I am currently self employed in my home as a mortgage broker and I have a 3 year old son. We also own a boating company. We are very busy. I have never attended college, but I want to. The only way I see myself being able to attend is through an online college. I am looking for a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice, preferable with an emphasis in criminal investigation. The only college that I have found that offers this is FMU, they are also the only college I have spoken with directly. I read some negative comment on here about them reguarding thier accredidation's but I am not entirely sure what all that means. Does anyone have any advice for me? Is it bad if your degree says "online"? Anyone have an online college you attended with all the necessary accredidations and that you liked? Can anyone explain the basics of finding a good online college to me and what major question I should be asking? Any help that anyone could give would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!!! Amber
Stay away from FMU, they are not Regionally accredited and they are being investigated by the Attorney Generals Office. Try Excelsior College - I'm sure it will fit your profile and needs. Good Luck!! www.excelsior.edu www.instantcertonline.com/forums
My advice is to get your AA in General Studies or the like from Excelsior or Charter Oak State then transfer to somewhere like Southwestern College for the final two years in Criminal Justice. I am about to graduate from there and my experience has been nothing short of wonderful. As for a specialty in criminal investigations, I recommend you seek out a cert. for that......but if you want to do that, the department you are likely to work for will likely send you to school for that. But criminal investigation is generally included in the curriculumn for a BSCJ. For further study, a post BS cert. would probably carry more weight and wouldn't limit your undergrad to a specific area of CJ. http://www.sckans.edu/online/majors.htm
I found a really interesting BSCJ........ http://www.peru.edu/professionalstudies/programs/CJusIntro.htm And talk about affordable. Did I mention that your AA from Excelsior can be tested out? 30 CLEP credits in Gen ed and whatever else they have. You could seriously knock this out for under $10,000 and 2 1/2 years......as a comparison, I've spent almost $25,000 due to the price of Kaplan University.....If only I had known of Peru, Fort Hayes State U. or Southwestern sooner. I forgot to add, Peru will give you a certificate of achievement in Criminal Justice as you work your way towards your BSCJ so that you have something to put on a resume. VERY cool.
he best way to find a "good" college, online or bricks and mortar, begins with checking their accreditation. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) provides a searchable database of accredited institutions of higher learning in the USA. The next decision revolves around whether national accreditation (NA) or regional accreditation (RA) will meet your needs. The debate over this issue alone has filled many a thread on this board so I will not rehash the discussion; law enforcement organizations may have strict guidelines as to which accreditation they will accept; usually regional accreditation. Another person already gave you some sage advise to pursue an associate-level (AA) degree in general studies first since you will require general education courses as part of the bachelor-level (BA or BS) degree anyway. Plus it serves as a motivational milestone. You can never do too much research unless that research gets in the way of making any decisions. Southwestern College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association; therefore a regionally accredited school. They accept nationally accredited credits as well as regionally accredited credits. Okay the credits themselves are not accredited but the school where the credit were earned are accredited. Another school I would recommend is American Military University / American Public University. They offer both AA and BA degrees and the tuition for undergraduate degrees includes the cost of the textbooks. AMU/APU is regionally accredited. http://classlist.champlain.edu/nosemquery.php?title=All%20%28CRJ%29%20Criminal%20Justice%20%28CRJ%29%20courses%20offered%20at%20Champlain&subject=CRJChamplain College offers a number of course which may me of interest to you even as electives suitable to your goal. Champlain College is rather expensive though they have a good reputation with the FBI.
Just an FYI, last I checked, the FBI didn't hire CJ undergrads. That could have since changed. But if you want to be FBI get a degree in accounting and get a CPA, or a degree in IT or a law degree JD level or equivalent. Oh, and it helps to speak Arabic or similar languages.
Thank you to everyone who gave advice!!! I will do some further checking into what would be the best option for me... I really appreciate all the advice! Thanks, Amber
Moderator Bruce has a link to a list of Regionally Accredited CJ programs in his signature line. For your easy reference here is the link. http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/cjdegrees/degrees.html If nationally accredited meets your needs Bruce also has a list of those in his signature line.
