My dilemma

H wants to get his FCIP designation. This means taking 10 courses at a University level. If he has to do that anyway, we figure he may as well make it good and take the courses at a University that will recognize them in a degree partnership. (The FCIP + degree combination would give H more credentials that would double his current salary or better.) I think we have settled on the 3-year Bachelor of Management program over at AU. So H and I will both be in distance learning. (Ugh!)

H will take two of his FCIP courses through AU, then apply for admission into the degree program. They will charge him a reduced fee to evaluate his college transcripts, and he may well get some transfer credits at that time (up to 15 of them, or 5 courses) from his CIP program. He will still have a lot of courses to take, but AU does not have the same "only one course per term" requirements that my program has, and so he may be able to do this without as much agony.

Now, on the subject of my program. At the end of this school year, I will be short one Level 1 course and one Level 2 course. If I could complete both of those courses in the following school year, I'd have my first two levels complete and be halfway through my third level by summer '07 (keeping in mind that there are five levels in my program all-told). BUT both of those courses are consistently (and, IMO, foolishly) offered only once a year in the same term! And my provincial chapter does not permit its students to take more than one course per term, so this puts me in a bit of a bind.

AU also offers certain courses that work in conjunction with my program. And a few of them are also courses that H needs for his program. Specifically, H will have to take Microeconomics (247) and Macroeconomics (248). These two courses combined would give me a transfer credit for that one Level 1 course I still need. (As an aside, the one Level 2 course I still need is also two courses at AU. H does not need those 2 courses.)

H is nervous about taking economics courses (not quite his strong area). So if we both enrolled in 247 and 248 through AU this coming summer, we could help each other through. We'd each have a built-in study partner and could work together on developing our understanding of the subject matter. It would make H feel more confident. AND it would give me a jump on a course that I need; I'd have more prerequisites and could take more stuff and get through my program a little bit quicker.

What is my dilemma, you ask? Well, it is simply this: the two courses through AU are more expensive than the single equivalent course through the association. H's workplace will pay for his two courses up front, pending his successful completion of them. But when it comes to my courses, we are on our own. And the cost for this credit taken through AU will be almost double what it would cost if I just bided my time and took it through the association eventually.

Is it worth the $600 or so to get me done sooner and give H the confidence boost? I am not sure. But I do know that if H fails a course, he has to pay back the $$, so the extra confidence boost may be valuable in the long run. And I also know that completing my program may well take me an extra couple of years if I wait it out and that I'll be worth more $$ once I'm done with school. But spending extra $$ is not easily justified.

Dilemmas, dilemmas.

Your opinions are respectfully requested. What do you think is the best path?