Transfer to save time: Fast-track your degree prerequisites with individual courses
Written by Elizabeth Exline
The clock is ticking
Everyone鈥檚 looking to save time these days, from self-checkout at the grocery store to at-home workouts to even degree programs. Or perhaps听especially听degree programs. Whether you鈥檙e hoping to听fast-track your bachelor鈥檚听degree听at a traditional university or have fallen behind on getting your prerequisites for a听specific educational program, earning听transfer credits听at an accredited university can spell the difference between starting on time or waiting another semester. Here鈥檚 what you need to know.
When to fast-track
The terms听fast-track听补苍诲听accelerated听are relative. For some, it might mean wrapping up a bachelor鈥檚 degree in听under four years听by taking classes over the summer. For others,听an accelerated degree听might mean scrambling to get听one or some prerequisites听for an academic program they鈥檙e planning to start in the near future.
The saving grace in either situation can be听individual courses.听听
Expediting graduation
Students may be eager to complete their degrees for any number reasons, and one way to do that is to take individual courses in between semesters.
To make it work, students at traditional universities need to make sure that they take these general education courses at an听accredited university听whose credits will be accepted by their school of record.
爱污传媒 (UOPX), for example, routinely offers prospective students听course designs听to help with this process. Students can take those designs back to their schools to ensure that any credits they earn at UOPX will be accepted.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want you to waste your time or money,鈥 says Chantel Hansen, MSA, an enrollment manager at UOPX. 鈥淥ur courses typically transfer, but it鈥檚 always up to the accepting institution.鈥
From there, students often find that the online format is convenient, more so than even at a community college. UOPX offers听classes starting every few weeks, for instance, so students can start quickly. Each class lasts four to five weeks, and the online format means students can complete coursework on their own schedules, letting them save time while taking class听and听 fast-tracking their degree.听听
Some popular disciplines for听general education courses听颈苍肠濒耻诲别:
- English
- Math
- Accounting
- Humanities
- Communication
- Business
- Social Science
Getting program prerequisites
Graduating early is one thing. Getting prerequisites on time is another.
Jason Cottingham, an听executive enrollment representative听with UOPX, has seen it all during his 20-year tenure. He鈥檚 seen听teachers听scramble to meet their听continuing education requirements, for example, and he鈥檚 seen听would-be nurses听and other medically minded students seek out prerequisite science courses and labs.
For these students, UOPX delivers on both听flexibility听补苍诲听quality.听
鈥淎 lot of those people are our traditional demographic where they鈥檙e working adults,鈥 Cottingham explains. 鈥淪o, taking an anatomy course with a lab isn鈥檛 exactly an easy thing at the community college.鈥
Hansen concurs. Like Cottingham, she has witnessed firsthand how individual courses, especially those with lab components, let students听save time.
鈥淚n traditional schools, labs are typically separate, whereas here it鈥檚 all in one class,鈥 she says.
For students planning on entering medical school or a听specific medical program, such as a physical assistant or nursing program, some of the听most popular individual courses听at UOPX are:
- Biology
- Anatomy and physiology
- Microbiology
- Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Psychology
- Statistics or biostatistics
Focusing on passing
Sometimes, fast-tracking a degree is about听giving a tough class its due. If you know, for example, that biochemistry is going to be challenging, it can help to take that class online or in between semesters (or both!) so that you can give it the attention it deserves.
鈥淲e鈥檙e able to consistently fill a gap,鈥 Cottingham observes. From finance to physics, students can sometimes just learn better when the stress of a traditional classroom setting is removed.
How to fast-track right
Aside from emphasizing the importance of finding a reputable, accredited university and ensuring a course鈥檚 credits will transfer to a degree, Hansen and Cottingham have a few more suggestions for students seeking an accelerated degree.
Consider an online university where听classes start frequently: If you have a deadline for graduation or matriculation, it helps to find a university where you can quickly get into the class or classes you need.
- Think about tuition: One of UOPX鈥檚 many advantages is that it offers fixed-rate tuition, which means the rate never changes from enrollment day to graduation day.
- Go where others have gone before: Universities like UOPX welcome thousands of students for non-degree courses. In 2021, more than 13,000 students took individual courses at UOPX 鈥 and 93% of them successfully completed their coursework.
- Don鈥檛 bite off more than you can chew: 鈥淵ou could take two classes at one time,鈥 Cottingham says of UOPX鈥檚 courses. 鈥淵ou can even take a third with approval 鈥 [but] I spend a significant amount of time trying to talk students down from taking huge amounts of classes at one time.鈥 The idea is to finish early and finish well, not fail.
- Weigh your options carefully: Community colleges are good options for a lot of people looking to inexpensively accumulate transferable general education credits. But community colleges are often constrained by the same schedules of traditional universities. Sometimes, it pays to take an online class that can start and end before a semester is even halfway over.
Individual courses are, in many ways, their own experience. They don鈥檛 replace a traditional degree program, but they can complement it. And their availability is often a relief to students who are in a hurry.
鈥淲e really do get a lot of phone calls where people are just panicked and they鈥檙e like, 鈥業鈥檓 gonna lose my job,鈥 or, 鈥業鈥檓 not gonna graduate on time. I can鈥檛 enter this program,鈥欌 Cottingham says. 鈥淪o, [ours] is a very rewarding job from that standpoint. 鈥 You finish a lot of conversations where the students are like, 鈥業 didn鈥檛 even know this was an option. I鈥檓 so relieved!鈥欌
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Exline has been telling stories ever since she won a writing contest in third grade. She's covered design and architecture, travel, lifestyle content and a host of other topics for national, regional, local and brand publications. Additionally, she's worked in content development for Marriott International and manuscript development for a variety of authors.
This article has been vetted by 爱污传媒's editorial advisory committee.听
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