Can someone tell me about Excelsior? AMU Graduate here.

[Travis4687]

Hello Degreeforum,

I'd like to personally thank everyone who helped me on my journey to a faster degree using DSST/CLEP/FEMA. I went from 0 College credits to 122 in under 18 months thanks to this website and I recently graduated American Military University with a Bachelor of Science (B.S) in Information Systems Security or some like to call it, Cybersecurity.

My question is : I'm looking into a masters program now and I've been looking for a Masters in IT Security/Cybersecurity program that didn't have a high level Programming language requirement since I cannot program period, let alone at a Master's level. So AMU's Master in cybersecurity is out of the question. I'm looking at excelsior and I like how their program is only 30 credits where as AMU's is 36.

Can anyone tell me what a typical workload at Excelsior is like and do they have proctor requirements?

At AMU it was 8 week classes, typically 1 discussion board a week of 300-500 words, Reply to 2 students and professor at 150-250 words, and usually a weekly assignment averaging around 500-1000 words, with quizzes sprinkled in between, and finally usually a 5-8 page paper and Powerpoint presentation at the end of class.

Is excelsior similiar or different? I'm also leaning towards excelsior because since I'm in the military they are offering graduate classes for 750 a pop, where as AMU wants almost 1000 per class.

I'd appreciate any guidance and if I should pull the trigger on Excelsior or explore my options more.

I'm also curious as to how hectic a masters level class is with the school, I would like to get this knocked out as quickly as possible, but If i can handle more than 1 class at a time I'll do it.

Thanks,
Travis

[marianne202]

Travis, I did two bachelor's at EC so I can't speak to master's level work, but I do know their BS classes are writing intensive. They do weekly discussion boards and writing assignments. I had a few quizzes during my AS with them, but they were not proctored. I also did a few ECE's for some of my classes instead of taking actual classes to save time and money. These are done through Pearson Vue. The other thing with EC is they are on a regular semester schedule, so the classes may seem long compared to the 8 wk AMU classes. I found most of the EC's instructors were not really familiar with the course content and they didn't have a hand in creating the course content, so sometimes they couldn't really answer questions. I got the impression that if it wasn't in their "instructor manual" they couldn't give an answer. I did have several great instructors that were very involved, caring, knowledgable and passionate about the subject matter. I'm going to send you a PM as well with some other info.

[Travis4687]

Thanks Marianne, I did some research and Excelsior offers 8 week class formats for about 7 of the 10 required classes for their Masters in CyberSecurity. I can deal with 3 classes being 16 weeks. I dont mind. I have a really good job and It's not like im doing this for employment purposes or anything just to have it whenever that "Check the box" time arrives later in my life.

I'm going to ask the honest question here though, Would it be wise to get a graduate degree from the Big 3 or utilize my GI BILL and go to a B&M school?

[Yanji]

I'm going to ask the honest question here though, Would it be wise to get a graduate degree from the Big 3 or utilize my GI BILL and go to a B&M school?

As far as graduate programmes go, I think it depends on what you mean by B&M. If you mean your local B&M, that will almost always be favourable to EC, regardless of the local school's stature. Commuter schools like Pace, UT Dallas or UIC are usually respected locally and have part-time programmes. If you mean a big name B&M in another state/region, (e.g. Penn State, NYU, UIUC) it's probably still worth it over EC, but it depends on your goals. If by B&M you mean an anonymous school in another part of the country, (e.g. attending CSU East Bay while living in Chicago) I don't really see a reason to attend over EC just because it's a B&M.

[Travis4687]

Well I'm a working IT Professional for a Defense contractor and going to a college campus is out of the question.

I need something Online, Preferably 8 week. Excelsior fits the bill, i'm just hoping someone whos been can chime in here a little more

[scorched]

Travis.. congrats on the AMU degree.
Wanted to ask.. what really is the goal of a Masters in Cyber? By definition you have achieved what you need to, in order to prove yourself technically.
So, unless your goal is dive even deeper into the technology for many years to come, I think you would be much better positioned by an MBA or general MIS degree to get into management later.
In the world of DoD contractors, it has been my experience that MBA's carry far more credence long term and end up the big Program Managers.
I have worked with many PhD's that are stuck, because they are too specific.

As for B&M Penn State | Online Degrees, Online Courses, and Online Certificates offered by Penn State has some awesome masters programs. Kinda pricey, but it is PSU?
MBA, Engineering Mgmt, Enterprise Architecture.. And if you can get 2 classes in Calculus under your belt, you may even qualify for the Masters in Sys Engineering.

Best of luck!

Thanks Marianne, I did some research and Excelsior offers 8 week class formats for about 7 of the 10 required classes for their Masters in CyberSecurity. I can deal with 3 classes being 16 weeks. I dont mind. I have a really good job and It's not like im doing this for employment purposes or anything just to have it whenever that "Check the box" time arrives later in my life.

I'm going to ask the honest question here though, Would it be wise to get a graduate degree from the Big 3 or utilize my GI BILL and go to a B&M school?

[Travis4687]

I've been fighting with myself about this for a while now...Masters In IT/Cyber , or MBA

I know the MBA would more than likely get me farther and carry more weight but to be quite frankly i'm scared of any kind of Math classes, like Accounting and stuff like that...

Are MBA's generally easy on the math related classes? Finance and stuff I mean?

[Publius]

Here's a thread you may be interested in... http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...rsity.html

Personally, I can't speak from experience (though many members on here can), WGU seems like a great option. Fully online, self-paced, low-cost, accredited, etc. If you haven't, I'd give them a look.

[scorched]

Through my research I have seen heavy math based MBA's for decision analytics mainly focused on applied stats vs theoretical math
Penn State | Online MBA Degree Program | Course List
This is the PSU mba, and you will some math but not much.

I've been fighting with myself about this for a while now...Masters In IT/Cyber , or MBA

I know the MBA would more than likely get me farther and carry more weight but to be quite frankly i'm scared of any kind of Math classes, like Accounting and stuff like that...

Are MBA's generally easy on the math related classes? Finance and stuff I mean?

[Yanji]

Are MBA's generally easy on the math related classes? Finance and stuff I mean?

Accounting is not maths and doesn't really require much of a maths aptitude. An MBA is a general degree focused on strategy; you have to know accounting and finance to make strategic decisions, whether you are a brand manager or a consultant or an IT manager. You can't get an MBA from a respectable school (Penn State included) without taking quantitative courses. At the same time, I don't really understand the point of getting an IT Masters without knowing a programming language... you certainly don't need a CS/SE major level of programming knowledge to get in but not being able to program at all seems like an awfully thin foundation to build on. I think it'd be advisable to research some distance MBAs and find a programme which interests you and then grit your teeth and get through the quant courses in the core. Once you get to the electives you can pick courses which play to your strengths/interests.