+- Online Degrees and CLEP and DSST Exam Prep Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb)
+-- Forum: Main Category (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Forum-Main-Category)
+--- Forum: General Education-Related Discussion (https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Forum-General-Education-Related-Discussion)
+--- Thread: Introduction and Some Questions (long) (/Thread-Introduction-and-Some-Questions-long)
Pages:
1
2
Introduction and Some Questions (long) - owner66 - 12-16-2014
Hi All,
I have been lurking for the past few days and I have some questions and need some help with a plan.
I am currently in general IT with approx 17 years experience as a lead engineer / sales engineer / mentor at a small company and am not getting any younger
. I say general IT meaning routing, switching, MCSE, Hyper-V, cisco ASA, VOIP, wireless, firewalls, and some experience with PHP/mysql. Most of the training I receive is "self-study/go to Promertric and take the test" training. I earn a pretty good living at what I do, but as I move closer to retirement I believe I would like to get into management. I believe that as a manager I will not have to keep up as much with the younger crowd and will be able to concentrate more on, well, managing. I have been asking around at some of our larger clients and the consensus is that I will have a much better chance with a degree.SO, I searched for online degrees and came up with the Big 3 and this forum. I have spent the last few days trying to put together a degree plan for the Excelsior BSBA since I believed, based on their advertising, I could easily navigate the site, gather all of the required information, and have test out plan that day. I went through the dated 4weeks site and 123collegedegree. This was a VERY frustrating experience. While I was assembling the plan, I was searching on this site and came to realize that TESC seems to be the more popular school, with tons of great input.
Regarding credits, I have my transcript from a CC I attended in 84 (yes, last century). I have History 101 and Calculus I. Interesting story on Calculus. I took it in highschool at the CC in 12th grade. I passed with a C+. I then had to delay entering CC after graduation so I was not sure I was fresh enough on Calculus I so I took it again and due to family issues, I failed it with an incomplete. Not sure if those credits will work or not, I recently helped my daughter pretty heavily in Algebra so I don't think it would be a huge deal to re-take. On the professional cert side, my MCSE is from 2000, so I doubt that is useful, but I would like to take as many technical electives as possible.
I need to get a plan together for TESC and information on what order to do things. I believe I would like to do BSBA General Management or BSBA CIS. Looking at the degree plans, they seem to be very similar up until part II B. Area of study. I am not interested in making a large financial commitment up front. I do not know how long this will take but I am shooting under 2 years for sure.
I read through the post http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-thomas-edison-charter-oak-specific/22610-need-hire-degree-plan-expert-bs.html
I am looking for similar information except I don't have the existing credits.
I would like to start taking CLEP/DSST/? tests using self-study, as well as look at getting English out of they way. Do I just start taking tests, or do I apply at TESC? About how many classes would I have to take through TESC, I read I have to have around 24 hours because I am out of state?
thanks for your help,
ds
Introduction and Some Questions (long) - UptonSinclair - 12-16-2014
I finished a BSBA-CIS tonight. The hardest part of the CIS is getting all of the technical courses. I ended up taking System Analysis and Design and Software Engineering at TESC, but most of the technical courses I took at KCTCS. I was more concerned about getting through my degree quickly than I was worried about cost. KCTCS has a self paced option for computer technology courses so someone familiar with the material can finish a course in a couple of weeks. They typically run $600 - $700 for a 3 credit course with all materials provided. They are also very good about accepting CLEP, DSST, Aleks, Straighterline, and other ACE evaluated credits if one were to pursue an Associates degree with them.
If you pm me, I will send you a copy of my completed degree audit from TESC. I haven't got around to putting up a plan on the wiki yet. My plan used at least one of my courses from the Air Force and would have to be adapted.
There are some cheap alternatives for computer courses, but I wanted to have more graded credits so I used KCTCS.
Introduction and Some Questions (long) - ajs1976 - 12-16-2014
@ ower66,
What certs do you have? My CompTIA and Microsoft exams give me 35 credits at COSC and some were upper level. MCSE Win 2000 exams (210, 215, 216, 217, 219) were 11 credits. they do cap how many can go to the concentration, but it may help you knock out a bunch of free electives.
Introduction and Some Questions (long) - owner66 - 12-16-2014
ajs1976 Wrote:@ ower66,
What certs do you have? My CompTIA and Microsoft exams give me 35 credits at COSC and some were upper level. MCSE Win 2000 exams (210, 215, 216, 217, 219) were 11 credits. they do cap how many can go to the concentration, but it may help you knock out a bunch of free electives.
Well, my MCSE is NT4.0, and yes, I was excited when Windows 95 came out
. I have some other older ones for Citrix, as well as some current stuff for Enterprise NVR systems (Milestone systems) and Axis cameras and Ruckus. Employer does offer paying for cert exams and materials for Microsoft, I am looking into getting some of those and interested to find out how they work with TESC.I looked at ACE site ACE CREDIT | The National Guide to College Credit for Workforce Training looks like it's from Server 2003 and up.
Introduction and Some Questions (long) - ajs1976 - 12-17-2014
i'm not sure about the policy for TESC, but at COSC they evaluate exams for ACE credit based on when they were taken. MCSE NT 4.0 core exams were 9 credits, Exchange 5.5 was 1 credit and TCP/IP counted as 2 UL in my concentration. I don't think Citrix exams were ever evaluated by ACE, so I didn't bother submitting mine.
Introduction and Some Questions (long) - Cory - 12-17-2014
owner66 Wrote:I would like to start taking CLEP/DSST/? tests using self-study, as well as look at getting English out of they way. Do I just start taking tests, or do I apply at TESC? About how many classes would I have to take through TESC, I read I have to have around 24 hours because I am out of state?
You may start taking tests first. The plans posted here are fairly well vetted and will certainly get you close. No hurry on application / enrollment, but you don't get the advisement services without them. Since you have some very old CC credits, it may be worth getting an evaluation to see what they do with your old credit.
I believe TECEP tests count as credits for in state. Saves you serious money and you don't have to do the $$$ classes then.
Introduction and Some Questions (long) - owner66 - 12-17-2014
Strike out on the MCSE Certs. Got my transcript from Microsoft with test numbers etc. Two of the certs were still listed on the ACE site.
Called ACE, in order to get credit I would have had to have taken the course through an approved institution.
I took these self-study and tested through Prometric, so it's a no-go.
Introduction and Some Questions (long) - KayV - 12-17-2014
I think COSC and Excelsior are both far more generous with giving credits for IT exams than TESC is. You might try applying to all three schools to see who gives you the most credits. On the other hand, the TESC BSBA has a lot going for it in terms of cost and lack of Capstone class (TECEP or Penn Foster Strategic Management can fulfill that requirement).
Introduction and Some Questions (long) - rebel100 - 12-17-2014
Do you even need the degree to be in CS? The general management track is much more straightforward and test friendly.
Introduction and Some Questions (long) - owner66 - 12-17-2014
KayV Wrote:I think COSC and Excelsior are both far more generous with giving credits for IT exams than TESC is. You might try applying to all three schools to see who gives you the most credits. On the other hand, the TESC BSBA has a lot going for it in terms of cost and lack of Capstone class (TECEP or Penn Foster Strategic Management can fulfill that requirement).
I appreciate the input. I am pretty much set on the TECEP BSBA. I'm not heartbroken about the IT certs, it was in 99 that I took the tests so I was not counting too heavily on them.