Second Bachelors after 15 yrs

[sprout18]

I earned my Bachelors Degree in Business & Economics in 2001 from Wilson College. I have a concentration in Economics and a minor in Political Science at that time. I became an accountant and then in 2005 I became a stay at home mom to my now 4 boys. Fast forward 15 years (wow) and my youngest turned 12 this year and will be going off to high school in 2 years. We currently homeschool so the plan right now is to continue doing that until he goes to high school. I do not want to go back into the Accounting field. I was thinking of going back and getting a Bachelors in either Homeland Security/Emergency Management or in Criminal Justice. Since its been so long since I received my degree will I likely have to complete the entire degree again? I tried researching it but there isn't really any information on how long your credits would transfer to a second degree. Definitely would like to go mostly, if not fully, online so looking at the Big 3 mostly. Any information would be appreciated.

[Life Long Learning]

I did a 2nd BS degree 30 years apart.  All of my GEN ED credits 35-years old still counted.  IT and Business are two that sometimes time out, but you have a business degree.  They make you get a second different major in the Big 3.  My first was in business.  My second was in HSEM. If I do a third it will be in history.

What do you want the second-degree major in?

[natshar]

Excelsior and Thomas Edison both have bachelor's in homeland security. Thomas Edison also a criminal justice. I think your first step would to apply to both of these schools and send all your transcripts and see what happens. Then you can get a picture of what you have left to complete.

Thomas Edison has a policy for a second bachelor all gen eds and free electives are waived so all you need is the major. I believe Excelsior has something similar.

[eriehiker]

Walden Tempo program has a criminal justice/public management/leadership master's program:

https://www.waldenu.edu/online-masters-p...ency-based

[dfrecore]

Your first degree counts anywhere - nobody cares how old it is. So you will be getting a second bachelor's degree no matter where you decide to go - and a 2nd bachelor's degree is different than a first degree. Generally, you only need courses in your major, as your previous degree will count towards any GE and electives. So something like 30-60cr, depending on where you end up.

That being said, I would not necessarily get another degree just yet. Many times, whatever degree you already have is enough to make a career change. Many companies/agencies just want to check that box, and you have checked it. So, before spending any time/money on another degree, you're much better off researching careers - and once you figure out exactly what you want to DO, then figure out if you need more education in the new field. If you DO, then you need to figure out the education you need. You may be better off getting an undergrad certificate, some sort of certification, or even a MA degree rather than another bachelor's degree. So I would say that you need to spend a lot of time researching before jumping into another degree that you may not need.

[bjcheung77]

Essentially, If it was me, I would need to decide on two paths - to do a second Bachelors or to get a Masters. Once that decision is made, then I would choose between the Big 3 for the Bachelors or for the Masters, I would recommend going the Competency Based degree provider route. You also want to check the requirements for each degree and make sure it fits your cost and time constraints...