Want to give up...

[BradF1979]

I'm fairly higher education ignorant, but years ago my employer offered paid tuition through TESC (TESU now). This was a reimbursement plan and I decided I'd take some courses as I had no higher education at all. It's now been almost 5 years and I have 18 credits. I've only been taking a single course at a time, sometimes taking lots of time off. No real excuses, but I've mostly felt that I haven't learned anything which I couldn't have learned through self-study (which is what I've done my whole life). Feeling like it's all a waste of time and company money. I enrolled as a BA in CS major so my classes have all been things I thought might be interesting. But 18 credits is a far cry from anywhere close to graduating and having a degree. At this point, I simply want to find a path to any degree so that the 'degree' checkmark at my employer can be checked and I can move higher than a supervisory role (I've been with this company 18 years). I've read through the forum and saw a recommendation to do a BA in Liberal Arts from TESU that had a spreadsheet plan with it. I'm wondering how any of the classes I've done fit (or don't fit into that plan)...


MAT-121 GS009 College Algebra A- 3 2016OCT

CIS-351 OL009 Software Engineering A 3 2015AUG

CIS-311 OL009 Database Management A- 3 2014SEP

COS-231 OL009 Assembly Language A 3 2013AUG

COS-241 OL010 Data Structures B+ 3 2013JAN

COS-116 OL010 C Programming A 3 2012JUL


I do not think I have enough discipline to study as much as possible for TECEPs without doing a guided study course. I think enrolling in Straighterline is probably my best bet at this point to try knockout the GA requirements then see where to go from there.

Does anyone have any thoughts or words of encouragement?

I work 50 or so hours a week and have 2 kids plus many other responsibilities so time is not as abundant as I would like.

[SolarKat]

You know, you have almost everything for an undergrad certificate in CS. Your C Programming fits the programming language requirement, you have the Data Structures requirement, and you have 3 other classes in CS (Software Eng, Assembly, DB Mgmt). All you should need is Computer Architecture. If you can stomach that last CS class, you'll have a CS credential.

Beyond the certificate, there are so many ways to plow through credits, even with limited time. I'll let the more experienced members share some thoughts on that. Personally, I found Study.com was a really good fit for me...combined with their Guardian Scholarship (18 credits in 3 months, free), I hammered out Gen Eds easily. ALEKS is another cheap one for quick(er) math credits.

Good luck - you can do this!!!

[bjcheung77]

Wow, you're right where you want to be (on this forum and asking q's), those should be a couple of courses that fit in the BSBA CIS Concentration!
My suggestion is exactly what was mentioned, ALEKS for your Math/Stats courses, and try to take all you can through Straighterline/Study.com.
Follow the degree plan available on the Beginners Guide and Wiki, review what's on the wiki page that has the BSBA CIS concentration by Sanantone.

[dfrecore]

The other good news here - you have 18cr of residency, which means that you don't have to pay the residency waiver when the time comes! That's a savings of $2500 out-of-state right there, which is amazing.

Are you still considering a BA in CS? Or are you wanting something else? Because I think you have 4 out of the 6 courses you need for the Area of Study in the BSBA in CIS. You would need to take Info Sys Analysis & Design at CSU-Global as a CBE, and then 1 additional UL course.

I have a spreadsheet that will show you this degree plan. It would be very easy to do most of these courses through Straighterline and Study.com. And if you take at least 2 courses through Study.com, that will get rid of the requirement that you take the Cornerstone course, saving you an additional $300.

[StoicJ]

Maybe you can break your goal down into smaller pieces, with benchmarks along the way. You're probably really close to some kind of IT-based certificates. What if you could take a couple more IT classes (that would xfer to your BS goal), and get a cert? Then you're that much closer to an associates. Take a few more classes and you're that much closer to your bachelors.

Maybe talk with someone at a local CC or JC, and see what it'd take for you to get an IT Certificate. Could probably take online, or go to classes two evenings a week. My JC has 3-hour Saturday classes.

Yes, you're a long way from a BS, but I bet the Cert is right there, and the AA is pretty close. In a couple of years you could have both, at which time there should be even more options for BS degrees.

[BradF1979]

The other good news here - you have 18cr of residency, which means that you don't have to pay the residency waiver when the time comes! That's a savings of $2500 out-of-state right there, which is amazing.

Are you still considering a BA in CS? Or are you wanting something else? Because I think you have 4 out of the 6 courses you need for the Area of Study in the BSBA in CIS. You would need to take Info Sys Analysis & Design at CSU-Global as a CBE, and then 1 additional UL course.

I have a spreadsheet that will show you this degree plan. It would be very easy to do most of these courses through Straighterline and Study.com. And if you take at least 2 courses through Study.com, that will get rid of the requirement that you take the Cornerstone course, saving you an additional $300.

Thanks you very much for the spreadsheet. I've saved it for reference to help me along the way...

You know, you have almost everything for an undergrad certificate in CS. Your C Programming fits the programming language requirement, you have the Data Structures requirement, and you have 3 other classes in CS (Software Eng, Assembly, DB Mgmt). All you should need is Computer Architecture. If you can stomach that last CS class, you'll have a CS credential.

Beyond the certificate, there are so many ways to plow through credits, even with limited time. I'll let the more experienced members share some thoughts on that. Personally, I found Study.com was a really good fit for me...combined with their Guardian Scholarship (18 credits in 3 months, free), I hammered out Gen Eds easily. ALEKS is another cheap one for quick(er) math credits.

Good luck - you can do this!!!

Can you tell me more about this certificate and how I could get it if I take this next class?

[davewill]

If you prefer self-study to online courses, we can definitely help you find alternatives you might enjoy better. Here's my BACS spreadsheet. (H/T to dfrecore) It will show you what courses for your BACS you can get by alternative credit and testing. Then you can limit your TESU coursework to what can only be gotten from a 4 year school. You can knock off all of your GenEds and some of your AOS without the tedium of the 12 week course format.

You can totally do this, you just need to adjust your plan.

[StoicJ]

I took Software App, Programming, Database, Networking, OS, and MAYBE something else at my JuCo. Used it towards my AABA, but after I graduated I realized I was just one course shy of a "Certificate- Core Information Technology". I think I can take something really easy like Personal Computer Hardware to finish out the cert. Thing is I'd just be taking the one class, and I think tuition, fees, and book would probably run me $500 and I just am not motivated for it.

[SolarKat]

Can you tell me more about this certificate and how I could get it if I take this next class?

An undergrad certificate just highlights a focus of study. If you eventually do a general degree, having the cert would show that you have some particular experience/expertise in addition to the general degree. In this case, if you were to go with a computer-flavored bachelors, the cert might not have lasting value...but until you do finish the degree, it would give you a little more street cred, credential-wise.

Here's a link to TESU's page about the Undergrad Certificate in Computer Science: Undergraduate Certificate in Computer Science at Thomas Edison State University

Sometimes it's nice just to have a "win". I think you'll find that you get some gratification from milestones like the certificate, on your way to the longer-term goal of bachelors. It's good for show & tell - it shows your boss that you're serious about upgrading your career while you finish the degree. I think you'll also start feeling better about this once you make a few definite steps...for example, submit that scholarship application. Go hit The Institutes free ethics course (2 credits, you'll need ethics for a TESU degree): https://www.theinstitutes.org/comet/lear...ethics.htm (choose the free one, NOT the $5 one). Go open your ACE account (it's free), you'll need this to "store credits" as you earn them from outside sources: https://www2.acenet.edu/credit/?fuseacti...s.getLogin. Go hit Sophia for the free 1 credit Developing Effective Teams class: https://www.sophia.org/online-courses/de...tive-teams. Then think about degree options - if you need math beyond College Algebra, scoot over to ALEKS and plop down $20 to start the monthly subscription for Pre-Calculus or Trigonometry, and start working through "the pie" (the chart of what topics you have covered, vs still need to cover). These are all little steps that will give you some fairly simple "wins" and help you feel motivated to dive into the deeper decisions of degree choice and path planning.

[StoicJ]

I agree with SolarKat. Get those "wins" and keep the ball rolling.