Bachelor's in Accounting- online or in-school?

I am going back to school to get my bachelor's in Accounting, my last degree ended up being pointless so I am starting over. I am torn between earning a completely online degree or earning it on campus. I am a mother of two young children with a full-time job and would like to find the least stressful route.

In-school I would be attending Indiana University Southeast. With this I am not a fan of the transportation time, parking fee, lectures, time schedule. If I take one or two classes per semester at 3 credit hours per class, it will take an eternity to actually get my degree. That's only 2-4 classes per year.

I haven't decided on an online school yet because most seem to be the for-profits but I have looked into Indiana Wesleyan. The problem with this is cost. I would like to stay under $5200 per year and while online schools are accelerated due to the set-up of the class schedules, I don't think I can afford to take a new class every 5-8 weeks.

With the main factors being cost and time (I am in a dead-end job and would like to move on as soon as possible), does anyone have any suggestions? Please?[/FONT]

 

Welcome to Degree Info, Aubrav. My respect goes to you for taking good care of your children, working AND wanting to improve your situation by getting a degree. You obviously are not a lazy person! Just the taking care of the kids part will wear most people out. If you are wondering about the delay in seeing your posts: http://www.degreeinfo.com/distance-learning-discussions/35100-new-users-ask-where-did-my-posts-go.html

There are many good options out there that should fit into your price range. The first thing I would do is investigate how much is offered at your city college because many offer online programs. If you could find something like that, you could get half way there for a very low price.

As for 4 year schools, I know that Excelsior College offers what you are looking for and their prices are a bit lower Excelsior College | Program Details

Charter Oak State College also looks like it may have what you need: Search Results for 'bachelor's degree accounting' at Charter Oak State College

Liberty University, a great Christian university also offers an online bachelor's in accounting: Online Bachelors Accounting Degree | Distance Education | Liberty University Online This is my school of choice.

Western New Mexico University is also another consideration. Search around their website and you may find what you need. http://www.wnmu.edu

 

PS. Once you decide on a college, remind me to tell you the best way to get your textbooks for an extremely low price.

 

Peru State College (it's in Nebraska in the town Peru, not in Peru the country) offers a BSBA in accounting online:

Online Programs - Peru State College

Tuition is $190/credit with no other fees. That's probably tough to beat for value, dunno how good Peru is quality-wise tho.

 

A couple weeks ago I probably would have said to do it online, but recently I want to the USC (University of Southern California) website to check the MS Accounting program for a friend & they explicitly state that you cannot meet the program prerequisites with any credits earned online. I don't know if USC us just really picky or if this is a common theme among B&M accounting grad programs. I would say if your goal is to also get a graduate degree, make sure to check *now* to see if programs you're interested in will accept prerequisites met through online courses.

 

Chadron State in Nebraska has an excellent account program. The school is not very well known but it is a state B&M school. As an earlier posted noted Peru State is a low cost option with a CPA Track. Both appear to meet your specifications.

 

Yes, many of the B&M schools are hypocritical in their offering of online classes. They offer them, but they do not honor them. However, most employers, outside of academia, are fine with online degrees. If one plans to be a college professor or a few other select professions, online degrees should be avoided. Otherwise, they are fine.

 

Washington State University is another great school with an online accounting program.

 

Also, if you EVER plan to sit for the CPA Exam make sure of the educational requirements of the state in which you plan to sit for the exam. Some states require B&M in the classroom courses.

 

"We do not accept community college or online program accounting courses as fulfillment of our upper-division prerequisites. These must be taken at an accredited 4-year college or university, or a university extension program."

USC will take courses done online through a state school or reputable private B&M college/uni. They will not take credits earned from online only schools. The wording is a bit vague, I checked with a former co-worker who now works at USC's b-school (thanks g-chat).

 

I see now that they say "online program" courses. What's weird about the USC program is that the requirements for the summer applicants are far more relaxed than the fall applicants. Less prerequisites & the summer requirements only "suggest" to not use those online courses, whereas the fall requirements blatantly say they don't accept them. I'm not sure why there is such a discrepancy between summer and fall as I would think the program would be the same, no matter when the student decides to begin.

 

Wayne State College (NE): Public Accounting Concentration (150 CH program qualifies graduates to take the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination in Nebraska). The School of Business is IACBE accredited.

http://www.wsc.edu/schools/bst/bsec/academic_programs/public_accounting

Online tuition rate: $190 /CH

WSC | Admissions | Tuition & Fees

 

Wow, there's so many factors to consider, how do you even get them all straight? The online credits transferring, the CPA requirements, etc. I live in Indiana so say I start out with online classes and then decide I want to go to Indiana University Southeast and finish my degree there (hypothetically). Does that mean that there is a possibility that my online credits won't transfer to the university? What exactly is the CPA and how do I find the requirements for it?

My employer offers tuition reimbursement for up to $5250 per year, which would afford me tuition at IUS but I would only have time to take one class at a time. I just received the packet for IWU and it looks like each class after all books and fees is about $1200- $1500 per 5-8 week course. At $5250 I could only afford to take about 3 or 4 classes per year.

 

Maybe the USC MS Accounting program is different but there is an Emmy nominated alum from TESC, Kristina Sisco Romero, that graduated with a USC Masters in Professional Writing.

 

As long as the school you attend is regionally accredited (RA) which is the highest form, you should have little trouble with transfer credits. A few schools will not accept online transfer credits, but the vast majority will.

CPA is the title of Certified Public Accountant. Check here to find out about requirements: CPA Exam Info

 

I looked at the CPA requirements from the link sent and it doesn't say anything about online classes, it just says you have to obtain your degree from an accredited college and goes on about how many classes you have to take for each subject.

I received my packet in the mail from Indiana Wesleyan and it looks like after books and fees I will only be able to afford to take 4 classes per year. How does that affect financial aid? Is there any chance my previous credits will transfer more to one school than another?