Hurry to Complete Excelsior CIS before degree program expiration?

I enrolled in the CIS degree program before the deadline for new enrollments expired.
Now I have about 12 months to complete the remaining requirements or it automatically changes to the new BS IT General option. I don't know all the new requirements for the new degree, but the new math requirements alone would add lots of time to complete the program.
I have been out of school a very long time and remember close to zero algebra. So, to complete Discrete Mathematics, I would have to retake Elementary and Intermediate algebra, plus take College Alegebra for the first time. Then take Discrete Math and the other math requirement. That alone is 4 semesters of work.
Under the program I'm in now, it's possible to fulfill the math requirement by taking Statistics and certain Logic courses that have no heavy algebra prereqs.

If at all practical and possible, I would like to quickly complete the 31 units I need to finish the BS CIS degree so I'm not forced to change to something else.
I am planning to take all remaining courses via online classes at Excelsior except 2 at a community college and one at BYU distance learning.
These are the courses I need and the way I plan to complete them:

Cisco CCNA 801 certification 3 Units UL

Database Management Systems Upper Level 3 units UL
CS 012 - INTRODUCTION TO OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING (Java) @ Community College 3 units
MATH 13 Statistics @ Community College 4 units
Data Structures And Algorithms Upper Level 3 units
Computer Architecture 3 units UL
Ethics 3 units
Operating Systems 3 units
Software Systems Analysis And Design 3 units UL
PHIL 205 Deductive Logic @ BYU 3 units

31 units


That is 9 courses plus 1 Cisco exam.

I am working fulltime, so is it realistic to even try to complete this in less than a year? I would need to take 5 courses at a time to finish it all by Novemeber of next year.

Are there exams for some of these classes that would be faster/easier than taking the full courses for everything?

Is this too much to realistically expect to complete while working full time?

 

I just noticed that Operating Systems has a prerequisite of Data Structures which itself has a prerequisite of Object Oriented Programming.
That's three semesters. So maybe this is not going to be possible to finish before November 2007.

 

Call your advisor and see what you can test out of. I had almost the same requirements and was able to test out on almost all of them. The ICCP exams will cover 3 of them and an Ohio University exam another. Statistics can be tested out using DSST. Ethics can be test out, DSST or Excelsior. Data Structures could be tested out but is extremly tough. Excelsior has an online course for Data Structures.. It can be done, but you need to get going now. The IT option is going to be more difficult. I was in the same boat you are and was able to finish the program. It was tough, but more than worth it. Good Luck with your program.

 

Has the CCNA 801 been bumped up to Upper Level Credit?

 

I just gotten back an unofficial evaluation from Excelsior. I was awarded 21 credits toward my IT degree. (MCSE, A+, Network+, Security+ and Project+)They declined my CCNA 801 credit. They claimed that "the following courses cannot be applied toward your degree because they duplicate courses already listed on your staus report". I've spoken with the counselor and she advised me that if I were to change my specialty (current "Network Management") to general option, my credit will be applied differently and it look like that I may get the credit for CCNA. Remember, this is an unofficial evaluation. Nothing is concrete until the official evaluation comes out. I was told that it would take 4 to 8 weeks before the official one is prepared.

Out of the 21 credits only 6 were applied to upper credits. The rest were applied as free electives. Damn, none of my credentials were applied to the core.

Anyway, whatever happens, I am looking to you guys for help with my cores. I have reviewed some of the posted messages that provided suggested ways to either tests out or take courses (cheap).

Oh, you've asked if CCNA has been upped to upper credit. I have not heard anything on this but please let us know if you find out anything.

 

I just received my status report. I was given 8 credits for Comptias, 8 credits for MCSE and 3 credits for CCNA, total 19. Security+, Network+, (70-293 and 70-294 MCSE) were applied as upper credits (9).
Now, the serious work begin. I have 36 core credits to complete. Meanwhile, I have some clepping to do in the art and sciences, in addition to the Discrete Math. The moment of truth is here. Any suggestions on how to approachs all of this without pulling out my hair.

 

It may be lower level. I think I will have enough upper level credit with the other courses anyway, so it doesn't matter.

 

I did a search and found old posts that seemed to indicate that adequate test prep material for ICCP exams is impossible to find since now the material covered on the exams is very outdated and irrelevant today. So people who "just know" the material from their past work experience are the best candidates for testing out on ICCP. Is this still true?
Does ICCP cover 3 of the courses I listed above anyway?

Is there good test prep material for the Ohio state test for people who are learning the material rather than relying on previous knowledge?

Excelsior has online courses for everything I listed except the logic class I planned to take at BYU DL, but it looks like I can't finish on time unless I take 5 classes at a time which seems like too much while working full time.

I rechecked and just realized I need an additional 3 units of arts and science credit on top of the courses I listed above, so I need to complete 34 units, not 31 units by November 2007.

It is looking less and less plausible by the day.

I will also send an e-mail to Excelsior and see what they suggest.

My GPA is near an A average on my current 90 or so transfer units, so I suppose I could just load up on courses and scrape by with little study time for each class and passing each with Ds and low Cs and still have have a high enough GPA to graduate, but I don't want to do that.

 

It look like we are in the same boat.

I am awaiting from Excelsior to tell me what outside courses I can take to satisfy
the cores.

 

IUse www.instacert.com to pass your cleps..Lots of good material to cover those pesky general ed classes..

 

Ditto on the instantcert for the social sciences and dsst exams. Those tests are not that bad. ICCP tests can be passed, it just requires more effort then most test out options. If you pass the ICCP core exam it is worth 18 credits. Bird publications and ICCP both sell study materials for these exams. I searched amazon for some of the older books. It does require a lot of effort and persistance to pass these ICCP exams, but it still is less than attending or taking all the actual classes. I have received 27 credits total for ICCP exams. DSST has been another 18 credits. The effort has been more than worth it for me. Also it is a lot less expensive. Give it a shot, you have nothing to lose, and a degree to gain.

 

Thanks guys. This really mean alot to me. I have tremendous respect for both of you. (Lou and Certifiednetpro) and of course the rest of the forum. As of right now, I am concentrating on the Clep and Dsst. I'm hoping to be finished by the end of the year. I'm also trying to figures out how to approach the ICCP. I think I've read somewhere that it would be prudent to study at least a month per course. As soon as Excelsior let me know which courses I can take with ICCP I will let you guys know.

 

It doesn't look like I can complete this CIS program by Nov 2007, so I'm more seriously considering changing to some other program.

I'm considering several options.

1. Moving to Excelsior's BSIT General Option.

2. Moving to the Excelsior Business, MIS option.

3. Transferring to Troy or Empire State to complete a CIS or MIS Bachelors program there instead.

4. Changing to the Liberal Studies program at Excelsior so I can quickly get some kind of Bachelors degree and look into a Masters in MIS or CIS degree somewhere else later.


I have tuition reimbursement available from my employer, but is very minimal (about $1,000 per year) so I need to minimize costs and get some kind of 4-year RA degree completed ASAP. $825 per course at Excelsior is going to be too expensive even though I would need slightly fewer courses there than other schools due to Excelsior accepting IT certifications for credit.

Suggestions for this situation?

 

The general option sounds like the best route at Excelsior College, if you can maximize all the coursework previously undertaken.

Fort Hays State University offers a Bachelor of Science in Information Networking & Telecommunications Computer Networking which might better address your particular situation and interests. There are other students on this board enrolled at FHSU.