Second TESU Bachelors & WGU MS Accounting

[Lewis.Yim]

Hello.

I was just reading a thread on WGU MS Accounting and it seems very interesting to me.
I would like to apply to that after my second TESU Bachelors (BALS).
http://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/showthre...?tid=27792

Is there an inexpensive BALS option for TESU using mainly non proctored or non SL courses?
I don't think I can use any more Straighterline as I have over 90 credits with them.
What concentration should I go for to "maximize" overlapping knowledge from my BSBA?

I will have the general education requirements and will be using my business courses for the Free Electives.
Does someone already have a template or set of courses for the BALS AOS?

TESU Site: http://www.tesu.edu/heavin/ba/Liberal-Studies.cfm
II. Area of Study: Liberal Studies - 30
    Students select option A or B

A. Students complete a total of 30 credits of Liberal Studies courses that include at least 15 credits at the 300/400 level and no more than 6 credits at the 100 level.

B. Students select an 18-credit concentration from the list below and complete an additional 12 credits of Liberal Studies courses.

• Communications
  
• Computer Science
  
• Criminal Justice
  
• General Management
  
• Health and Wellness
  
• Human Resources Management
  
• Humanities
  
• Labor Studies
  
• Natural Sciences/Mathematics
  
• Psychology
  
• Social Sciences
  

 
III. Electives - 27

[dfrecore]

Dumb question: why would you want a BALS when you're getting a BSBA? That doesn't make any sense to me.

Now to answer your question, you could do Shmoop Lit courses, or Study.com History/Psych courses.

[Thorne]

Dumb question: why would you want a BALS when you're getting a BSBA?  That doesn't make any sense to me.

I genuinely want to know this as well. I could see if the BALS was from Harvard Extension School or something similar (prestigious school), but I don't necessarily understand the mindset here.

[Lewis.Yim]

Hi. To answer your question in regards to the second degree, see below.
I am very interested in getting a second degree because of the following reasons.

1) I am a lifelong learner and would like to get college credit for learning another subject or concentration
2) In case I no longer want to be in the business field X years down the road, I have something to fall back on
3) I looked at the TESU BALS and it allows concentrations such as Comp Sci or Natural Science, etc
4) I may want to use language ACTFL test and other credit options to get partial LL/UL for the BALS AOS
5) It won't take too long to get the Bachelors degree and the cost would be reimbursed by company
6) I want to use the BALS as a "broader liberal arts education" and BSBA for getting up that corp ladder.

I have debated going directly for the Master's degree vs getting a second bachelors degree.
Most second bachelors require about 10 courses (30 credits), a Masters is 30-36 credits already.
I will be going to graduate school and would like additional accreditations or certifications also.
The only other option was to do a "Double Major" but I don't think we can do that with the BSBA.
Basically, I want to improve my skill set and learn more, build upon my educational base.

[dfrecore]

Hi.  To answer your question in regards to the second degree, see below.
I am very interested in getting a second degree because of the following reasons.

1) I am a lifelong learner and would like to get college credit for learning another subject or concentration
2) In case I no longer want to be in the business field X years down the road, I have something to fall back on
3) I looked at the TESU BALS and it allows concentrations such as Comp Sci or Natural Science, etc
4) I may want to use language ACTFL test and other credit options to get partial LL/UL for the BALS AOS
5) It won't take too long to get the Bachelors degree and the cost would be reimbursed by company
6) I want to use the BALS as a "broader liberal arts education" and BSBA for getting up that corp ladder.

I have debated going directly for the Master's degree vs getting a second bachelors degree.
Most second bachelors require about 10 courses (30 credits), a Masters is 30-36 credits already.
I will be going to graduate school and would like additional accreditations or certifications also.
The only other option was to do a "Double Major" but I don't think we can do that with the BSBA.
Basically, I want to improve my skill set and learn more, build upon my educational base.

Honestly, being a lifelong learner does not have to include a degree.  And, a broader degree is definitely not more useful than a Business degree.  If you want to get out of the business field someday, a business degree and years of experience would probably be a lot more useful than a BALS - even with a concentration (like CompSci, which will not have enough CompSci courses to have most companies consider it equal to a CompSci degree).

Just my opinion, I almost never think a BALS is more useful than a more concentrated major, and I don't think employers do either (being in HR for many years).  I get that you like accumulating credits, but just know that the BALS will probably not do much for you in the future.  But I guess if you don't have to pay for it, it probably doesn't matter a lot to you (and I've worked at companies who would not pay for a BALS at all, but only a degree specific to your job, and then only a 1st degree or Masters, so your company is very generous in their policy).  One thing I guess I might keep in mind: if your company pays for it, are you locked in for a certain number of years?  Because honestly, golden handcuffs might not be worth the price for a BALS when you already have a BSBA.  An MBA or Master's degree would probably be worth it though.  Just my opinion.

One last thing (again coming from an HR perspective): I've seen it many times that an employee took advantage of a loophole in a policy, and after that the company changed the policy to restrict it from whatever that employee was doing.  It would get out that the reason the policy was changed was because XYZ employee did whatever.  Not saying you are doing anything unethical, just that someone higher up in the company at some point may say "why in the heck are we paying for a second degree for this guy when he already has a BSBA?  Did we pay for THAT degree too?"  I personally would not want to be THAT employee.

[davewill]

You might want to look at some of the other TESU BA degrees. They include the same 27 credits of free electives and so can be pretty flexible.

[Lewis.Yim]

Thank you dfrecore/davewill for your feedback, I will take a look at other BA degrees or options.
My original thought is to go for a BALS with two concentrations, Comp Sci and Math or another Science.
Does anyone have a template for a BA Comp Sci, a BA Math, a BA Biology, or another Science template?

Just like the BSBA, I want a double concentration to max out the use of the degree, GM sounds too generic.
I might go for a BA Double Major in Comp Sci & Math. "My company" actually is my family business.
It's just an expense I may or may not write off, it all depends on tax time and how to proceed with it.

[Lewis.Yim]

Update: After much thought on the topic, I'd like to continue with getting a BALS in Natural Science and Mathematics. When I used the "what if" option, I am very close to both the ASNSM Biology and ASMSN Comp Sci, it would be a better fit for a BALS Natural Science and Math concentration instead of a basic BALS with no concentration. This is after I finish my current BSBA Accounting & CIS, one degree at a time!

[Lewis.Yim]

Hello! Does anyone know of other providers for some or most of the courses required for these two certificates at TESU?
I am looking for UL Comp Science, Natural Science and Mathematics courses for my BALS NSM, is APU/AMU the best option?

BA in Liberal Studies: Natural Sciences and Mathematics concentration
https://www.tesu.edu/heavin/ba/Natural-S...matics.cfm

Students complete 30 credits in the area of study that includes at least 15 credits at the 300/400 level and no more than 6 credits at the 100 level.
This will include 18 credits of Natural Science/Mathematics courses and an additional 12 credits of Liberal Studies courses.

BA in Liberal Studies: Computer Science Concentration
https://www.tesu.edu/heavin/ba/Computer-Science1.cfm

Undergraduate Certificate in Computer Science (as per TESU, same courses as the BALS Comp Sci Concentration!)

Computer Programming Language 3
Computer Architecture 3
Data Structures 3

Students select nine (9) credits from the following:

Assembly Language Programming (3)
Artificial Intelligence (3)
Computer Programming Languages (3)
Database Design (3)
Numerical Analysis (3)
Operating Systems (3)
Simulation (3)

Undergraduate Certificate in Computer Information Systems

Introduction to Computer Information Systems
OR Computer Concepts and Applications 3
Management Information Systems 3
Programming Languages 6

Students select six (6) credits from the following

Computer Organization (3)
Computer Security and Information Theory (3)
Database Management (3)
Data Center Management (3)
Data Communications Systems (3)
Information Systems using Microcomputers(3)
System Analysis and Design (3)
Operating Systems (3)
Operations Research (3)

[davewill]

Known UL CS courses

CIS-301 Management Information Systems UL 3.0 DSST $80
CIS-344 Cybersecurity UL 3.0 DSST $90
CIS-320 System Analysis and Design UL 3.0 CSU CBE Global $250
CIS-351 Software Engineering (xfer equivalence not verified yet) UL 3.0 Saylor $25