Can't seem to find the right school

Discussion in 'IT and Computer-Related Degrees' started by Barnabus, Jun 21, 2005.

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  1. Barnabus

    Barnabus New Member

    Hello everyone,

    My wife talked me into going back to school, Its been 10 years since I graduated High School, and I seem to be in a pretty deep rutt. I have worked IT and or Retail since I was 16 and I am tired of it. I worked for American Express for a number of years until I was laid off after 9/11, and then I moved to doing Tech work for a Brokerage firm out of Chicago.
    Now I am in southern Alabama doing the same once again. I have always wanted to learn Web Design and administration, but none of the schools around me offer classes on HTML, PHP, SQL or VB. (These being the classes recommended to me to start off with)

    Basically are there any Schools out there that you all know of that have distance learning as well as the above mentioned courses? Or am I starting off with the wrong courses, and if so what do you all reccomend I take?
     
  2. sentinel

    sentinel New Member

    Many BSIT programmes offer the courses you are seeking as part of the degree. Do you already have a AA or AS degree or are you starting from ground-zero so to speak?

    Champlain College offers both an associate-level and bachelor-level degree specializing in web development. Champlain is pricey at USD420.00 per credit hour and is regionally accreditied (RA) if that is important to you.

    http://www.champlain.edu/majors/websitedev/

    I will do some more research but you can also search this board for postings about BSIT degrees.
     
  3. sentinel

    sentinel New Member

    I found a school offering a bachelor of science in web development and Baker College is regionally accredited as well.

    http://www.baker.edu/

    Below is a list from another poster which I am duplicating here.

    From your requirements and interests perhaps Baker College is the right choice for you. (USD170.00 per quarter hour)



    American College of Computer and Information Sciences www.accis.edu (BG15, 96)
    Athabasca University www.athabascau.ca (BG15, 98)
    Baker College www.baker.edu (BG15, 99)
    Bellevue University www.bellevue.edu/Online/index.html (BG15, 99)
    Caldwell College www.caldwell.edu/adult-ed (BG15, 156)
    University of Calicut http://collegeskerala.com/calicut (BG15, 177)
    Capella University www.capellauniversity.edu (BG15, 156)
    Central Missouri State University www.cmsu.edu/extcamp (BG15, 102)
    Central Queensland University www.dtls.cqu.edu.au (BG15, 103)
    Champlain College www.champlain.edu/ccol/index.html (BG15, 103)
    Charles Sturt University www.csu.edu.au (BG15, 104)
    Charter Oak State College www.cosc.edu (BG15, 104)
    City University www.cityu.edu (BG15,105)
    Columbia Union College www.cuc.edu/ntp/ext_degree.html (BG15, 106)
    Excelsior College www.excelsiorcollege.edu (BG15, 110)
    Grantham College of Engineering www.grantham.edu (BG15, 114)
    Kaplan College www.kaplancollege.com (BG15, 118)
    University of London www.lon.ac.uk (BG15, 138)
    Mary Baldwin College www.mbc.edu/adp (BG15, 162)
    University of Maryland www.umuc.edu/gen/virtuniv.html (BG15, 140)
    University of Massachusetts Lowell http://continuinged.uml.edu/online/default.htm (BG15, 140)
    University of Memphis www.tn.regentsdegrees.org/campus/Memphis (BG15, 141)
    Monash University www.monash.edu.au/offcampus (BG15, 122)
    Murdoch University http://wwwonline.murdoch.edu.au (BG15, 123)
    New Jersey Institute of Technology http://cpe.njit.edu (BG15, 124)
    Nova Southeastern University www.nova.edu (BG15, 165)
    Old Dominion University www.odu.edu/home/distance.html (BG15, 125)
    Open University and Open College www.ola.bc.ca (BG15, 126)
    Open University (England) www.open.ac.uk (BG15, 126)
    Oscail National Distance Education Centre (Ireland) www.dcu.ie/oscail/index.html (BG15, 127)
    Park College www.park.edu/dist/index.html (BG15, 167)
    University of Phoenix http://online.uophx.edu (BG15, 143)
    Queens University www.queensu.ca/pts (BG15, 128)
    Regis University www.regis.edu/regis.asp?sctn=onl (BG15, 129)
    Rochester Institute of Technology http://distancelearning.rit.edu (BG15, 129)
    Saint Mary of the Woods College www.smwc.edu (BG15, 170)
    University of South Africa www.unisa.ac.za (BG15, 144)
    Southern Cross University www.scu.edu.au (BG15, 172)
    Southern New Hampshire University www.snhu.edu/Prospective_Student/distance_ed.html (BG15, 130)
    Strayer University www.strayer.edu/online/frtr.htm (BG15, 132)
    University of Sunderland www.sunderland.ac.uk/international (BG15, 180)
    Technikon of South Africa www.tsa.ac.za (BG15, 132)
    Thomas Edison State College www.tesc.edu (BG15, 133)
    Touro University International www.touro.edu (BG14, 134)
    Upper Iowa University www.uiu.edu (BG15, 149)
    University of Victoria www.distance.uvic.ca (BG15,147)
    Washington State University http://distance.wsu.edu (BG15, 150)
     
  4. Barnabus

    Barnabus New Member

    Thank you for the links!

    I am starrting from (effectively) ground zero. I was enrolled at North Idaho College in 98 and took some classes on Basic and C, but to be honest I have totally forgotten those lessons as I was never called on to use them other then the odd batch file needing to be made.
     
  5. sentinel

    sentinel New Member

    Depending on your career goals you might look into either certificates in web development or an associate degree in web development. Both of the schools I named specifically have certificate, associate and bachelor programmes in web development and in most cases it appears the certificate can be applied to the associate degree later and the associate degree to the bachelor degree should that be the ultimate objective. A side benefit of this route is the added motivation to finish your studies at each stage since the end is easier to see.

    Good luck and let us know what school and course of study towards web development. The first step is always a leap of faith in yourself.
     
  6. BlueMason

    BlueMason Audaces fortuna juvat

  7. Barnabus

    Barnabus New Member

    I had been looking at FHSU, as I am very tired of doing "grunt" work, and wanted to start angling towards the Admin\ Managerial side of things. IMHO nothing is more nerve wracking then having a boss that knows next to nothing about what his department does or should do.

    What I was thinking of doing was getting my AS in Applied Sciences foir Web development, and then get maybe another one in Business Admin.
     
  8. sentinel

    sentinel New Member

    <i>What I was thinking of doing was getting my AS in Applied Sciences foir Web development, and then get maybe another one in Business Admin.</i>

    Apparently, the applied science (AAS/BAS) and applied arts (AAA/BAA) degrees have some transferability issues from what I gather from other postings on the forum. You might want to consider a regular AS or AA without the 'applied' for a little added utility.

    Combining the technical and managerial degrees is a good approach and opens more opportunities down the road careerwise.
     
  9. sentinel

    sentinel New Member

    Sorry for the ommission - I was just copying and pasting a long list and did not read the list.
     
  10. Barnabus

    Barnabus New Member



    Really? I will have to look into that then and see, Thank you.
     
  11. sentinel

    sentinel New Member

    As I said that is what I have read on this board regarding AAS v. AS for example.

    It is similar in some ways to the NA v. RA accreditation debate about transferability and utility.

    Each has it strengths and weaknesses so it all depends how you want to use the earned credentials. I am concurrently enrolled in one school (NA) and another school (RA) but for the life of me the quality of education seems equal. Not every two schools being compared would necessarily reflect this observation of course.
     
  12. Splas

    Splas New Member

    Those are the exact degrees that I have:

    AAS - Internet Technolgies
    BA - Business Administration

    The problem is I am young and have no full time work experience, that is the only thing keeping me from getting nice jobs. That and the area I'm in is not the perfect setting for the kind of jobs I want :(.

    At any rate, I think those are two solid degrees and with experience (I really hope you have some already :)), will serve you well.

    Its the same choice I made, and while I am not employeed full time (yet!) I have a part-time internet/intranet webmaster/help desk support position for a 200+ employee organization. And those degrees have helped me (the IT more so than the business one, that wll later when I want my MBA or MPA :D) in my job without a doubt.

    Good luck to you!
     
  13. sentinel

    sentinel New Member

    You can gain valuable work experience offering your servives to a volunteer placement agency. Some of these agencies have web sites in need or maintenance plus they can match you with people looking to learn about using the WWW. While it may not be glamourous and lacking in financial reward it will give you experience that can lead to paid full-time employment elsewhere. Since you already have a part-time internet/intranet webmaster/help desk support position use that as a means to network with others in the organization.

    Good luck in your quest for full-time employment. At least with the business education you offer a potential employer a well-balanced set of technical and business skills. If employment opportunities where you live are limited try expanding the geographical search area. (www.dice.com, www.computerjobs.com). In the meantime, you couldbe working towards CIW certification or even bookkeeping and accounting. Never give up.
     
  14. Barnabus

    Barnabus New Member

    I have been working IT for a number of years now (6 at last count) and before that I was working retail IT (small shaop that fixed and repaired pc's as they were brought in).

    I definitely agree with Sentinel on how to land those jobs. Also check out the local schools for jobs, allot of times they need web admins but never advertise for them, and we all know how government jobs can be.
     

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