Can I petition university to give me the college degree I initially enrolled in?

[BSITinCali]

I have one last class to finish before I graduate. It's taken me some time due to the fact that life got in the way. I completed my AA in Business in 2006. I enrolled in 2010 for my BS degree. I took a break in 2012 due to many issues that came up in my life. I was re-admitted in 2013. It's now 2015 and the end is here, Finally! Well I spoke to my academic counselor and unfortunately they've done away with the original degree I signed up for in 2010. Since I was re-admitted in 2013 I no longer qualify for the BSIT. My counselor said I only qualify for the BS in Business, but they'll also give me an undergraduate certificate in Information Technology since I took a on of those courses, just not enough to get a BSIT due them changing the curriculum. When I signed up I needed 30 IT credits for the BSIT, they've upped it now to 51 IT credits to be granted a BSIT. I work in IT and this is the field I know I want to spend the rest of my career in. If I petition for the 2010 catalog BSIT program, will have any luck? Has anyone been in this situation before? I really wanted the BSIT.

[dfrecore]

You can always petition for anything you want!

But, colleges always go by what the catalog is when you enroll. Did you look at the new catalog when you were readmitted? Have you not known all along that they changed that degree? Did your reenrollment not show the new requirements?

I think it will be difficult to fight this, as you would have to show that what you signed up for originally was not published, so there was no way for you to know that it had changed. But you can always try.

[mednat]

I have one last class to finish before I graduate. It's taken me some time due to the fact that life got in the way. I completed my AA in Business in 2006. I enrolled in 2010 for my BS degree. I took a break in 2012 due to many issues that came up in my life. I was re-admitted in 2013. It's now 2015 and the end is here, Finally! Well I spoke to my academic counselor and unfortunately they've done away with the original degree I signed up for in 2010. Since I was re-admitted in 2013 I no longer qualify for the BSIT. My counselor said I only qualify for the BS in Business, but they'll also give me an undergraduate certificate in Information Technology since I took a on of those courses, just not enough to get a BSIT due them changing the curriculum. When I signed up I needed 30 IT credits for the BSIT, they've upped it now to 51 IT credits to be granted a BSIT. I work in IT and this is the field I know I want to spend the rest of my career in. If I petition for the 2010 catalog BSIT program, will have any luck? Has anyone been in this situation before? I really wanted the BSIT.

Definitely worth a shot. As far as the marketability of the options, the business option with the cert in IT may be more valuable. In the IT field we typically have a separation between technical and business people. Having a degree in "Business" and a cert in IT, will position you to market yourself as a fit for both. From the technical hiring side, I rely %1000 more on experience, then certifications, and I may glance to see if you have a degree. Usually, I don't put any weight on the degree, but screening software often filters out non-degreed applicants before they get to me. Honestly, I prefer to hire developers with an accounting or business degree, because then they can do a business analyst role as well.

Why do you want a BS in IT so strongly? Why do you prefer it over a degree in business with a cert in IT? I would argue that the business degree + cert would have more utility in the market.

[BSITinCali]

Definitely worth a shot. As far as the marketability of the options, the business option with the cert in IT may be more valuable. In the IT field we typically have a separation between technical and business people. Having a degree in "Business" and a cert in IT, will position you to market yourself as a fit for both. From the technical hiring side, I rely %1000 more on experience, then certifications, and I may glance to see if you have a degree. Usually, I don't put any weight on the degree, but screening software often filters out non-degreed applicants before they get to me. Honestly, I prefer to hire developers with an accounting or business degree, because then they can do a business analyst role as well.

Why do you want a BS in IT so strongly? Why do you prefer it over a degree in business with a cert in IT? I would argue that the business degree + cert would have more utility in the market.

Thanks for your feedback! I wanted the BSIT because I'm currently working in a role that is straight technical- networking/technical support. I thought the BSIT along with my experience would help me climb the ladder. I just don't feel like a business degree would align with troubleshooting and configuring switches, and diagnosing/resolving complex computer issues. Basically I feel like a BSIT says that I have strong information technology knowledge along with my neworking/technical support experience. I don't know if I'll ever go onto the business side of things, but I guess you're right, if I do, the BS Business degree will certainly help me.

[mednat]

Thanks for your feedback! I wanted the BSIT because I'm currently working in a role that is straight technical- networking/technical support. I thought the BSIT along with my experience would help me climb the ladder. I just don't feel like a business degree would align with troubleshooting and configuring switches, and diagnosing/resolving complex computer issues. Basically I feel like a BSIT says that I have strong information technology knowledge along with my networking/technical support experience. I don't know if I'll ever go onto the business side of things, but I guess you're right, if I do, the BS Business degree will certainly help me.

This is basically my background, and I currently hire for this type of position. If I had this choice when I was in a technical position I would have wanted the IT degree as well. Now that I'm on the hiring side, I would recommend taking the business degree and get a CCNA/P/etc to show your technical competence. I've changed the way I view degrees over the years. In the IT field I view them mostly as a marketing tool (and fun hobby). Most of your technical competency will likely be self taught, outside of school. It's just the nature of our position and the state of most colleges. It sounds like to me your school is willing to say you're competent in two areas, instead of just one (Business and IT). In many IT interviews there is a mix of business and technical people involved. This gives you more range, IMHO.

With all that being said, I know how frustrating it is to have my sights on something and end up getting something else. If you really feel that you want the BS in IT, it's definitely worth petitioning. Really nothing to lose.

Congratulations on all your hard work! One class away from your degree is a big deal and definitely represents a ton of hard work!

[BSITinCali]

This is basically my background, and I currently hire for this type of position. If I had this choice when I was in a technical position I would have wanted the IT degree as well. Now that I'm on the hiring side, I would recommend taking the business degree and get a CCNA/P/etc to show your technical competence. I've changed the way I view degrees over the years. In the IT field I view them mostly as a marketing tool (and fun hobby). Most of your technical competency will likely be self taught, outside of school. It's just the nature of our position and the state of most colleges. It sounds like to me your school is willing to say you're competent in two areas, instead of just one (Business and IT). In many IT interviews there is a mix of business and technical people involved. This gives you more range, IMHO.

With all that being said, I know how frustrating it is to have my sights on something and end up getting something else. If you really feel that you want the BS in IT, it's definitely worth petitioning. Really nothing to lose.

Congratulations on all your hard work! One class away from your degree is a big deal and definitely represents a ton of hard work!

Thank You! I'm excited to finally be done :hurray: I am curious, are you in management now? That's another thing, I love what I do, and I definitely don't want to go into management. I have a few co-workers who have spent their whole careers in IT and they tell me as I get older, I'll change my mind and want to get into management- I'm 34 now. The reason I don't want to go into management is because I love what I do- I love analyzing problems, troubleshooting and resolving. I work well with everyone and I get tons of compliments from staff who I've helped when the network goes down or just a simple virus clean up. :-) I am thinking about enrolling in the Masters in Information Assurance program at Fort Hays State University since I would like to stay on the technical side. Would you say a Masters in an IT specialization is worth it? I hear a lot of people tell me it isn't because it'll soon be obsolete and it's better to get a business degree, but as I stated I love the technical side of things more than the business side, I used to work in accounting so I know that I enjoy the tech side more than the business side

[dfrecore]

I agree with Mednat, my husband is a tech guy, on the sales side of things. He is thinking of getting a degree (ok, I'm pushing) and if he does, it will only be to check off that box. His years of experience will be what gets him a job, not the degree itself. So it actually does not matter if it's a BSBA, BSIT, CIS, whatever. It's just so that he's not on the discard pile because he doesn't have a degree at some time in the future when he wants a particular job.

And, he's 40 now, and still absolutely no interest in going into management. At all. He would leave and go somewhere else before he would take a job in management. So, not everyone will change their minds about that as they get older. I also did not love management, and would much prefer a job where I didn't have any employees under me (I worked in HR - compensation management). I like sitting at a computer playing with spreadsheets, management just doesn't suit me.

[mednat]

Thank You! I'm excited to finally be done :hurray: I am curious, are you in management now? That's another thing, I love what I do, and I definitely don't want to go into management. I have a few co-workers who have spent their whole careers in IT and they tell me as I get older, I'll change my mind and want to get into management- I'm 34 now. The reason I don't want to go into management is because I love what I do- I love analyzing problems, troubleshooting and resolving. I work well with everyone and I get tons of compliments from staff who I've helped when the network goes down or just a simple virus clean up. :-) I am thinking about enrolling in the Masters in Information Assurance program at Fort Hays State University since I would like to stay on the technical side. Would you say a Masters in an IT specialization is worth it? I hear a lot of people tell me it isn't because it'll soon be obsolete and it's better to get a business degree, but as I stated I love the technical side of things more than the business side, I used to work in accounting so I know that I enjoy the tech side more than the business side

I'm an IT director at a small company. I'm 31 now and really had no intentions to go into management, but i do love designing the systems holistically. I went towards management mostly because I wanted to control the ability for my projects to get pushed through or not. I became frustrated with having to rely on others to justify technical projects that made business sense, so more and more I found myself creating business cases and doing my own cost benefit analysis. Once you're into that territory, managing the department is a matter of managing, and building teams. I enjoy that my company is small enough to where I can work on technical projects that interest me, but I have a team that will answer support calls and do the other activities that do not interest me technically, but are extremely important for the business.

My satisfaction with the move to management comes and goes depending on the day. I still love technical problems and solving them, but I also have come to enjoy designing the larger systems that involve more than just technology. I found that my focus on designing and building technical systems can translate into business process design fairly easily.

Masters degrees in technical fields I'm on the fence about. I still don't value them as an indicator of technical ability. In the IA field, I would say look to the CISSP certification. With that being said, I don't think it's a bad idea to get a masters in a technical field(and I actually may end up doing the same) IF you can do it 1) inexpensively and 2) while keeping a job in the field.

Once I complete my MBA, if i have time left in my 6 month period, I may try to knock out a masters in IA at WGU. At their price and the speed I can achieve using previous knowledge, it doesn't hurt to have the degree. If I didn't have experience in security positions, I would probably look at the Dakota state program (or if I wanted to make it my primary job focus). I've heard good things about the school and the IA program specifically. The NSA and DHS have designated DSU as a national center of excellence in IA education. Link: Master of Science in Information Assurance and Computer Security | Dakota State University

Brick and Mortar masters programs are definitely worth looking at too for the alumni benefit and local name recognition. These factors can be extremely important for those early in their career. For me (and likely you), it isn't worth paying extra for.

[BSITinCali]

I agree with Mednat, my husband is a tech guy, on the sales side of things. He is thinking of getting a degree (ok, I'm pushing) and if he does, it will only be to check off that box. His years of experience will be what gets him a job, not the degree itself. So it actually does not matter if it's a BSBA, BSIT, CIS, whatever. It's just so that he's not on the discard pile because he doesn't have a degree at some time in the future when he wants a particular job.

And, he's 40 now, and still absolutely no interest in going into management. At all. He would leave and go somewhere else before he would take a job in management. So, not everyone will change their minds about that as they get older. I also did not love management, and would much prefer a job where I didn't have any employees under me (I worked in HR - compensation management). I like sitting at a computer playing with spreadsheets, management just doesn't suit me.

Thanks for this info. I guess that was my reason to get my degree as well- not to end up in the discard pile. It's also been a lifelong goal of mines as well, but I knew I needed it if I wanted to advance into a higher network or technical (desktop support) role. I can't even see myself being a manager, it's definitely not one of my future goals.

[cookderosa]

You can always petition for anything you want!

But, colleges always go by what the catalog is when you enroll. Did you look at the new catalog when you were readmitted? Have you not known all along that they changed that degree? Did your reenrollment not show the new requirements?

I think it will be difficult to fight this, as you would have to show that what you signed up for originally was not published, so there was no way for you to know that it had changed. But you can always try.

I agree with dfrecore, but it doesn't hurt to try. Typically you get to "keep" your catalog as long as you are enrolled- even if it's one course at a time. Once you break your enrollment, you generally come in new, and that can certainly be a problem if they make changes in the meantime.

So, if you end up having to follow the new catalog, I understand you probably will have requirements added- but are they saying you're going to LOSE anything? That would be part of the pros/cons I'd consider if I were in your shoes. But yeah, go ahead and make a pitch.