BS in IT degree Plan and Advice

[tvelasquez]

Hello everyone,

I accidently found this forum about 2 weeks ago, and what a great accident this has been. I have read a lot of intresting stories here and like most I’m movtiavated and compel to earning a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree with a Concentration in Network Management though Excelsior College. This is a great forum with lots of helpful/useful information!

I have not applied or enrolled yet, but was planning to apply next week after I complete Cisco CCNA exam and the CLEP Principle of Marketing, However, my questions are:

1. Can I use the FEMA credits for my free electives and how many electives will I have for a BSIT degree?
2. Will they accept the “D” I have in Sociology I heard someone mention that their “D” was accepted?

My game plan is to complete my degree within the next 3 months if not sooner, but I want to make sure that I’m not duplicating additional classes. Here is what I was planning to take within the next few weeks. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or a better game plan. Like most I need a degree NOW and will take any advice that will help me get there sooner. I look forward to your advice and comments.

My first step is to sign-up for instantcert.com

Week 1 (6/25): Take CCNA exam and Principle of Marketing
Week 2: (7/1): Take Principle of Management and Principles of Supervision
Week 3: (78): Take U.S. History II: 1865 to the Present, Principles of MicroEconomics and Principles of MacroEconomics

This should give me enough time to get my preliminary evaluation transcripts back from Excelsior, because it’s a little difficult to know what CLEP’s to take.

Here are the credit hours I currently have:

Microsoft MCSE: Aprox. 13 Credits

Franklin University
MIS300 MGMT INFO SYSTEMS A 4.00
BSAD Business Law B 4.00

Santa Fe Community College
MATH1003 Basic Math A 3.00
PE Lifetime Sports A 2.00

Columbus State Community College
SPCH100 Speech Communication A 3.00

Oklahoma Junior College
Bus1013 Introduction to Business B 3.00
PSY1043 Strategies for Success B 3.00
ACC1013 Principles of Accounting B 3.00
ENG1013 English Composition I C 3.00

Roger State College
CS1213 Intro Comp Prog A 3.00 (Over 10 years old)
HIST2493 US from 1865 B 3.00
MATH0113 Elementary ALG C 3.00

Tulsa Junior College
CSC2363 Data Comm. A 3.00 (Over 10 years old)
CSC2991 Disk Oper Sys P 1.00 (Over 10 years old)
CSC1344 COBOL C 4.00 (Over 10 years old)
CSC2303 PASCAL C 3.00 (Over 10 years old)
SOC1113 Intro Sociology D 3.00 (I heard someone said that “D” was accepted)

[Greggy_D]

Have you downloaded the catalog for your degree off of Excelsior's website? That will give you a good idea of what you have, what you need, and also how many FEMA credits you can use for free electives.

Yes, Excelsior took my D's......all five of them.

I also looked at the IT degree before settling on a BS in Liberal Studies. The IT degree looked like it required too many actual classes, whereas I wanted to test out of everything. I also have my MCSE. Combined with my other IT classes I took in a previous life, that gave me the 21 credits (with 6 upper) for Excelsior to assign me an Area of Focus in Computer Info Science. I didn't ask them or even know about this.....they just did it automatically when they finally finished my official eval yesterday.

[tvelasquez]

Greggy_D, Thanks for such a quick response. Yes I have a copy of the Technology catalog and for some reason I did not see the large print « Free Electives » So now I see that I need 12 credits and that will be great to use FEMA for those credits, However, the part that I’m more worried about are the core Arts and Science components for 60 credit hours, because I’m not sure how my current credits will be applied.

I’m hoping that I can test out by using the Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle and CompTIA + exams for the 48 credits hours that’s required for the Technology section. Excelsior currently offers over 100 credit hours both lower and upper credits for Microsoft along and if that’s the case I will only need 32 credits hours and those would be easy for me to study and pass because I just completed 2 exams that upgrade me to MCSE 2003, too bad those exams didn’t count.

I know that a BS in Liberal Studies would be easier for me, but I want a Technology degree to compliment my skills, but I’m hoping that the certifications (Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle and CompTIA ) will count. I do not want to attend another class for the next 16 weeks. I’m hoping to be finish by fall because I have my hopes on getting my Masters at Aspen University at $4500, because I’m not sure how long that price will last.

Do you think I will be able to use a combination of the certifications (Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle and CompTIA) to satisfy the Technology component?

[Greggy_D]

I can't answer that. I think the best thing to do is call Excelsior and see if you can talk to an advisor. I'd probably also pay the $75 and apply. They will do an unofficial eval of all your transcripts and give you a darn close idea of where you stand.

(Just from looking at what classes you took, you have a lot of CLEP and DANTES tests in your future to round out the Humanties, Social Science/History, and Math/Natural Science.)

Re: Aspen....they just had a $3000 tuition offer back in the Spring. After seeing that, I personally am not spending $4500. (I plan on going there also.) When the time comes, I'm going to bargain with them.

[yutzyj]

Hi tvelasquez, I noticed that you listed that you had already taken HIST2493 US from 1865 B 3.00. Does this duplicate the CLEP US Hist 2: 1865 to Present? Maybe US Hist 1 would work better. Just a thought. Good luck with everything.

[Greggy_D]

Speaking of the catalog....will someone e-mail me the PDF for the Business/Tech catalog? It's not listed on Excelsior's site for me anymore. Weird.

PM me. Thanks!

[tvelasquez]

Here is the list of catalogs, do you want Business or Technology? I'm using the Technology catalogy.

School of Business Catalog (catalog only) 1984
School of Health Sciences Catalog (catalog only) 2962
School of Liberal Arts Catalog (catalog only) 2699
School of Liberals Arts Enrollment Package with catalog N/A
School of Nursing Catalog (catalog only) 2060
School of Technology Catalog (catalog only) 1831
School of Technology Enrollment Package with catalog N/A
Student Guide to Credit by Exam at EC & The Assessment Catalog

[Greggy_D]

I wonder why I can't see them under MyEC. Only the Liberal Arts Catalog.

Send over the Business Catalog and Tech Catalog. Thanks!

I'll PM my e-mail address to you.

[tvelasquez]

yutzyj Thanks it would be a duplicate. I will make that change. Thanks very much.

Hi tvelasquez, I noticed that you listed that you had already taken HIST2493 US from 1865 B 3.00. Does this duplicate the CLEP US Hist 2: 1865 to Present? Maybe US Hist 1 would work better. Just a thought. Good luck with everything.

[tvelasquez]

Also Greggy_D the catalogs are sent!

I wonder why I can't see them under MyEC. Only the Liberal Arts Catalog.

Send over the Business Catalog and Tech Catalog. Thanks!

I'll PM my e-mail address to you.