I'm attending a local community college and they have a computer information systems major. But i've recently discovered they have a prerequisite for just about all the courses, which is an Information Processing Course. I'm thinking I can contact 1 instructor and at least be in 2 courses this semester and during summer make up for the courses I wasn't able to take. Heres a list of courses they offer here for CIS: Computer Information Systems (B.S.)* But my questions are this.. is it a good idea to get a degree at an online school like WGU for computers or is it better to get a degree at the community college? Like could you finish a degree a lot faster at an online school like WGU and with similar quality or better quality of courses than at my community college? Or is it better to stick with the community college. Also are there deadlines to signup for online schools? And if so has it already passed?
If you can, and try your best, get the placement rates from your local community college. Find out if they have even placed a CIS graduate in the last few years. Make sure they don't give you the data for students who have gone on to earn BA/BS degrees. You want to know what kind of job you can get with that particular degree. Do a DICE search for your local area, or wherever you plan to work, and find out how many jobs require/ask for a degree with that major at that level. IT is a tricky field to enter into. You can do it without a degree if you have the right experience plus some decent certifications. Some IT jobs are now requiring a degree as well along with the experience (and even certs too). Good luck and make sure you research this a lot.
But I mean, in general, would you say the quality of courses for the CIS community college degree, is better than online schools or about on par? Or does it only matter what the placement rate is? Just was curious how online CIS degrees compare to the one offered by my community college. As long as the community college degree is on par or better, than I'd feel happier about getting that degree and not feeling like I made a worse choice. I'm not sure what a DICE search is yet, but i'll look into that and the placement rates. Im hoping I can contact one of the instructors and at least get put in Information Processing 2, so I can be registered for 2 classes this semester. I guess thats a good way to ease into the major. But some instructors are picky about needing prerequisites. Really hope i dont get stuck with taking just 1 major course and 1 elective. Would feel like a waste of time.
