BSBA CIS or BSAST IT

[RRMIKE]

Hey guys,

While TESU is in the process of evaluating my transcript, I am pondering on what path to take. What I'll like to know which one of these path let you do classes like Straighterline, ALEKS, etc..to complete the degree faster.

[dfrecore]

You can easily test out of the BSBA CIS. There are enough courses for the AOS, although it's maybe $1000 more than the BSBA Gen Mgmt (some of the courses need to be done through CSU-Global CBE for $250 each). But it's still a very good option.

There is no way to test out of IT completely. You obviously CAN take the IT degree at TESU, but you just can't test out.

I think that generally, a lot of people who want an IT degree but don't already have some of the core courses opt to go to WGU for it instead. You can still test/course out for the Gen Eds and some other core courses, and then finish the remainder of the degree at WGU in 1-2 terms. You also get a bunch of certs included, which are valuable in themselves.

[ajs1976]

BSBA CIS has more testout options then the BSAST IT so for most people that means it would be faster. Now if you have the cash and can take some courses, then you could fit a number of the 12 week TESU courses or 8 week CSU-Global and APU courses into a year to fill out the requirements of the BSAST IT or BA CS. Not sure what your role in IT is or will be, but I would suggest the BA CS over the BSAST IT. Should be about the same amount of actual courses if only a few more and you get the CS degree that some hold in a higher pedestal over the other options.

You mentioned SL and ALEKS, but didn't mention TECEP and DSST. Any reason? TECEP Networking, DSST MIS, and DSST Cybersecurity are UL options for the BSBA CIS.

[RRMIKE]

I have about 85+ credits in IT and Electronics already, they are currently looking at my transcript and I'll hear back from them in about 25 days or so.

I am already in the IT field, I currently work as Virtualization Architect for a local government doing VMWare.

I just need to finish my BA by the end of next year, I will be taking over a position that require a BA.

Yeah I can do some CLEP and DSST, that's not a problem, I am currently working some a few course with Strighterline, to filling electives I am sure I did not take (ex, World Religion, Introduction to Sociology, Cultural Anthropology, Business Ethics), I can knock all of those out within a month.

[icampy]

tagged with mucho interest.

[mednat]

It largely depends on your evaluation. I would say the utility is equal. As others have indicated the BSBA is more easily tested out of, but the BSAST will likely have more slots for your transfer credits.

[dfrecore]

The BSBA CIS is not very flexible, as there is not a lot of space there for extra courses you may have already taken. If you have lots of credits, then you definitely need to see where TESU puts them before you can make a decision about it.

Regarding CS over IT, I do not agree that it's a better degree. It's only better if you need it. My husband has worked in IT for many years, and a CS degree is totally irrelevant to what he does - it would not get him anything special in his work or industry. A BSAST in IT or BSBA in CIS is all he needs for his work (and even then, he doesn't have either and is doing just fine - but his IT certs have always helped tremendously). It's always important to see what direction you're going in, and then matching the degree to how you want to get where you're going.

[TrailRunr]

Regarding CS over IT, I do not agree that it's a better degree. It's only better if you need it. My husband has worked in IT for many years, and a CS degree is totally irrelevant to what he does - it would not get him anything special in his work or industry. A BSAST in IT or BSBA in CIS is all he needs for his work (and even then, he doesn't have either and is doing just fine - but his IT certs have always helped tremendously). It's always important to see what direction you're going in, and then matching the degree to how you want to get where you're going.

I'm reminded of the old Clint Eastwood quote: "Do you feel lucky?" "I don't need any stinking classes or MOOCs on machine learning, linear algebra, cybersecurity, data science, programming in Python, etc..." Sure, you don't need any of those classes to vmotion a VM. But why can't a stinking machine take over your job of vmotioning the VMs?

I have no idea what your husband does, but IMHO there are some areas of IT that are on the decline over the next decade even though IT as a whole is going to grow. IT operations like system admin, network admin, and devops are roles that are on the decline as efficiencies in the job and the move to off-prem cloud accelerates. But moving employment to cloud providers is not the solution. Headcount will still go down as efficiencies improve. The system admin that didn't get on the virtualization bandwagon, doesn't know how to script, or otherwise refuses to learn is probably ancient history already or on the chopping block soon. The network admin that doesn't recognize the threat of SDN will be looking for work in the next decade.

The CS degree allows you to pivot from poor areas in IT to promising areas that will help avoid unemployment like cybersecurity, data science/data analytics, and software development.

[TrailRunr]

I have about 85+ credits in IT and Electronics already, they are currently looking at my transcript and I'll hear back from them in about 25 days or so.

TESU BSBA CIS is a business degree with a light amount of IT. It has a bunch of business courses, and very little room for anything else. You may end up disappointed with a bunch of business classes still required to graduate even though you've cleared all of the CIS courses with your IT credits. I think the SL business courses are very easy compared to other options, so don't let a huge number of unmet business courses necessarily dissuade you especially if you need a degree quickly.

TESU CS has a wall of math (calc 1, calc 2, linear algebra/discrete math). Data structures, 1 UL CS course, and the capstone are also potential barriers to graduating fast. There may be another UL CS class required if you think linear algebra is too hard.

The BSAST as well as the WGU IT degrees have not been discussed here much in the past, but I think they should be explored a lot more even though they have their own pesky requirements.

[icampy]

What extra courses/focus/certs would be good with the bsba cis degree....looking forward to the future?