Computer Science dropout looking to go back

It has been about 12 years since I have been to school and I never finished up my BS Computer Science Degree in the US at a state university. I just started at looking at going back and I have a few questions.

1. I am now looking to get a degree and I don't know if my credits are transferable. How would I be able to figure this out?

2. I would like to get a degree if possible on line from a state or private university with good name reconnection in the US. I am willing to even switch majors to business or something along those lines to just have a degree and then look at getting a Masters in computer science later. I would like to do most of my course work online and if I have to drive/fly to take exams at the end of the quarter/semester I am up for that. Is there a good college that is on the forefront of putting a lot of there courses online?

I have been looking at the programs that OSU, WSU, and UW have to offer and it looks like WSU (Washington State University) has some Business admin degrees online. I was hopping that a college like Berkeley would have more online programs considering they tend to be more "progressive".

It looks like Stanford has a Masters in CS, but no undergraduate program...

 

It varies from school to school. Most schools have a limit on the age of credits they'll accept... usually around 10 years. Exceptions can sometimes be made, though; and some schools, like COSC, for example, just to name one, have no time limits. The only way to tell is to find the school(s) in which you're interested, and then download its(their) catalog(s) and read-up on the transfer credit policies.

First of all, you'll nearly never have to fly or drive to take exams in an online (or other form of distance learning) program. All you usually have to do is find a proctor to watch you while you take the exam... this can usually be a librarian at a local community college, or something like that. The school you're attending sends the exam and an affidavit to the proctor, who then summons you to his/her office or library or wherever; and then you take the exam in his/her presence; and then s/he signs the affidavit that you didn't cheat, and s/he never left the room, blah, blah, blah; and then s/he sends the affidavit and exam back to the school. Simple as that.

Some other schools make you go to a commercial testing center somewhere near you. So don't fret about how to take exams. Distance learning today is more sophisticated than that. If the school has no residency requirements, then you can literally get the degree on your computer, sitting in your underwear; and then only get dress to go take a proctored exam somewhere near you.

Second of all, stop worrying about which universities put a lot of their courses online and all that other kinda' stuff you mentioned. High quality, accredited degrees in both business administration and computer science, which can be earned entirely online (or using some other distance learning modality) are everywhere. Asking for a recommendation of a good one is a little like asking which is the best McDonalds or Burger King. This Google search, alone, could keep you busy for days.

Stop worrying about geographic location. Once you step into the world of distance learning, the entire world is your oyster...

...that is, as long as the school is accredited. And by "accredited," I mean characterized by:

The country in which the school is located has a culture of educational accountability.

The country has an educational quality assurance framework of some kind involving "accreditation" (by whatever name it's actually called) by either private agencies approved by government, or by government itself.

The school operates legally in, and is accredited in said country.

Its degrees are useful within said country for employement in said country, for teaching at said country's schools, or for professional licensure in said country.​

...all of which are things which some refer to as "Generally Accepted Accreditation Principles" or "GAAP".

If the school is so accredited pursuant to GAAP, then it will be respected in the US as long as it can also withstand the scrutiny of a US Foreign Credential Evaluator like AACRAOor any NACES member agency. Most US employers and schools require that any non-US degree be evaluated by a US foreign credential evaluator before said degree will be considered equivalent to a degree of similar level and designation from a US accredited school.

In the US, no school is "accredited" unless it appears in either or both of the US Department of Education (USDE) database, or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) database. If the US school isn't in one or both of those databases, then it's not accredited. Period. No matter what the school in question may claim on its web site.

In the UK, this is where you'll find the list of "accredited" schools... though that's not what they call them there. The "recognized bodies" are the "accredited" schools; and the "listed bodies" are schools which aren't directly accredited, but whose programs are "validated" by "recognized body" schools. And in the UK, that's as good as accreditation. We, in the US, have no such construct, but US foreign credential evaluators will treat "validated" programs as if they were accredited as we, in the US, understand that term. The UK, it should be noted, had a relatively recent change in how its whole accreditation thing works (see here) because of problems it was having with terrorists getting into the country on educational visas and then blowing-up subways. But the "listed" and "recognized" bodies lists to which I linked you are still kept-up to date. There are, however, some institutions which the UK Border Agency (UKBA) lists as "accredited" which are not on the "recognized" or "listed" bodies lists... and so many in the US question whether they should really be considered "accredited" as we, in the US, understand that term. All of that is now shaking out, and the dust of it all may take a while to settle.

In Australia, this web site, while not the official list of accredited institutions, happens to contain only institutions which that country considers "accredited" as we, in the US, understand that term; so that web site should be useful. That said, you can read more on the Australian educational qualifications framework here.

In South Africa, this web page is an excellent place to start; and this list, or this page, should cover the public institutions; and this PDF file pretty much covers the private ones.

While other countries with GAAP have similar web sites, those, above, are the "hot" ones around here... if for no other reason than they cover alll the English-speaking countries or continents with GAAP. But, believe me, the German, or Austrian, or Italian, or Spanish, or Japanese or whatever other countries with GAAP colleges/universities are very good, too. But I'll leave researching them to you.

The bottom line: Just make sure that whatever program you select is accredited, and you'll be fine.

As long as it's accredited, even the least expensive one will probably do. That said, there are people who post here who will tell you that beyond just general accreditation, any good business administration or computer science program must also be programmatically accredited. For example, many here will say that no US business administration program worth its salt will fail to be AACSB accredited, in addition to the school's "regional" or "national" accreditation. I don't happen to agree that AACSB accreditation is absolutely necessary with business degrees... particularly at the undergraduate level, but others disagree. There are similar arguments for computer science degrees and their specific programmatic accreditors.

While they're all arguing about that, let me give you a little recommendation of something for your masters to at least investigate. Of course, it's largely "IT" and that's not the same as "CS," but it's still worth taking a look at. Charles Sturt University in Australia has an IT program that's unique in the amount of credit it will give for industry and/or manufacturer/vendor certifications. And if you haven't been in IT for the past 12 years, then one thing that's different now from then is that it's almost impossible to get a good job in IT without some industry and/or manufacturer/vendor certifications.

SEE: http://www.itmasters.edu.au/WhichQualification.aspx

If you're heart's set on "CS" as opposed to "IT," and you still want the business angle, then another route might be to finish-up your undergrad CS degree, then get Sturt's MBA in Computing. Between the two degrees, you'll have CS, IT and BA!

Don't know if that helps, but it's a start.