Need direction for selecting degree and uni

[NewatTESU]

Hi All, 

I have been following up on this forum for a couple of days and really found very helpful information by everyone out here. 

I have been working in IT for more than 16 years and planning for bachelor is computer science or IT.

I want to finish my degree in fast track mode like within a year. And for that matter I enrolled myself in TESU thinking that I can go via PLA route which seems tough at this point after learning more about it. 

If anyone has any recommendation on this, please guide. 

I have started looking at UMPI for BLS in MIS minor. I am trying to get close one to CS or IT if possible within this time frame. 

Thanks,
James

[ss20ts]

Maybe WGU. But you'll have to put in a lot of hours to complete a whole degree in 1 6 month term. There are people who do it, but it's a lot of work. Not everyone has that kind of free time.

TESu will take longer than 6 months especially since they don't confer degrees when you finish your courses. They have set dates they confer degrees so if you miss a deadline you'll be waiting a few months.

Purdue Global has some IT degrees that are Excel Track which are competency based like UMPI and WGU. There you'd be completing from 0 credits unless you have certifications. I don't think I've seen you post that you've taken any courses yet. I don't see anyone completing a PUG degree in 6 months with 0 transfer credits.

[rachel83az]

Using the various alternative sources (Sophia.org, Study.com, Coopersmith), you could have a TESU CS degree in 6-12 months. Most of the required CS classes should be a breeze for someone with so much experience. However, you would need to do Calculus and that might be something that you wish to avoid. A TESU degree would cost somewhere around $8-9k all-in depending on exactly which courses you took from where.

A BLS at UMPI can be completed in 4-6 months and is much simpler. Take (almost) everything at Sophia, Biology 101L w/ lab at Study.com (plus another course of your choosing because it's included in the month), American Government and/or Spanish at InstantCert, and take everything else at UMPI. UMPI would certainly be easier and faster to complete than TESU.

If all you need is a degree, UMPI is a solid choice. If you think that CS is better for your career, TESU.

Further things to consider: UMPI is set to add a CS degree to their offerings in the near future. We don't know when that will be exactly but it'll either be later this year or early next year. On the other hand, you can get BOTH a CS degree and a BSBA in Computer Information Systems at TESU at the same time with only slightly more time/effort/money spent.


I would suggest that you start taking (almost) everything Sophia has to offer ASAP because that's going to be the advice whether you go with TESU or UMPI. Once you're done with that, maybe UMPI will have their CS degree out or maybe you'll decide that pure competency-based education isn't for you and you'd rather do things at your own pace with TESU. Neither is right or wrong, good or bad. It depends on what your needs and abilities are.

[dfrecore]

If you want a BSIT degree, WGU and Purdue Global are worth considering, especially if you have any current certifications. Both will take a lot towards your degree, and both will take ACE credit towards GE's as well as other requirements.

My husband applied to Purdue Global for their Cloud degree through ExcelTrack, and they accepted his AWS Certified Solutions Architect—Associate cert as 55qcr, which is 30% of the degree right there. That's a very good option, when you could combine that with Sophia or Study.com to get 45 out of 50qcr for the GE Core, and 28qcr from Study.com towards the major, leaving just 52qcr (9 courses) at PUG. At $2,500 per 10-week term, I think you could finish in 1-2 terms. So definitely within a year for everything.

[bjcheung77]

In order to keep your path or journey as safe/smooth as possible, just work on your Sophia.org courses and decide on your "degree/school" while working those courses. It seems you're going in a few tangents and it'll just hamper your progress. Work on Sophia.org until you get your general education/free elective courses done - to say like 60 credits, then decide while you're working on your next 30 credits - all of these courses are transferable to multiple institutions to select from. The hardest step is starting... deciding on the program/school will come when you're ready. Look at each program/school more in depth... if you have tuition assistance/reimbursement - go the NON CBE option, if you don't and are a fast student, then CBE programs are for you!

[dfrecore]

In order to keep your path or journey as safe/smooth as possible, just work on your Sophia.org courses and decide on your "degree/school" while working those courses.  It seems you're going in a few tangents and it'll just hamper your progress.  Work on Sophia.org until you get your general education/free elective courses done - to say like 60 credits, then decide while you're working on your next 30 credits - all of these courses are transferable to multiple institutions to select from.  The hardest step is starting... deciding on the program/school will come when you're ready.  Look at each program/school more in depth... if you have tuition assistance/reimbursement - go the NON CBE option, if you don't and are a fast student, then CBE programs are for you!

The problem with this advice is, if you choose a school with fewer GE's and zero electives like WGU, you'll have wasted your time doing Sophia courses (and random ones at that).  Maximizing your credits is all about choose a school and degree FIRST, and then deciding the best way to go about getting credits.

OP, spend a few days look at degrees at the schools we've suggested, decide on one, and then find the degree plans for it on the wiki and get moving.

[Alpha]

In order to keep your path or journey as safe/smooth as possible, just work on your Sophia.org courses and decide on your "degree/school" while working those courses.  It seems you're going in a few tangents and it'll just hamper your progress.  Work on Sophia.org until you get your general education/free elective courses done - to say like 60 credits, then decide while you're working on your next 30 credits - all of these courses are transferable to multiple institutions to select from.  The hardest step is starting... deciding on the program/school will come when you're ready.  Look at each program/school more in depth... if you have tuition assistance/reimbursement - go the NON CBE option, if you don't and are a fast student, then CBE programs are for you!

 Maximizing your credits is all about choose a school and degree FIRST, and then deciding the best way to go about getting credits.

I think this is good advice and in general a good approach to goal-setting of many types.  Decide where you want to go and then figure out how to get there.

[NewatTESU]

Essentially, what I understood is that we can earn 90 credits from Sophia, SDC etc and transfer maximum 90 cr to a university or college and rest 30 credits from university or college only by attending courses there.

[ss20ts]

Essentially, what I understood is that we can earn 90 credits from Sophia, SDC etc and transfer maximum 90 cr to a university or college and rest 30 credits from university or college only by attending courses there.

Well that depends on the school. This works for UMPI. TESU and COSC has RA requirements and most people don't take their RA classes at those schools with the exception of the required courses like Capstone because they're expensive. EC doesn't have an RA requirement but it does have 3 courses you have to take through them.

You also mentioned to me in a pm that you are looking to use your degree for immigration purposes. You need to look into the legal aspect of this. That is beyond the scope of what we do on here but it is something to really think about and look into.

[rachel83az]

Essentially, what I understood is that we can earn 90 credits from Sophia, SDC etc and transfer maximum 90 cr to a university or college and rest 30 credits from university or college only by attending courses there.

No. 

It depends on the school, as ss20ts has already pointed out. TESU & COSC only require that you take 6 credits from them. EC requires 7 credits. UMPI requires 30 credits. Where the rest of the credits can come from depends on the school.