Needs help deciding on degree (BACS vs BSIT vs BSBA)

[Zataralos]

Hello everyone, first-time post. I’m extremely humbled and impressed with the information on this forum. After spending what accumulates to approximately 8 hours reading through posts and gathering information, I’m at the point where I need some specific recommendations.
 
A brief overview of my circumstances. Went directly from High School to a large Insurance company as part of the Y2K coding frenzy (remember those days?). Anyways, as a self-driven person, I’ve made quite a career for myself and 25 years later I’m a technology executive for a Fortune 50 company in Financial Services. Most assume I must have a MS degree let alone a BS. While I’ve always thought I’d go back to school and get one, life just kept moving at lightning speed.
 
Honestly for me, getting a degree at this point is a check-the-box goal, especially as future career opportunities arise. I’m looking for the fastest & cheapest way to a degree.
 
Based on what I’ve learned it looks like TESU may be the best option for me. Here’s where I’m stuck. There are 3 degree options I can choose from – BACS, BSIT & BSBA.
 
Which of them would make more sense based on my goals (fast/cheap)? I don’t think the name of the degree matters much for me as my experience and achievements are what has been fueling my career. As I mentioned, it’s a check-the-box requirement.
 
Can someone provide a recommendation with rationale and perhaps a plan for achieving it?
 
Another item that’s puzzling me is the PLA. Is this a work-experience assessment for credits? I keep seeing ‘Portfolio’ assessments at other institutions like WGU. Is that what TESU is offering? If so, how would that work as far as creating a plan since I wouldn’t know what I could get credits for unless I enrolled which goes counter to what I’ve read which is - collect as many credits before enrolling J
 
This is a big step for me as I’ve procrastinated for decades. Having a rising-Junior in High School is also pulling on my conscience, don’t want to be guilty of ‘do as I say and not as I do’ L.
 
Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.

[dfrecore]

My advice - a BSB in IT Management or BS in IT, both from WGU. You can take a bunch of courses to bring into the GE portion, and some of the major, but then really just do as much as you can in 1-2 terms.

Follow it up with a MS in IT Management or MBA in IT Management. I would choose the opposite of whatever you did for the BS (so if you did the BS in IT, I'd do an MBA, and if you did the BSB in ITM, then I'd do the MS in ITM).

Look at both BS degrees and see which one interests you more (WGU has about 30% of the degree in GE and 70% in the major, with no real "free electives").

[quigongene]

Additionally, WGU also has a CS bachelors, but if you're looking for a checkbox, I wouldn't go here unless you love math ;-) .

[davewill]

It's hard to advise you. The path to BSBA is well understood, and you can definitely get one using the alternative credit methods championed here. If cheap and fast are your biggest criteria and you're comfortable with taking business courses, that would be the way to go. Choosing between BSIT and BACS, you really have to look at what your career is/will be and which would do you the most good. They are quite different and I don't think you should choose between them on the basis of which is cheaper or faster.

Check the PLA links in my sig to start to get a rundown on what the PLA process and a portfolio is about. The TL;DR is that if you can get the credit you need just by taking a cheap online course or exam, that's the path of least resistance.

[Zataralos]

Both of you seem to have strong feelings about WGU, can you tell me why? Based on what I read, TESU is/was more accepting of credit transfers (CLEP, etc.).  Also I read that with WGU you can only transfer credits one-time, after you enroll you can't transfer new ones. Is that still true?

How does the 'Portfolio' assessment play into the equation? Has anyone gone through this assessment and can relate the value of doing this? is it worth the credits? Also as an Executive, I'm not really ready to go ask an EVP to write down and represent my working experience and knowledge on subjects so I can get class credits. How does this actually work

Thanks

[davewill]

P.S. You shouldn't "get all your credits before enrolling" at least not if you're going with TESU. They are notorious for changing the rules and it's best to get things locked down with them. I always recommend enrolling as soon as you are ready to get started.

[Zataralos]

It's hard to advise you. The path to BSBA is well understood, and you can definitely get one using the alternative credit methods championed here. If cheap and fast are your biggest criteria and you're comfortable with taking business courses, that would be the way to go. Choosing between BSIT and BACS, you really have to look at what your career is/will be and which would do you the most good. They are quite different and I don't think you should choose between them on the basis of which is cheaper or faster.

Check the PLA links in my sig to start to get a rundown on what the PLA process and a portfolio is about. The TL;DR is that if you can get the credit you need just by taking a cheap online course or exam, that's the path of least resistance.

Thanks davewill, 

More of a timing question, most plans I've reviewed here assume knocking out required courses, but if folks get credit from a PLA, typically which courses do those map to? I'd prefer not to knock off classes through Cleping that I would otherwise get from a PLA. I understand that no two PLA will be alike, but a general direction would be helpful.

Thanks

[davewill]

Thanks davewill, 

More of a timing question, most plans I've reviewed here assume knocking out required courses, but if folks get credit from a PLA, typically which courses do those map to? I'd prefer not to knock off classes through Cleping that I would otherwise get from a PLA. I understand that no two PLA will be alike, but a general direction would be helpful.

Thanks

You choose the course you want to challenge, then assemble the portfolio showing how you've met the learning objectives for the course. You will spend MUCH more time doing a portfolio than it would take to study for and take a CLEP or take a course from SL or Study.com. Plus, you will, in all likelihood, have to solicit letters from former or current supervisors/coworkers. If you read the links in my sig and still have specific PLA questions, then come on back.

[quigongene]

Both of you seem to have strong feelings about WGU, can you tell me why? Based on what I read, TESU is/was more accepting of credit transfers (CLEP, etc.).  Also I read that with WGU you can only transfer credits one-time, after you enroll you can't transfer new ones. Is that still true?

For the most part, yes, once you start at WGU you can't transfer in other credits. I personally went with WGU for speed and cost. I have similar experience to you (25 years) and with some pre-planning, I was able to finish a WGU bachelors in 15 weeks. Total cost was around $4000.

[armstrongsubero]

I too think WGU is a much better bargain.