Capitol College Masters in Network Security

Discussion in 'IT and Computer-Related Degrees' started by marcuscarey, Jan 11, 2005.

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  1. marcuscarey

    marcuscarey New Member

    I've had a great experience with Capitol College and the Masters in Network Security Program. The whole degree can be earned online. I had to take 3 courses and maintain a 3.0 initially to be accepted as a degree seeking student since I got my BSL (Bachelors of Liberal Studies) from Excelsior College (not a computer related discipline). Now I'm scheduled to graduate this May.

    The online format is facilitated with Centra software. The courses are composed of live voice and slide presentations. A microphone and speakers turns your home PC into a classroom allowing you to interact with your professor live along with other students. It is a great learning experience.

    I pursued this the MSNS to obtain a technical degree on top of my Excelsior degree. It is one of the few programs I could get into without taking prerequisites at the undergrad level. I'd recommend Excelsior and Capitol to anyone.
     
  2. stock

    stock New Member

    thanks. and best of luck.
     
  3. ckopacsi

    ckopacsi New Member

    Can you give me a ballpark cost for captiol-college?
     
  4. marcuscarey

    marcuscarey New Member

    Right now tution is around $1300 x 10 = $13,000.
     
  5. scubasteveiu

    scubasteveiu New Member

    capitol

    This school really has their stuff together. Friendly people, quick replies to questions, fair tuition ... so far it has been be good experience.

    Some useful information;
    If you are an IEEE member you get 10% off your tuition.
    I am signed up to start classes on March 1, 2005 (NS 679).

    I have been collecting information for the past 24 months on the CAE (NSA) schools. Capitol won me over.
    I will note I also very much like the JMU and the Georgia Tech programs. Cost, Time and Convenience came into play....

    I will report back after my class begins in March.
     
  6. former33t

    former33t New Member

    I am looking into this degree program as well. I work full time in IT. Any input as to how hard it would be to maintain full time classes (3 per semester)? Some of my undergrad work was distance learning at TSU. I was able to complete three courses in a ten week term there without a problem. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
     
  7. scubasteveiu

    scubasteveiu New Member

    my class starts March 2nd. this summer i will be taking 3 classes (some are 8 weeks and others are 16). if you overlap them correctly you will only be taking two at a time.
     
  8. SteveJM

    SteveJM New Member

    3 classes?

    Several posts refer to taking 3 classes per term. Is there a requirement to do this in the MSNS program at Capitol? I haven't been able to find anything related to this on the school's web site. Could someone explain? Thanks!
    Steve
     
  9. scubasteveiu

    scubasteveiu New Member

    No requirement, just speeds things along. Depending on the class duration it can work out pretty well (either 16 or 8 weeks in length). This summer I am doing one 16 and two 8 week classes

    There are some really nice *distance* CAE / NSA schools out there.

    Norwich, Walsh, JMU, Dallas and Capitol are my favorites. Boston has a CIS / Security program if you are totally rich.

    Capitol is the only one of the three that has live classes, also the least expensive. Be sure to join IEEE for 10% off tuition, it's like getting a class for free.
    You do have proctored tests.
     
  10. SteveJM

    SteveJM New Member

    scubasteveiu, thanks for the info. How do the proctored exams work? Do you have to find a proctor and location, or does Capitol do that for you? How does the proctor get paid for his or her time...is the student responsible for paying the proctor, or is that part of tuition and paid for by Capitol? Sorry for the basic questions, I have no experience with proctored exams.

    On average how many hours are required per course per week? Thanks again!
    Steve
     
  11. scubasteveiu

    scubasteveiu New Member

    Hi Steve,
    The proctored exams are done by someone like your boss or maybe a person in HR. You do not pay them; it is more of a favor. The Capitol Profs are in touch with this person via email and phone. You can take the exam almost anyplace you choose.

    The hours question is a little more difficult to answer; it just depends on what you want out from the class. Some of the labs are really cool and to get good you almost need to dig a little deeper ... if a number must be given, let's say 10 - 12, maybe 15 depending on skill.

    ~ 3.25 hours class time a week (live)
    ~ 1.5 for postings / discussion (est)
    ~ 2.0 for labs
    ~ 1.5 for lab write up
    ~ 2.0 for reading
    Please note, this can fluctuate greatly! Also - I have only taken one class!

    I can not say enough good things about this school. The people are great, the students are so-so, and some are great while others shouldn't be in the program.

    Other info;
    * The online live classes are very unique, the only school i know who does it. its great to listen to lecture in my office and be able to get up to get a drink.
    * take the class with a friend if you can. a very good friend and I are going to the program at the same time, it's a lot of fun. His boss already wants him to give short classes on what he has learned to the rest of the sys admins.

    Also - the MSNS program overlaps into the MSCS, not sure if that was posted already.

    Sorry for the delayed reply. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

    Stephen R. Moore

    MBA Global Management
    University of Phoenix, Online
    College of Graduate Business & Management

    BS Business & Computer Information Systems
    Indiana University, Bloomington
    Kelley School of Business
     
  12. B.N.

    B.N. Member

    Are all of the courses offered live? Can I also download the lecture at a later time? I live in Switzerland so if I wanted to watch the lectures live I'd probably have to wake up at 3am :)
     
  13. scubasteveiu

    scubasteveiu New Member

    You can download the classes after the fact, however the lecture is a *real* class. The prof and students all meet, discuss, complain in real time. I do not know how your attendance would be graded w/o being in class.
    You might want to look into U. Dallas as they have a MS, an MBA and a Masters of Mgmt in IA.
    Norwich is another very interesting program. Here is a link to the director's site,
    www2.norwich.edu/mkabay/index.htm

    ~

    MS, Network Security – Student
    Capitol College, Online

    MBA Global Management
    University of Phoenix, Online

    BS Business & Computer Information Systems
    Indiana University, Bloomington
     
  14. SteveJM

    SteveJM New Member

    scubasteveiu,

    Thanks for the detailed info! I've talked to people at Norwich, but I doubt very much my employer would go for it because of security concerns. Capitol's program seems to be closer to what I'm looking for, and I could see their way of delivering classes being enjoyable.

    I hadn't looked into U. Dallas, but I'll check them out. Are there any other NSA schools that offer an online master’s in info security?

    Thanks again!
    Steve
     
  15. scubasteveiu

    scubasteveiu New Member

    Steve,
    Here you go; keep in mind, there are more, but these are the schools I would focus on. (All NSA CAE Schools)

    Boston University
    Walsh College
    University of Dallas
    James Madison University
    Norwich University
    University of Maryland University College

    I enjoy Capitol. Does your place of employment offer tuition reimbursement? I receive $5250 a year, with my IEEE discount my MS will end up costing around ~ $1000 including books.


    ~
    MS, Network Security – Student
    Capitol College, Online

    MBA Global Management
    University of Phoenix, Online

    BS Business & Computer Information Systems
    Indiana University, Bloomington
     
  16. SteveJM

    SteveJM New Member

    scubasteveiu,

    My employer does offer tuition reimbursement if it's job related, which for me is software development. They've paid for graduate computer science courses, but it's unclear if they'd pay for info security courses being that I'm not in the info security department. In any case, there's a good chance I'd be paying for it myself, so cost would be a factor. Thanks again!
    Steve
     
  17. marcuscarey

    marcuscarey New Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 2, 2005
  18. scubasteveiu

    scubasteveiu New Member

    Marcus,
    Congrats on your new achievement!

    Have you noticed the overlap between the MSCS / MSNS and MS ITM?

    I was thinking about doing another program - then again, I should just hit Nova and start on the PhD in CS.

    -Steve
     
  19. marcuscarey

    marcuscarey New Member

    Steve,

    I knocked out the Network Security path because I needed a computer science related degree since I'm working as a Network Engineer. The other programs when I was enrolling required some prereqs if I remember right.

    With the MSNS I was able to get right in without prereqs, which was cool since my BS is in Liberal Studies from Excelsior. The Capitol College experience was fabulous. Since I live near the Laurel, Maryland campus, I visited the campus a couple of times. I can tell you that the Capitol staff are really good people, very nice.

    I also looked at the Nova PHD program. I saw they offered a couple of computer flavors CIS, IS and others. Maybe in a couple of years, I'll gather up the motivation for that one too.

    Capitol College is trying to offer Network Security PHD program in the near future.

    Best of Luck!
     
  20. scubasteveiu

    scubasteveiu New Member

    Marcus,
    Who did you hear that from? ... That would be cool if they had a PhD. Did you hear it from Ken? I would be in, all the way. Please pass along your info.

    I agree about the really nice people, I can't wait for graduation. I plan on making a bit of a vacation out of it.

    Looking at the Nova PhD's is a little confusing as they are all pretty close to one another.


    Thanks again,
    Steve
     

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