I posed this in a.e.d, but every one seems to be scared off. If you saw it there and ignored it on purpose, sorry to bother you again...just ignore it again. Some ppl might think this goes in another forum, but this ones seems to be more lively. If it's the wrong place, please move it. Anyway, this is just a strait copy and paste to get some insight. -d Greetings, I've been lurking for a short period of time, I've devised a game plan based on the excellent information posted by so many, and now I have a few questions. First, my game plan. I'm going to use my existing university credits, vender certifications, and the credit by examination technique to go as far as I can and finish my degree. The degree I'm looking at is a BS in "Computer Programming." I'm looking at Excelsior, TESC, and COSC. The Excelsior degree at which I'm looking is the BS CIS or BCI. First, is there any reason why I should look at TESC or COSC for more information? I've read up on it, and from what I understand, Excelsior is the easiest, and accepts credit the best. There are issues with state school vs non-state school, but if I've already charted out a degree path which excepted credits through excelsior, is there any reason to look at TESC or COSC at this point? Any advice would be appreciated. Next, I'm looking at math credits. I'm bringing in 7 credits from my original BSCS program, and those 7 get me past the excelsior requirements of Calc I and/or Discrete, since that's what these 7 are. I also have a natural science, so I'm fine on specified requirements. The Excelsior school of technology program states that no more than 9 sub-calculus math credits can be used as part of a technology degree. I'm debating between the general College Math CLEP and the College Algebra CLEP, and am looking for information from those with experience: Will Excelsior accept College Math for 6 hours (Liberal Arts Elective) as part of a BCI? Will they accept both College Math and College Algebra for a combined 9 hours, or is it one or the other? How about the General Natural Science CLEP? I already have physics, but can I still use the General CLEP for 6 more credits? Now onto some more computer related questions. The catalogue states that a class called "Intro to Computers" is part of the BCI core requirements. When I was in university, I took a class called "Intro To Computer Programming," and am wondering if that's what they mean, or something lower. Here's the deal, which of these two options is more feasible: Preferred Way Pass the CLEP/DANTES exam for Intro to Computers Use my existing Intro to Comp Programming (C++) as my High Level Language Core Req or Not Preferred Way Use my existing Intro to Comp Programming for Intro To Computers Core Req Use another exam/course as my high level language core req And finally, Is it really possible for one to get a BCI completely by testing? I have several vendor certifications and will go the ICCP route to get more, but looking at the requirements, credit system, and DistanceLearn, I see no way to get all of my requirements without taking classes, and I am entering with some important computer courses. Basically, in order to get some core and upper division credits for my major, it looks like I'll have to take the following courses from TESC: Database Concepts (TESC CIS-311-TE) Computer Org/Asm (TESC COS-330) Operating Systems (TESC COS-352) The first one is an exam, but the last two are not. Does any one know of a way to test out of those two requirements, or will I have to take those? Any help would be appreciated. Also, will TESC allow me to take courses without paying any fees besides the course tuition? Has any one completed a BCI through examination at Excelsior and willing to share? TIA, Daniel
I've not seen any exams in assembler or operating systems that are ACE/CCRP okayed, so you might have to do some butt-in-seat classwork to fulfill that requirement. It might be too late (or too irrelevant) to ask if you've looked at Excelsior's information systems specialty in their business catalog. TommyK BSOM, Excelsior College, 1998
Daniel asks: "I'm looking at Excelsior, TESC, and COSC. The Excelsior degree at which I'm looking is the BS CIS or BCI. First, is there any reason why I should look at TESC or COSC for more information?" ------------------------------ The main reason is that it often pays (either in saving time or money) to shop around, especially among those three fine schools. We get a fair number of letters from readers of the "A is better than B and here's why" sort. Always based on the writer's personal experience, of course. Very roughly, about half favor TESC, 1/3 Excelsior, and 1/6 COSC.
Dear Daniel: Regarding your desire to obtain college credit in the following subjects: Computer Org/Asm Operating Systems 1) I had intended to use Charter Oak's (www.cosc.edu) Portfolio Evaluation service to obtain college credit for my knowledge in ANSI C & 80X86 Assembler (which I demonstrated -- and extensively documented -- while taking two unaccredited refresher courses) however I found COSC's Portfolio service too bureaucratic for my tastes. I then conducted a search of alternate means of obtaining credit in both subject. The ICCP tests were the only source of credit (they're ACE reviewed) for 80X86 that I could find. I've noticed that they have, apparently, done away with their assembler test. Guess what: we're screwed! <g> Or maybe not... 2) Ohio University (www.ohio.edu) has a College Credit by Examination service (www.ohiou.edu/independent/) that lets you earn college credit by, effectively, skipping the college course and just taking the course final exam. (I took two electronics-related course exams from them, and I was impressed to see that they had you complete actual problems rather than just fill- out a multiple-choice answer sheet.) I doubt that they normally offer exams in "Computer Org/Asm", "Operating Systems", however they claim to be willing to consider making exams on any subject taught by the university available upon request (and very modest fee). N.B. The Bears' Guide lists, as I recall, another school that offers credit by examination, but I don't. <g> If you find any other sources of credit, or if you pursue the matter with Ohio Univ., do consider keeping us/me informed! Good luck! Cordially, (The) Richard Kanarek
At first there was nothing, and then a lightning strike took down my connection for a week, and I just now got around to checking again for replies, and...wow. Some heavy hitters stepped up to the plate. It's been a few weeks, and I've done some more research on my own. Here's some of the information I've found out, and some replies to your replies. I'm not interested in a business degree. I'm a computer programmer. That's what I do, and I do it well. I don't want a degree which says I couldn't do math but like trying to figure out how to make money for a company without doing work.... I have taken a closer look at TESC and COSC. COSC is out...too much work, and too strict rules. TESC has a decent looking program, but it requires two courses which I had to drop my last semester, can't pass by exam, and don't really want to anyway. They don't seem to work nearly as nicely with MS/Novell Certification exams, I don't wanna try to credit bank those from Excelsior, and while it's a CS in stead of CIS degree, I'm not to sure how much I like the concentration as opposed to a major part. Anyway, I shopped around and decided that Excelsior looks to be best suited to me for now. My employer is being a real PITA, and has decided that none of the Excelsior fees are reimbursable, and no CLEP/DANTES fees are either, even though they equate to RA credit and are cheaper than it would cost me to take BM courses in the same subjects. In stead, I've decided to get my degree, get a better job, and quit. I called up Excelsior and spoke to a pre-admissions person on the phone. She was very friendly, and while we both agreed that nothing she told me was final until I paid that enrollment fee, she said that both College Alg. CLEP and General College Math CLEP could be used for 9 combined hours since they do not repeat 100% of the same material. I could "probably" use my intro to comp programming course as a high level language and the DANTES exam for the intro course, but we won't know for sure until evaluation. As for the two computer classes, I've pretty much decided that I have to take those two courses, either through DL or BM. I'm not adverse to doing a little real work, and I can live with two courses. It's a shame though. Lawrie Miller promised information on this, refused to accept eMail from one of my addresses, refused to reply to the other one, and has completely ignored my public questions. Guess I'll just have to figure it out myself. Daniel
I took a look at the Ohio stuff, and saw the following course: 236A Microprocessor and Computer Basics (4) Prereq: 120 or perm. Introduction to computer organization and design, including ROMs, RAMs, microprocessors, instruction sets, hardware, software, and machine and assembly language programming. The Texas Instruments TI-30 calculator or equivalent is required for this course That looks like it could fulfill the org/asm req. though it says it requires EE CPU design issues to understand it...that could just be bs though <shrug>. I went back to look at College Credit Tracker, and they list this course (as well as a second one), but CCT is so borked, I gave up on it weeks ago and didn't see this. Any one know how these two tests count? Another thing, this is a lower division class at Ohio, but any decent computer org/asm class will be upper division in a CIS/CS program...that and the fact that this is only 4 quarter hours could screw with credits. I looked at the catalogue, and saw the following two (non dl) courses in there: 442 Operating Systems and Computer Architecture I (5) In-depth coverage of computer operating systems and related computer architecture issues. Coverage of physical devices, interrupts, and communication between the computer and external hardware. Interfaces between user programs and the operating system, system calls, software interrupts, and protection issues. Context switching, process address spaces, and process scheduling. Process synchronization, interprocess communications, critical sections, and deadlock detection and recovery. Memory mapping, swapping, paging, and virtual memory. 458 Operating Systems and Computer Architecture II (5) Detailed discus-sion of virtual memory and backing stores. File system interfaces, implementation, and protec-tion mechanisms. Process scheduling issues, policies, and mechanisms. Interprocess communication between programs on d i fferent computers. Distrib-uted systems issues, examples, and implementation. Because of the wording, passing one or both of these could satisfy the requirements for both of those remaining courses. Would have to see if Ohio would even offer a test first, and then see how Excelsior would accept them. Oh well, if any one has tried, do share. If not, at least this is a starting point, and any one who reads this can proceed. Thanks to all, and have a happy long weekend to those in the States Daniel
A person has an accredited bachelor's degree, an accredited master's degree, and an unaccredited PhD. The PhD is from Pacific Western University. This person worked in a public school district as a teacher in the northeast US for 11 years. Afterwards, this person has been a professor at an accredited college for 8 years. In the readers' opinions, how and why would a person w/ an unaccredited PhD be allowed to advance, as he/she has, professionally? BTW -- This information is confirmed by the accredited college for the public to see. Thank you.
Hi Believer That is a rather simple one. The person got the jobs based on the Bachelors and Masters and was lucky enough to have the employer over look unaccredited (degree mill?) PhD.
Dave's analysis is almost certainly correct. A great many faculty positions do not require a doctorate -- and even when they do, if someone is really wanted, a way is found. As I've mentioned, the biggest star* in Vanderbilt's philosophy department when Marina was doing her Ph.D. there also was the only person on a 28-personal faculty without a doctorate. _________ *Alisdair McIntyre
