Hi, I am about to graduate with an AA degree from WGU in three months and am starting to scope out my next steps. My main goal is get a BS in CS while working full time, so hopefully I can find a decent online program. I currently have 8 years experience in the computer field as a programmer, including working for Microsoft, so my main goal is to find a CS degree that offers things that I would not learn on the job. I am avoiding any IT related classes or degrees. I was very excited about the CS degree offered from www.accis.com but a google groups search revealed that they had some accredition issues. This has me worried, since I do not want to invest in a useless or questionable degree. However, the posts were a few years old so maybe ACCIS got off to a rocky start? Here is a list of their current accrediation -> http://www.accis.edu/aboutaccis/accreditation.asp Here is their CS degree classes. Please note I am very excited about these classes as these are the exact kind I am looking to take (well the CS prefixed ones). http://www.accis.edu/prospective/degreeprograms/computerscience/bscs/courses.asp Two factors made me weary. The first was the admissions person I spoke too said their CS degree was not math heavy. While I am sure some people are glad to hear that it raises a bit of a red flag with me. The second factor was they are not approved for FASA goverment loans. The lady said they did not have anyone to fill out the paperwork, which seemed odd. From this website some people suggested Troy State College as a potential replacement. However, the Troy State College website is not put together overly well (don't judge a book by its cover and all that, but if a school can't put together a decent website what kind of education do they offer) and the course listings included COBOL which makes me want to run out the first door. C,C++ and Assembly I whole heartedly agree with but if a CS degree is still mired in COBOL in todays world... So I have two basic questions : Does ACCIS look like a valid choice in todays world? If not what other Online BS in CS colleges are recommended?
I don't know much about ACCIS so I can't speak to the quality of their courses or the content there of but I will comment briefly on their accreditation. ACCIS is nationally accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council which is federally recognized by the UD Department of Education. However, you might find that you do not get as much utility out of a DETC degree as you'd like. The gold standard for accreditation in the united states is regional accreditation. You can find a list of the regional accreditors here: http://www.degreeinfo.com/regional.html While a DETC degree might be every bit as challenging or perhaps even more so than a regionally accredited program you may find that with a DETC degree you will have trouble applying for teaching jobs, or moving on to graduate study. The credits generally do not transfer well (though in some cases they can) and the degree might not be as well received by future employers as would a regionally accredited program. If by WGU you mean Western Governors' University then your associate degree is regionally accredited and I would urge you to at least look into the possibility of continuing your study at a regionally accredited institution. You might find that programs offered by Excelsior University, Charter Oak State College, or Thomas Edison State University are similar to WGU and might meet your requirements. I believe both Excelsior and Thomas Edison offer the ability to complete a true CS degree.
I would also like to add a few points: 1) I don't believe any DETC school, even though it is recognized by the US Department of Education, is able to provide federal loans to students (FAFSA). It's not that they can't fill out the paper work. 2) I don't see anything wrong with learning COBOL. You will be learning the basics and that can only help you in the future. By personal example, my uncle got his bachelor's in computers from Devry a few years ago and his first job was using COBOL (it gets better). He landed a job a few years ago with the State of Alabama making 130k per year as a project manager converting old COBOL systems into more modern systems. I agree with Oherra, there are many inexpensive RA alternatives that you should consider first. I got a BBA from Baker College online and found it to be inexpensive compared to other private online entities. They also have a bachelor's in Computer Sciene and Computer Information Systems. Good Luck!
kenoyer130, You didn't say where you live nor is your account setup with a location so there is no way to know if this is a cost-effective suggestion. However, there can be very little doubt that the CS degree completion program at Florida State University should be at the top of your list if your main criteria is rigor and depth. For in-state students the tuition is about $85/semester hour and for out of state its about $400/semester hour. The undergraduate program in Computer Science is accredited by the Computer Science Accreditation Commission (CSAC) of the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council on Post secondary Accreditation (COPA) and the United States Department of Education and it follows very closely (if not exactly) the cirriculum outlined by the ACM and ABET. In addition to the calculus classes that you should have completed (two semesters) in your AS, you will also have to complete a course in Statistics, a course in Probability (there is a special 5 credit course that will count for both) and two courses in Discrete Math. This program is not math light like you will find so many other less rigorous programs are. If you are looking for the a challenge and don't want to short cut your CS education then FSU would be a very good choice. You can find more information about the program here: http://online.fsu.edu/student/degree/explore/program/undergr/
Thanks for the posts! Strangely enough I live in Florida next to FSU, but its about an hours drive. Would I be able to take most of my classes online and take tests or what not on campus? Any idea if they accept FAFSA loans? Lol too many questions. I'll just call them and ask. FYI I sent an e-mail to WGU outlining the issues I found with ACCIS since they list it as a college that takes transfers.
I called FSU and the Online program had several issues that will probally prevent me from attending -> The program requires two years of a foriegn language before you can attend. I am horrible at foriegn languages and am not too clear why this is needed for a CS degree. Please note I am not trying to start a pointless flame war on if two years of a foriegn language is good/bad, its just not my thing. I would even be willing to take the foriegn language classes at the same time as I am taking the CS classes, but I really want to start my classes in June/September. The scheduling is very inflexible and follows a traditional fall admittance. With the extra math classes I would need to gain admittance (no argument here that these are needed) I would not be ready by fall and would have to postpone my education a year. Thanks for the great suggestion though!
Unless they've changed their admissions policies, you can apply for admission to start the program while you are concurrently fulfilling course requirements elsewhere. For instance, when I started I needed to finish my foreign language and chemistry which I took at my local Junior college and at the same time I was completing the CS courses. Also, if I'm not mistaken, sign language counts as a foreign language and while I may be totally mistaken, this might be easier for some people to learn than a spoken language. If you get your application in I don't see why you could start in the Fall. I wouldn't let foreign language scare you away. Part of the challenge of education is to push yourself into areas where you don't think you are very good. Just some thoughts... Good luck in your search.
It's hard to imagine that begining ASL is easier than beginning Spanish. Both require memorization of basic words (colors, numbers, food, clothing, etc.). Having taken both (but being much better in ASL because I live with a native speaker), I've found not much difference. As to whether it will count as a foreign language, in most schools it does now. Tom Nixon
Hi Kenoyer, Regis University (first tier regional master level school - US News) has a BS CIS degree that looks to be somewhere between an IT degree and a true computer science degree. Link I believe the cost is around $300 per semester credit, and they accept up to 60 (or sometimes more, depending on the overall academic quality) of CLEP/DSST credits. CSU-Chico has a true BSCS degree completion program that can be done at a distance. Link The cost is $1675 for each 3 credit class. You would probably need to take some of the courses through other institutions. You might also run into problems with your WGU credits, depending on how you earned them (CLEP,Nat'l Accred. school, et cetera.) Good luck, Tony
Sign Language does count as a language. My wife was looking at finishing her BS at UNF and the state schools accept sign language. UNF, and I believe allFlorida State schools, require 6 credits in language.
In addition to the reduced utility of DETC degrees, ACCIS in particular has a very large black mark beside their name that will take a very, very long time to go away. ACCIS is formerly AICS, and is one of several schools owned by Lloyd Clayton. Clayton's other schools are very unwonderful (Chadwick U., Clayton College of Natural Health), and AICS itself had a long history of defrauding its prospective students by fraudulently advertising accreditation from the World Association (operated out of a secretarial service in Nevada) without mentioning that the World Association was unrecognized and that the accreditation was worthless. DETC violated its own written policies by granting accreditation to AICS in spite of this flagrant violation of ethical standards, and has never provided any explanation for its decision (I'm guessing they wanted the large annual fees that ACCIS pays.) Additionally, AICS' president, when asked about the World Association's unsavory history, admitted that continuing to use the fake accreditor was a "marketing decision", thereby admitting that AICS was knowingly attempting to defraud its prospective students. It is likely that AICS changed it's name to ACCIS in an attempt to distance itself from its fraudulent past. In my book, any institution that, right up to the day it receives DETC accreditation, is willing to knowingly defraud its potential students is not a school that I wish to give any money to or support in any way. When you add that to the fact that there are a bazillion other regionally accredited programs, most less expensive than ACCIS, there's very little justifiable reason to consider ACCIS in my book.
FSU's computer science program is also accredited by ABET. Here is the link: www.abet.org Learning COBOL would be helpful if you wanted to make programs for business applications.
