College Algebra vs Business Math: which one for a business degree?

Take the one your degree names. If it says College Algebra, or you may go on to Pre-Calculus or calculus, take College Algebra. If it allows Business Math, that course's last six chapters are about money: depreciation, credit and interest, investments, taxes and consumer math.

Percents and decimals, business statistics and probability, depreciation, credit and interest, investments, taxes, and consumer math such as commissions and pricing. Both courses cover linear equations, graphs and quadratic equations.

Business Math is included in Lifetime and in every UPI Study plan, with 90+ courses in all. College Algebra is in every plan too, or you can enroll in it on its own.

College Algebra: NCCRS recommends 3 semester hours, lower division, in Math among other subjects. Business Math: NCCRS recommends 3 semester hours, lower division, in Mathematics among other subjects.

College Algebra: Math, Accounting, Business, Business Administration, Business Management, Economics, Liberal Arts, or as a General Education Elective, or as part of STEM fields. Business Math: Mathematics, Economics, International Business, Finance, Finance and Investment, Accounting, Management, Human Resources, Hospitality Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Education, or Health Services. Your college decides which requirement each one fills.

College Algebra is longer by its syllabus. College Algebra: 10 chapters and 58 instructional hours. Business Math: 12 chapters and 47.5 instructional hours. Both are self-paced, so you finish as fast or as slow as you want.

College Algebra: Successful completion of high school elementary algebra (Algebra I) or its equivalent; or a qualifying score on the UPI Study College Algebra Placement Assessment. Business Math: none.

The format is the same in both: a final of 100 multiple-choice questions that counts for 25% of the grade.

College Algebra: Abramson, Jay, editor. College Algebra 2e. OpenStax, Rice University, 2021. Additional material for reference: Algebra and Trigonometry 2e. OpenStax, Rice University, 2021, with other references. Business Math: Cleaves, C., Hobbs, M., & Noble, J. (2023). Business Math (12th ed.). Pearson (optional), with other references.

No: neither is on the ACE list. College Algebra has an NCCRS recommendation for 3 semester hours in Math; Business Math has an NCCRS recommendation for 3 semester hours in Mathematics. Not being on the ACE list never means not recommended for credit.

Principles of Statistics. In the “One college math course” order on the Math courses page, it follows College Algebra. Your program may set its own order.

On upistudy.com: the College Algebra syllabus opens after a free sign-in. It lists all 10 chapters, the grading and the credit recommendation, so you can send it to your registrar.

You never forward it yourself. When College Algebra reaches 100%, pay the $20 transcript on your Student Dashboard (www.upistudy.com/enrollments); after you pay, the dashboard takes you to the transcript request, you type in your college's transcript address, and UPI Study's registrar emails it there; a confirmation email follows.

ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Search your school in Find My College and ask your registrar which courses Math 111 and Math 100 would count as. For the registrar: College Algebra's NCCRS recommendation lists Math and Business Math's NCCRS recommendation lists Mathematics.