Business, Economics, Accounting - RA

I work in state government and thanks to changing civil service job requirements, I may have to get more hours in certain fields in order to move ahead.

I presently hold a B.S. in Business Administration from an AACSB, RA, brick and mortar university. However, I don't have enough hours in some areas to move into some higher level state positions.

I'm looking for a good, not too expensive DL school in which I can get more upper level accounting, economics, and other business courses, or possibly a degree in those areas. All I'm finding online are the principles courses that I've already had, and there aren't alot of night school choices in my area right now so I'm exploring DL.

RA is a must, as Civil Service requires all college credits used to qualify be from an RA school. If I pursue a degree, I'd like to be able to transfer credits from my previous degree if possible. I graduated in 1990, and took some additional hours a few years later(last time 1995).

Thanks.

 

You might want to check out the on-line Masters of accounting at Nova Southeastern. If you need specific hours in accounting they may be a good choice.

There are hundreds of on-line MBA's around - but not aware of many (if any) other on-line masters of accounting.

Thanks - Andy

 

I get the impression that you're thinking about taking upper-level undergraduate courses - have you considered pursuing a graduate degree instead? There are online graduate programs (MBA, MS, MAcc) available in your fields of interest...

 

Have you loked at the programs through LSU?

They have evening courses and independent study courses in many of the areas you are interested in. They also offer an evening and weekend MBA program (see).

 

I have thought about it, but not sure if the cost vs benefit is worth it for me. I was just thinking of 3 or 4 accounting classes to make me qualified for some upper level jobs in state government.

I'm hestitant about committing to a graduate degree. Reason being the last thing I committed to I thought would help me get my foot in the door on a new career(MCSE) didn't help in any way. I still can't get interviewed anywhere to save my life.

Would a graduate degree make a difference? I doubt it would where I work, but also have my doubts about if it would help anywhere else.

The search goes on.

RedStickHam

 

Bears Guide lists 21 schools that offer Bachelors degrees in Accounting through DL (100% non-residential). These include a bunch of Australian schools and a few South African schools (where the cost/benefit ratio may seem a bit better).
Good luck,
Jack

 

Jack and all - For RedStickHam who is in the civil service - might a non-US school pose a problem? While I'm sure these schools may be very good - they don't have US RA stamped on them.

I'm still wondering if a few courses in a Masters of accounting program (such as NSU's on-line masters of accounting) may not be a better answer.


Regards - Andy

 

There may be civil service requirements such that US RA is the way to go. I don't know much about these things as they vary from state to state and was primarily responding to the comment about cost. It would be surprising to me if the NSU courses that you suggested wouldn't solve his problem.
Jack

 

For the largest employer in the United States, RA (well, OK.. any DOE-recognized accreditor will fly) certainly simplifies the process.

The vast majority of positions in the Federal competitive service are filled in accordance with OPM standards. Where a position has educational requirements, and an applicant wishes to qualify on the basis of foreign credentials, evaluation by an outside service is required. This generally results in a grave and unforgivable violation of Rule Number One for Career Civil Servants, to wit: Don't confuse the folks in Personnel.

The OPM operating manual (part E.4) discusses the acceptability of education for the purpose of meeting qualification standards. It's actually pretty generous: It's acceptable if it was obtained at an institution with recognized accreditation. If obtained at an unaccredited institution, it might STILL be acceptable if the specific courses HAVE BEEN (not "might be" or "could be") accepted for credit by an accredited school. It might also be acceptable if an accredited state university "..reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value." I 'd rather not publicly speculate about how often that happens, but I have my suspicions.

Personally, I'd rather not have to jump through the hoops. See rule number one.

(For those with an interest in these things: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/SEC-II/s2-e4.htm
Now.. where was that thread extolling the virtues and acceptability of K-W and CCU degrees? )

 

How about Baker college DL MBA .. They have a wide range of concentrations and 100% online + RA + Inexpensive (not the least). My two Cents.

 

This is:

1. LOL!

2. Very, very true.

3. Applicable in just about any "Personnel" situation, including private industry.

4. The basis for my main reservation about earning unaccredited degrees.

 

Like you, I don't like jumping through hoops either. I have to jump through enough just to do my job as it is, don't want to create more.

I have no clue as to how my employer would look at it, as I'm not employed by the federal government but by the state of Louisiana Civil Service, http://www.dscs.state.la.us.

Thanks for the feedback though.

RedStickHam