a math class prior to statistics. They also wanted me to retake several other non nursing classes. There was much more for me to take on WGUs evaluation.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Capella did not require me to take math. I have a lot of science and math and science are under one umbrella at Capella. I only have to take 11 nursing courses.

At $347 per credit hour, those 11 courses will cost $11,500. That's a tad bit too pricey for me, but everyone has a personal threshold on what constitutes reasonable tuition.

If I were paying nearly $12,000 for an online BSN, I'd prefer it would have a prestigious top 50 school's name on the degree (read: Purdue, University of Washington, Texas A&M) rather than the name of an investor-owned school.

[target98765]

Lol!! First off, I have a $6,000 YEARLY reimbursement package at work. Capella gave me a $3000 scholarship and I get a 10% tuition discount through my employer.

Do you market for WGU? Your response to my post is a bit salty.