01-04-2024, 05:41 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-04-2024, 07:26 PM by fromthedepths.)
It's over....it's done! My degree was conferred yesterday as a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Organizational Leadership. Here's my deep dive into how I started and the classes I took to get here.
I'm in my 40's and from Texas. I was raised in a cult that didn't allow higher education, so I struggled to pursue the education that I wanted. After moving out, I was able to go to college but had to drop out as I couldn't afford it at the time and had to work. I became a self-taught developer and worked my way up. Fast forward to last year, and as I came back to this board to spike some curiosity, I saw the paths that so many had taken. In January of this year, I signed up for Sophia and started taking classes. By the end of March, I had accumulated over 90 hours of credits between Sophia, Google IT certificates, and TEL learning (for RA credit). During this time, I submitted my transcripts to Pierpont for a BOG AAS (issued in May) and then took the advice from the board to sign up for Texas A&M Commerce's Organizational Leadership degree. I was able to transfer in 81 credits, as they require a Texas Government class (I'll get to that in a bit), as well as 2 additional upper-level classes, for a total of 36 hours that I needed for the degree. The following is a breakdown of the classes I took:
After you finish the first two courses at the beginning of each term, you can accelerate to the next course. You can do this until the end of the 5th week in a 7-week term.
1st term:
- Texas Government and Politics: This class is a real pain. It's not because of the quality of the content, but more so the format of the quizzes, as they required short, essay-style responses while being given only 75 minutes to complete. There were times when I finished with seconds to spare. The final project is a 1,200 word essay that was easy. Another pain point was the amount of time it took for my grades to come back, but that was due to the professor needing to take a leave of absence. This was by far the hardest class to take, albeit not by content but due to format.
- Talent Leadership in Human Resources: This is the first upper level class I choose out of two that are required along with the 10 ORGL classes. Well formatted class that took me a couple of days to complete. There were three quizzes and one final quiz at the end. The professor was quick to respond and grade.
- Leading Innovation: This was the second UL class I chose. 3 post tests and creating a business plan out of the provided template. This class took about 2 days to complete, as the business plan is pretty straight forward.
- Foundations of Organizational Leadership: A fairly straight forward class with mini quizzes. The final project is filling out a personal leadership strategy template and making a video on leadership styles. The class should only take a few days to complete.
- Organizational Ethics: Six quizzes comprised of multiple choice and short sentence answers. The culminating project is a 6-8 page case study on a provided subject. The class took about 4 days to complete, with great feedback from the professor.
- Organizational Communication: This class was well formatted to be completed quickly. One post test, filling out a template as part of the culminating project. The class only took a few days to complete.
2nd term:
- Data Driven Decision Making: This was a great class as it fell in line with my background. There are 6 post tests which aren't difficult, and a culminating project that is a workbook that consists of creating a spreadsheet with pivot tables and a PowerPoint slide deck. The only pain point with the final project is having to add audio to the deck, which is a little more difficult to do with Google Slides.
- Organizational Behavior: 4 short module essays and a two-step culminating project. The first part is completing a mini case study and a 3-4 page synthesis paper. Easy class that shouldn't take more than 3-4 days.
- Leadership Theory: I had Dr. Vaughn for this class, and he is an AMAZING professor, giving great feedback. No quizzes, but a SWOT analysis that you fill in. The class only took a couple of days.
- Leading Diverse and Inclusive Teams: Another class with Dr. Vaughn. No quizzes, but a two part project that consists of a PowerPoint project and a video assignment.
- Leading Change: One post test and a culminating project that consists of writing a comprehensive change memo. The rubric is easy to follow.
- Capstone I: This is the harder of the two capstone classes. The first unit involves a 15 min video presentation as an introduction to the professor. Units 2 and 3 are each 3-4 page essays on leadership traits and theories. Unit 4 is a 10-12 page case study essay on real life leadership situations in one of two companies, as well as interviewing two leaders from different companies and adding a comparative analysis. Give yourself at least a week to finish, as the professor was quick to grade and provide feedback. Expect to get the unit 4 paper returned to you with feedback to get the best score possible.
- Capstone II: Much easier than the last class. The first assignment is a 10-12 page strategic case analysis from one of the interviewee organizations from Capstone I. The second assignment is a video presentation reflecting on what you've learned from the previous courses and mapping it to your own leadership journey. The last assignment is a mock interview (4 questions) along with creating a resume, cover letter, and reference letter. I uploaded my current resume and made a mock cover letter. Again, follow the rubric, and you'll be fine.
To the moderators and everyone who helped guide me in this direction, I want to say thank you. I will pay it forward and help the next person who decides to go down the rabbit hole of higher education.
I'm in my 40's and from Texas. I was raised in a cult that didn't allow higher education, so I struggled to pursue the education that I wanted. After moving out, I was able to go to college but had to drop out as I couldn't afford it at the time and had to work. I became a self-taught developer and worked my way up. Fast forward to last year, and as I came back to this board to spike some curiosity, I saw the paths that so many had taken. In January of this year, I signed up for Sophia and started taking classes. By the end of March, I had accumulated over 90 hours of credits between Sophia, Google IT certificates, and TEL learning (for RA credit). During this time, I submitted my transcripts to Pierpont for a BOG AAS (issued in May) and then took the advice from the board to sign up for Texas A&M Commerce's Organizational Leadership degree. I was able to transfer in 81 credits, as they require a Texas Government class (I'll get to that in a bit), as well as 2 additional upper-level classes, for a total of 36 hours that I needed for the degree. The following is a breakdown of the classes I took:
After you finish the first two courses at the beginning of each term, you can accelerate to the next course. You can do this until the end of the 5th week in a 7-week term.
1st term:
- Texas Government and Politics: This class is a real pain. It's not because of the quality of the content, but more so the format of the quizzes, as they required short, essay-style responses while being given only 75 minutes to complete. There were times when I finished with seconds to spare. The final project is a 1,200 word essay that was easy. Another pain point was the amount of time it took for my grades to come back, but that was due to the professor needing to take a leave of absence. This was by far the hardest class to take, albeit not by content but due to format.
- Talent Leadership in Human Resources: This is the first upper level class I choose out of two that are required along with the 10 ORGL classes. Well formatted class that took me a couple of days to complete. There were three quizzes and one final quiz at the end. The professor was quick to respond and grade.
- Leading Innovation: This was the second UL class I chose. 3 post tests and creating a business plan out of the provided template. This class took about 2 days to complete, as the business plan is pretty straight forward.
- Foundations of Organizational Leadership: A fairly straight forward class with mini quizzes. The final project is filling out a personal leadership strategy template and making a video on leadership styles. The class should only take a few days to complete.
- Organizational Ethics: Six quizzes comprised of multiple choice and short sentence answers. The culminating project is a 6-8 page case study on a provided subject. The class took about 4 days to complete, with great feedback from the professor.
- Organizational Communication: This class was well formatted to be completed quickly. One post test, filling out a template as part of the culminating project. The class only took a few days to complete.
2nd term:
- Data Driven Decision Making: This was a great class as it fell in line with my background. There are 6 post tests which aren't difficult, and a culminating project that is a workbook that consists of creating a spreadsheet with pivot tables and a PowerPoint slide deck. The only pain point with the final project is having to add audio to the deck, which is a little more difficult to do with Google Slides.
- Organizational Behavior: 4 short module essays and a two-step culminating project. The first part is completing a mini case study and a 3-4 page synthesis paper. Easy class that shouldn't take more than 3-4 days.
- Leadership Theory: I had Dr. Vaughn for this class, and he is an AMAZING professor, giving great feedback. No quizzes, but a SWOT analysis that you fill in. The class only took a couple of days.
- Leading Diverse and Inclusive Teams: Another class with Dr. Vaughn. No quizzes, but a two part project that consists of a PowerPoint project and a video assignment.
- Leading Change: One post test and a culminating project that consists of writing a comprehensive change memo. The rubric is easy to follow.
- Capstone I: This is the harder of the two capstone classes. The first unit involves a 15 min video presentation as an introduction to the professor. Units 2 and 3 are each 3-4 page essays on leadership traits and theories. Unit 4 is a 10-12 page case study essay on real life leadership situations in one of two companies, as well as interviewing two leaders from different companies and adding a comparative analysis. Give yourself at least a week to finish, as the professor was quick to grade and provide feedback. Expect to get the unit 4 paper returned to you with feedback to get the best score possible.
- Capstone II: Much easier than the last class. The first assignment is a 10-12 page strategic case analysis from one of the interviewee organizations from Capstone I. The second assignment is a video presentation reflecting on what you've learned from the previous courses and mapping it to your own leadership journey. The last assignment is a mock interview (4 questions) along with creating a resume, cover letter, and reference letter. I uploaded my current resume and made a mock cover letter. Again, follow the rubric, and you'll be fine.
To the moderators and everyone who helped guide me in this direction, I want to say thank you. I will pay it forward and help the next person who decides to go down the rabbit hole of higher education.
---
Completed:
Purdue Global - Masters in Cybersecurity
TAMUC - BAAS Organizational Leadership
Pierpont - AAS BOG
Completed:
Purdue Global - Masters in Cybersecurity
TAMUC - BAAS Organizational Leadership
Pierpont - AAS BOG
![[-]](https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/images/collapse.png)
![[Image: e7P9EJ4.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/e7P9EJ4.jpeg)
