HELP Evaluating my Degree Path

[AnikaYohan]

About me: I graduated in July 2021 with AS degree in Computer Science at Clovis Community College, CA.

I have not taken any courses from Sophia/Study or completed any tests yet but will be starting soon so I can get some credits off.

So far, Im kind of leaning towards UMPI, WGU, and TESU

Location: CA, USA
Age: 44
What kind of degree do you want? Computer Science, MIS, IT, Data Management

Fresno City College/Clovis Community College:
COURSE        TITLE                                           CREDIT
BA 33           HUMAN RELATIONS                            3
BIOL 10        INTRO TO LIFE SCIENCE                     3
COMM 1        PUBLIC SPEAKING                              3
CSCI 26        MATH FOR COMPSCI                           4
CSCI 40        PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS                 4
ENGL 125     COLLEGE WRITING SKILLS                  4
ENGL 1A       READING AND COMPREHENSION         4
HLTH 1         CONTEMPORARY HEALTH ISSUES        3
IS 15           COMPUTER CONCEPTS                        3
MATH 4B      PRECALCULUS                                    4
MATH 5A      MATH ANALYSIS                                 5
MATH 5B      MATH ANALYSIS II                              4
PE 15C         WEIGHT TRAINING                             1
PE 16           FITNESS WALKING                              1
PE 26           SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY                         3
PE 62           INTRO TO KINESIOLOGY                     3
PHOTO 5      INTRO TO PHOTOGRAPHY                   3
POLSCI        AMERICAN GOVERNEMENT                  3

Gavilan College:
CSIS 46        C++ PROGRAMMING II                       3                                         
 
Certification: Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate, currently taking Google IT Support, and plan on doing all IT related courses on Google via TADA.
Budget: Will try to apply for financial aid, fafsa, etc.
Commitments: full time dad of 2 small children, but is motivated to get my Bachelors
Dedicated time to study: 20 hrs/week
Timeline: as soon as possible
Tuition assistance/reimbursement: financial aid, fafsa


THANKS IN ADVANCE

[bjcheung77]

@AnikaYohan, Welcome to the board, that's a nice template/addendum, great job getting this far and getting some certs, associates degree, and experience in the field!  I'm thinking you're not trying to break into IT, if it's something you want to ladder into, you can go for the UMPI BABA PM & IS, even though it's not a true IT degree, nor MIS, it's a Project Management & Info Systems concentration.  Couple that with your current AAS and Certs, you've gotten the basics for entry into IT if you're not already in... I suggest continuing on with the Coursera/TADA offerings that interest you and ladder that up to the UMPI PM & IS degree.

[AnikaYohan]

@AnikaYohan, Welcome to the board, that's a nice template/addendum, great job getting this far and getting some certs, associates degree, and experience in the field!  I'm thinking you're not trying to break into IT, if it's something you want to ladder into, you can go for the UMPI BABA PM & IS, even though it's not a true IT degree, nor MIS, it's a Project Management & Info Systems concentration.  Couple that with your current AAS and Certs, you've gotten the basics for entry into IT if you're not already in... I suggest continuing on with the Coursera/TADA offerings that interest you and ladder that up to the UMPI PM & IS degree.

Tyvm for replying, bjcheung77. Please correct me if wrong, when u say, UMPI BABA/IS, enroll for BABA PM then add IS as minor? What would be the advantages of it versus going straight to MIS route?

[bjcheung77]

@AnikaYohan, No. BABA PM is actually a PM & IS concentration, if you read their degree offerings, you'll know what I mean. The MIS is already included in the PM concentration, you don't add a minor to it. That's better than the BLS MIS because it's a Business Admin degree and the BLS is a Liberal Studies degree with a minor in PM. Depending on your future educational goals... The only reason I'll recommend the BLS PM is if you want to max the transfers and you have much more 'electives' to bring in as that allows about 60-62 (these can all be the Coursera/TADA certs or Sophia.org courses), the BABA PM only allows a max of about 18-21.

[rachel83az]

If you want a tech degree, and aren't already in the tech industry, I'd go with TESU. They're changing policies to make them MUCH more affordable and within reach of more students. Instead of settling for a management degree that mentions technology (BABA PM/MIS), you can get a true computer science degree. If you also want a Business degree, you can get a BSBA CIS for not much more time/money than just the BACS.

If you are in the tech industry and just need a degree to check the box, UMPI's BABA PM/MIS is a good check-the-box degree. It should be cheaper than TESU and arguably faster as well.

[AnikaYohan]

@AnikaYohan, No. BABA PM is actually a PM & IS concentration, if you read their degree offerings, you'll know what I mean.  The MIS is already included in the PM concentration, you don't add a minor to it.  That's better than the BLS MIS because it's a Business Admin degree and the BLS is a Liberal Studies degree with a minor in PM. Depending on your future educational goals... The only reason I'll recommend the BLS PM is if you want to max the transfers and you have much more 'electives' to bring in as that allows about 60-62 (these can all be the Coursera/TADA certs or Sophia.org courses), the BABA PM only allows a max of about 18-21.

gotcha. thanks again!

---

If you want a tech degree, and aren't already in the tech industry, I'd go with TESU. They're changing policies to make them MUCH more affordable and within reach of more students. Instead of settling for a management degree that mentions technology (BABA PM/MIS), you can get a true computer science degree. If you also want a Business degree, you can get a BSBA CIS for not much more time/money than just the BACS.

If you are in the tech industry and just need a degree to check the box, UMPI's BABA PM/MIS is a good check-the-box degree. It should be cheaper than TESU and arguably faster as well.

tyvm rachel83az, I'm really considering TESU as well, but for the life of me, couldn't find their course transfer database so I can compare and evaluate my credits.

[rachel83az]

Yeah, there is no transfer database for TESU these days. But wherever you think the courses will work, they probably will. Fitness/sports: electives. Photography: humanities gen ed. Gen eds also for American Government, Public Speaking, and the English courses.

It's only $50 + transcript fees to apply to TESU and send in your Clovis transcript. If you'd prefer an actual tech degree, I think it's definitely worth it to see what they say.

[bjcheung77]

Either way, you may also want to see how WGU evaluates them as well... There are so many ways to get to your goal, as you've opened up several options for CS, IT, etc... You can do the BACS/BSBA CIS combo at TESU if you wanted, it really depends on your needs/wants. An example pathway would be UMPI, TESU, WGU Bachelors and then a WGU Master in whatever you're looking to get there... Keep your options open, you really want to max/mix your trifecta to your liking.

[dfrecore]

If you truly want a CS or IT degree, then I don't recommend UMPI.

I looked at the TESU BACS degree for you, and it's a good option since you have a lot of RA credit.

GE
ENGL 125     COLLEGE WRITING SKILLS                  4 - Developmental (won't transfer)
ENGL 1A       READING AND COMPREHENSION         4 - ENC-101, Written English requirement
COMM 1        PUBLIC SPEAKING                              3 - COM-209, Oral Comm requirement
MATH 4B      PRECALCULUS                                    4 - MAT-129, Quant Lit requirement
POLSCI        AMERICAN GOVERNMENT                  3 - POS-110, Civic Engagement requirement
PE 26           SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY                         3 - Possibly PSY course which will meet SocSci requirement, otherwise Free Elective
PHOTO 5      INTRO TO PHOTOGRAPHY                   3 - Humanities requirement
BIOL 10        INTRO TO LIFE SCIENCE                     3 - Scientific Knowledge requirement 1
IS 15           COMPUTER CONCEPTS                        3 - [b]Scientific Knowledge requirement 2[/b]

[b]AoS[/b]
CSCI 40        PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS                 4 - Intro to Programming requirement
MATH 5A      MATH ANALYSIS                                 5 - MAT-231: Calculus I requirement (you may have to appeal to get them to accept it, but it's def Calc I)
CSCI 26        MATH FOR COMPSCI                           4 - Discrete Math requirement (true title is CSCI 26: DISCRETE MATH FOR COMPSCI)
CSIS 46        C++ PROGRAMMING II                       3  - LL CS elective
MATH 5B      MATH ANALYSIS II                              4 - MAT-232, LL math elective

Free Elective
BA 33           HUMAN RELATIONS                            3 - Free Elective
HLTH 1         CONTEMPORARY HEALTH ISSUES        3 - Free Elective
PE 15C         WEIGHT TRAINING                             1 - Free Elective
PE 16           FITNESS WALKING                              1 - Free Elective
PE 62           INTRO TO KINESIOLOGY                     3 - Free Elective

What you still need:
GE
------
English Comp II
Diversity course (Sociology)
Ethics course
History course
2 SocSci/His/Hum courses

AoS
------
COMPSCI 201: Data Structures & Algorithms (SDC)
COMPSCI 105: Intro to Operating Systems (SDC)
COMPSCI 306: Computer Architecture (SDC-UL)
BUS 303: Management Info Systems (SDC-UL)
COMPSCI 302: Systems Analysis & Design (SDC-UL)
COMPSCI 303: Database Management (SDC-UL)
CS302: Software Engineering (Saylor-UL)
Any LL CS elective (Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate should get you 3cr in COS)

Free Electives
-----------------
17cr of any college-level courses (your Google certs might fill this entirely)

You may have to appeal your math courses, since your school used a freakishly weird name instead of Calc I & II, but that will be easy enough to do using the catalog, the C-ID database, etc.  Just a simple matter of gathering the info, saving it all, and sending it via email to appeal.

You can do all of your GE via Sophia, and then the AoS via Study.com and Saylor.  If you want to do a 15-cr term at TESU to reduce costs, you can choose to substitute any of the 5 above courses with TESU courses.  I'd personally do the Computer Concepts e-Pack, Marriage & the Family e-Pack, and probably do an UL CS course to replace the Saylor exam (along with the cornerstone and capstone).  This would make your costs less than $5k.

[AnikaYohan]

Either way, you may also want to see how WGU evaluates them as well... There are so many ways to get to your goal, as you've opened up several options for CS, IT, etc... You can do the BACS/BSBA CIS combo at TESU if you wanted, it really depends on your needs/wants.  An example pathway would be UMPI, TESU, WGU Bachelors and then a WGU Master in whatever you're looking to get there... Keep your options open, you really want to max/mix your trifecta to your liking.

Thanks a ton! I will definitely look into that as well.

---

If you truly want a CS or IT degree, then I don't recommend UMPI.

I looked at the TESU BACS degree for you, and it's a good option since you have a lot of RA credit.

GE
ENGL 125     COLLEGE WRITING SKILLS                  4 - Developmental (won't transfer)
ENGL 1A       READING AND COMPREHENSION         4 - ENC-101, Written English requirement
COMM 1        PUBLIC SPEAKING                              3 - COM-209, Oral Comm requirement
MATH 4B      PRECALCULUS                                    4 - MAT-129, Quant Lit requirement
POLSCI        AMERICAN GOVERNMENT                  3 - POS-110, Civic Engagement requirement
PE 26           SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY                         3 - Possibly PSY course which will meet SocSci requirement, otherwise Free Elective
PHOTO 5      INTRO TO PHOTOGRAPHY                   3 - Humanities requirement
BIOL 10        INTRO TO LIFE SCIENCE                     3 - Scientific Knowledge requirement 1
IS 15           COMPUTER CONCEPTS                        3 - [b]Scientific Knowledge requirement 2[/b]

[b]AoS[/b]
CSCI 40        PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS                 4 - Intro to Programming requirement
MATH 5A      MATH ANALYSIS                                 5 - MAT-231: Calculus I requirement (you may have to appeal to get them to accept it, but it's def Calc I)
CSCI 26        MATH FOR COMPSCI                           4 - Discrete Math requirement (true title is CSCI 26: DISCRETE MATH FOR COMPSCI)
CSIS 46        C++ PROGRAMMING II                       3  - LL CS elective
MATH 5B      MATH ANALYSIS II                              4 - MAT-232, LL math elective

Free Elective
BA 33           HUMAN RELATIONS                            3 - Free Elective
HLTH 1         CONTEMPORARY HEALTH ISSUES        3 - Free Elective
PE 15C         WEIGHT TRAINING                             1 - Free Elective
PE 16           FITNESS WALKING                              1 - Free Elective
PE 62           INTRO TO KINESIOLOGY                     3 - Free Elective

What you still need:
GE
------
English Comp II
Diversity course (Sociology)
Ethics course
History course
2 SocSci/His/Hum courses

AoS
------
COMPSCI 201: Data Structures & Algorithms (SDC)
COMPSCI 105: Intro to Operating Systems (SDC)
COMPSCI 306: Computer Architecture (SDC-UL)
BUS 303: Management Info Systems (SDC-UL)
COMPSCI 302: Systems Analysis & Design (SDC-UL)
COMPSCI 303: Database Management (SDC-UL)
CS302: Software Engineering (Saylor-UL)
Any LL CS elective (Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate should get you 3cr in COS)

Free Electives
-----------------
17cr of any college-level courses (your Google certs might fill this entirely)

You may have to appeal your math courses, since your school used a freakishly weird name instead of Calc I & II, but that will be easy enough to do using the catalog, the C-ID database, etc.  Just a simple matter of gathering the info, saving it all, and sending it via email to appeal.

You can do all of your GE via Sophia, and then the AoS via Study.com and Saylor.  If you want to do a 15-cr term at TESU to reduce costs, you can choose to substitute any of the 5 above courses with TESU courses.  I'd personally do the Computer Concepts e-Pack, Marriage & the Family e-Pack, and probably do an UL CS course to replace the Saylor exam (along with the cornerstone and capstone).  This would make your costs less than $5k.

Thank u so much for this detailed explanation.

YES! Math Analysis I and II are Calculus I and II.