Pierpont BOG AAS questions

[Staples]

I planned originally to attend Purdue Global but may have to put that on hold for now, but in the meantime, I'm seriously considering going for the Associates degree offered by Pierpont.  It looks like the Pierpont Associates with an AE on Information Systems would be my best choice, what additional Sophia courses would you recommend I take?  Thanks for any suggestions!

Courses I've taken so far:

Drexel U 1991
R101 Composition 3.00 A
R102 Read & Research 3.00 B
E030 Graphical Comm 2.00 C
M720 Programming Lang 3.00 B
N614 Intro to Pascal 3.00 B

Temple U 1992
C055 Math 3.00 B

Community College 1993
DP103 Micro Application 3.00 A
DP104 Micro Oper Sys 3.00 B
DP106 Intro Bus Prog 4.00 A
DP125 Intro Windows Dtp 3.00 A

Sophia 2021
Environmental Science 3.0
Visual Communication 3.0
Intro to Psychology 3.0
Intro to IT 3.0
College Algebra 3.0

Certifications
CompTIA A+ 2001
Coursera Google IT Support 2021
CompTIA CySA+ 2022

[rachel83az]

It looks like you've got at least 3 credits in Communications, 6 in math and/or science, 3 in social science, and you should have at least 3 in "computer literacy". I think you've already got more than 60 credits, too, so you should be good there. You should have at least 15 credits that count toward Info Systems, too. But, just in case, I would suggest Sophia's Intro to Web Development if you still have a subscription. You should be able to complete that in just a few hours. Same thing with IT Career Exploration.

If you don't have a current Sophia subscription, you could also sign up for The American Dream Academy and either do another Google Cert or two or the IBM Cybersecurity cert for free: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera

Again, I don't think these things are strictly necessary to be able to get the Pierpont degree, but they could look good on the Pierpont transcript.

[allvia]

It looks like you've got at least 3 credits in Communications, 6 in math and/or science, 3 in social science, and you should have at least 3 in "computer literacy". I think you've already got more than 60 credits, too, so you should be good there. You should have at least 15 credits that count toward Info Systems, too. But, just in case, I would suggest Sophia's Intro to Web Development if you still have a subscription. You should be able to complete that in just a few hours. Same thing with IT Career Exploration.

If you don't have a current Sophia subscription, you could also sign up for The American Dream Academy and either do another Google Cert or two or the IBM Cybersecurity cert for free: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/Coursera

Again, I don't think these things are strictly necessary to be able to get the Pierpont degree, but they could look good on the Pierpont transcript.

I agree with rachel83az on getting as many tech credits added to the Pierpont degree upfront.  In case your return to Purdue doesn't work out but you decide you do need 'a bachelor' and prefer one in technology you could go the UMPI BAS-MIS route - https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...PI-BAS-MIS (recent reports is that they are looking for 40 technical credits so see which certs give you the most bang for the buck at Pierpont, there is a breakdown of this on the wiki). You could then look move forward with the Cybersecurity at the master level when time/money allowed - or other certification paths that are available in that field.

[rachel83az]

That's a good point. If there is any chance that you might want to go for the UMPI BAS-MIS route, you need the 40 technical credits. Between Google, Sophia, and your previous CC credits, I think you have about 30 credits? Adding the IBM Cybersecurity cert and/or either of the two remaining Google technical certificates ought to push you to 40.

[dfrecore]

I show that you have the requirements met, and the Area of Emphasis - but that you only have 57cr.

I know that the Google IT Prof cert is worth 12cr of ACE, but I don't see where the CompTIA certs are worth ACE credit (I see Skillsoft offering credit, but that's for the course and not for the cert). If you can show where either CompTIA certs is worth at least 3cr in the ACE database (check dates), then you should be fine. Otherwise, you need 1 more course.

[bjcheung77]

Recommendation is to get more "technical" credits you're interested in under your belt and on ACE such as using Coursera, Google, MS, IBM as these lead to "certs" as well. I think it's a good idea to have it on your ACE and when you transfer them in, it'll be on your Peirpont and/or UMPI transcripts. Even though some may not transfer and be part of your degree program, it'll show up in the "other" field below the line, this illustrates you've taken the courses, it's just not part of that particular degree requirement.

[LevelUP]

There is a new PUG Cybersecurity degree plan that uses the certs that you already have. If you follow the plan exactly, then you will only have 7 courses + the capstone to do at PUG.

https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/PU...egree_Plan

[Staples]

Wow the Cybersecurity degree at PUG looks quite doable now, thanks for that!  And thanks everyone for the suggestions, I'm already halfway through completing the IBM Cybersecurity cert and probably go for the PHP cert at W3Schools next and while I'm at it, try to knock out a Discrete Math course at SDC as well.   I've also filled out the application for the Pierpont Associates but haven't sent in any transcripts yet.

[rachel83az]

Please let us know how Pierpont accepts the IBM Cybersecurity cert, plus how difficult you think the cert is!

[bjcheung77]

Oh wow, I just noticed that too from PUG, it seems like a better option than UMPI BAS-MIS. Having said that, you may want to see what courses are required for both and see which one you're closer to finishing. I would "gauge" the cost, ease, speed to finish and make a final decision based on which one would provide you a better value/ROI. After LevelUP mentioned PUG, I think you should swing that route... but have UMPI BAS-MIS as a backup or something.