TESU BS IT or other??

[hoffdeb]

Please advise.  I am helping my son earn a college degree.  I was familiar with TESU, but we've been delayed and looks like it's changed since my DD earned her degree a few years back.  So, he was moving in the direction of IT, but not 100% on board.  Where/what would be the best option (considering cost, ease, etc).  

Here are the courses he's earned so far:

ALEKS:  Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, Statistics, and Pre-Calculus

SL:  English Comp I, General Chem I, General Chem Lab, Information Technology Fundamentals, Intro to Criminal Justice, Personal Fitness and Wellness, US History II, Western Civilization II

SOPHIA:  Environmental Science, Intro to Ethics, Intro to Sociology, Macroecon, Microecon, Visual Comm, Intro to Business, Public Speaking, English Comp II, Developing Effective Teams

STUDY.COM:  currently enrolled in Fundamentals of Information Tech

THANKS!

[rachel83az]

It's impossible to do the BS IT entirely using SDC courses. Most, if not all, of the UL courses would need to be taken at TESU itself. I think that also applies for some of the LL AOS courses as well. I don't believe that there is a single BS degree at TESU that can be completed using only non-TESU credit. I think it's only BA and BSBA degrees that will work.

In addition, you need at least 30 credits from an RA source. The capstone and cornerstone count for 6 credits. The remaining 24 can come from any collegiate source, including UExcels, TECEPs, community college, TEL Learning, and so on.

[dfrecore]

TESU it out at this point.

Instead, I would look at WGU or Purdue Global's ExcelTrack - both competency-based programs.

If he doesn't want a CBE, then he could look at a different, similar-ish degree, like CompSci.

[allvia]

"So, he was moving in the direction of IT, but not 100% on board." - what does he have interest in? Does he have any IT experience currently?

[bjcheung77]

Take up to 90 credits from all your ACE sources, if you need more, take Sophia.org as they have a sale going on for $40/month (new/renewal).

---

And then go for the UMPI BLS with a MIS minor... that's the cheapest/easiest/fastest option for him.

[hoffdeb]

So grateful for all the replies! Crap. I have only had TESU experience. So, no good for that it looks. Well, he's not exactly sure where he wants to go as far as degrees (what and where). Looking at all his current completed courses, what's the best path? dfrecore mentioned WGU and Purdue Global. I am not familiar with anything but TESU. He has no IT experience. Only some interest and I have seen people talk about difficulty of courses. That may bump him as far as interest/ease at that point. Any words of wisdom are appreciated! Thanks.

[rachel83az]

UMPI would be fastest and cheapest. But it also requires writing papers. If he'd prefer tests, the only options would be either a BALS from EC or else redo some of his LL credits with RA credits and get a BA CS or a BSBA CIS from TESU.

[dfrecore]

So grateful for all the replies!  Crap.  I have only had TESU experience.  So, no good for that it looks.  Well, he's not exactly sure where he wants to go as far as degrees (what and where).  Looking at all his current completed courses, what's the best path?  dfrecore mentioned WGU and Purdue Global.  I am not familiar with anything but TESU.  He has no IT experience.  Only some interest and I have seen people talk about difficulty of courses.  That may bump him as far as interest/ease at that point.  Any words of wisdom are appreciated!  Thanks.

With no IT experience, I'm going to guess that he'll struggle with IT courses at a competency-based program.  So, I'd suggest taking courses at a CC, or else learning on his own (not necessarily for college credit) while doing GE's, and see if he even likes it at this point.

[allvia]

So grateful for all the replies!  Crap.  I have only had TESU experience.  So, no good for that it looks.  Well, he's not exactly sure where he wants to go as far as degrees (what and where).  Looking at all his current completed courses, what's the best path?  dfrecore mentioned WGU and Purdue Global.  I am not familiar with anything but TESU.  He has no IT experience.  Only some interest and I have seen people talk about difficulty of courses.  That may bump him as far as interest/ease at that point.  Any words of wisdom are appreciated!  Thanks.

With no IT experience, I'm going to guess that he'll struggle with IT courses at a competency-based program.  So, I'd suggest taking courses at a CC, or else learning on his own (not necessarily for college credit) while doing GE's, and see if he even likes it at this point.

I agree, IT is generally a hands on learned skill set.  Many CCs have good IT entry programs.  IT is not CS, and neither is 'easy - especially when the student isn't 100% onboard.  I'm not suggesting that he give up on earning a degree through the methods we talk about here, but you haven't actually stated what he is interested in doing/learning. Even if the degree is something you'd like him to earn, but he'd rather go off and build houses (for example) there are still degree paths that fit that (business, project management - again for example).

[thecontrarian]

I was on the fence between Tech and the Accounting/CPA track. I've got family and friends in both domains. The consistent advice I was given is to do Accounting/CPA. Tech will always want Accountants/CPA. But to go from Tech to Accounting/CPA is a bit harder. So that's what I ended up doing ... the Accounting/CPA track at TESU. It's gonna cost approx. $7.5K and take me a year. I'm doing about 16 credits AP, 40 credits CLEP, 9 credits Uexcel and the rest ACE (Sophia, Study). That's all gonna be followed by 2 terms at TESU (if all works out). After I get my degree (hopefully summer next yr) I plan to slam right onto the CPA exam which I hope to clear by end of 2022. Seems like a big challenge, but so far things working to plan.