Help! IT person never been to college!!

Help! I'm so confused about enrolling in college! I live in Florida and I've been working in the IT field for over 8 years and now I work for an employer who will pay for tuition,books, and fees and I don't know where to start. I'm looking to eventually get a BS in Information Technology. It has to be an entirely online college and of course my employer has rules that it must be accredited and in the area of Business or Science. If it's too expensive, I end up paying for much of it myself anyway. Any tuition my employer reimburses me after $5500 in one calendar year, I have to pay 43% of it back in taxes!! I tried University of Phoenix online and they told me I need an AA in Business first and they wanted to enroll me in their "sister" school, Western International Univ...the cost for the first two classes was $1500! It was close to $300 a credit!! It's so hard to get details online from colleges without filling out a form including email and phone numbers so they can start harassing you and brainwashing you into why you should join their college!
It doesn't help that I've never been to college so I don't understand the terms or enrollment requirements. Do I have to get an AA separate or are there schools that will combine AA with BS degrees? Does an AS degree transfer to a BS like an AA would? Does anyone know if Brevard Community College offers completely online degrees? I can't find out anything on their web page!! I heard they were only around $30 a credit and for an AA that's just fine with me! HELP!!!

 

Hi ddekarski

Welcome to Degreeinfo. Neither an AA nor an AS degree is required to work towards a BS degree. How much of an Associate's degree applies to a Bachelor's degree depends on what credits make up the Associate's and where you are working on the Bachelors degree.

Brevard does offer online classes and Associate's degrees.

http://www.brevard.cc.fl.us/index.php?subnavframe=/know_bcc/campus_locations/virtual/sub_nav.cfm&mainframe=/know_bcc/campus_locations/virtual/index.html

http://www.brevard.cc.fl.us/index.php?subnavframe=/know_bcc/campus_locations/virtual/sub_nav.cfm&mainframe=/know_bcc/campus_locations/virtual/index.html

Many schools offer Bachelor's degrees in IT. My personal favorite is U. of Mass. Lowell.

http://www.umassonline.net/

I would also strongly suggest considering an in-state school even if it is by DL. An in-state school both seems more appealing to potential employers and is close if you have any problems to resolve.

Hopefully this is helpful. Good luck.

 

Welcome to the board - I suggest you start by reading the articles at http://www.degreeinfo.com/articles.html, and then some of the threads on this forum as people have posted various options for a BS in IT (or something similar).

Have you done a search?

Good luck in your quest...

Cheers,
Mark

 

My 2 cents

No, you do not need a AS to start a BS degree.
You can start from that point only if you want.
I would stay away from programs like AIU and University of Phoenix. I view those programs as money wasters because you can get the same education from somewhere else for less money. I am in IT myself and have been for the last 6 years. I am currently 26 and I am also currently finishing up my degree by using the distance learning option with a degree from online. If you already have alot of credits to apply towards a degree, you may want to consider Excelisor, COSC, or TESC.

www.excelsior.edu
www.cosc.edu
www.tesc.edu

If you are starting from scratch with no credits or you rather stick to a traditional school that offers degrees online but also have the oncampus options. There are these are some schools

http://www.rsuonline.edu/
www.tsulearn.net
http://www.lakeland.edu/Adult/Online/Home.asp
http://www.limestonevirtualcampus.net/
http://ecampus.uwyo.edu/


For FL only school options visit these

http://www.distancelearn.org/
http://www.floridavirtualcampus.org/

But there are many many others, if you research the internet you will find them. And some traditional schools are pretty cheap too even if you are out of state.

If you are looking to take classes or obtain a degree from your homestate FL view these websites to find out what schools offer distance learning classes and degrees

http://www.electroniccampus.org/student/scripts/search/quickpsearch.asp?Term=16&TermName=Fall+2004

http://www.electroniccampus.org/student/scripts/termchoice/ptermchoice.asp

My last piece of advice stay away from unaccredit schools, they are a wasteof time, money, and effort in my opinion. Make sure whatever school you choose it is accredited.

Good Luck

 

My subjective view:

-Brevard Community College looks like a good school in which to start your degree.

-The Brevard website is less than fully informative.

From the website:

Online programs

I can't link to the page so look for Virtual Campus

So, yes, you can complete an AA or AS degree online.

What degrees you can can complete is another matter. They have a listing of online courses you can compare to their standard degree requirements.

Suggestions:

Get the Brevard printed catalog.

Call them or visit with remaining questions.

Determine which degree programs transfer completely or nearly so to four-year programs at other schools.

Get the Bears' Guide. I consider that to be not only an excellent resource for distance learning but an excellent resource for demystifying the college experience.

 

Have a look at

http://www.itmasters.com.au/

and/or

http://www.sci.usq.edu.au/ (my alma mater)

Good luck
Friedrich

 

I've have a friend how was in the same situation as you. He has 10+ years working in IT, but never had a degree.

He was recently hired to work at a large university, and a condition of his employment is that he would have to obtain a BS or BA. It doesn't even have to be related to IT, he just has to have a degree. He started with IT classes, but soon realized (as you might as well) he knew more and had more practical experience than the instructors, so he decided to get a BA in History. He also found that to be the easiest to fit into his work schedule. (Read books, watch history channel, and write some papers)

Since he works at a university, he is allowed to take 6 credits a semester for free. With his work schedule he realistically can do about 3 credits a semester. At that rate it would have taken him forever. I told him about TESC and a few other online schools. Through a combination of portfolio assessment, transfer of credits from classes that he did take, and some CLEP exams, he went from 0 to 75% done. He will have his degree by next year.

If you just need a degree (any bachelors level degree), you might want to check out BA in Four Weeks . Also don't forget about CLEP and DANTES, and listen to the advice on this board!