Thanks for looking at my thread. I new to the forum and been doing research all weekend. First some background.....I live in CA. I have about 60 units from local community colleges and 9 years experience in law enforcement. I'm looking for advice on completing a distance undergrad degree. A degree in criminal justice would be nice, but I would be happy with any subject. More important is the cost and time to complete. I earn a civil servant salary and some of these schools just look so expensive. I've been researching the CLEP exams and plan to take a few in the next couple of months. Basically I'm looking for advise on a 1) good program which must be from an accredited school. 2) a program that wont break the bank......lol Thanks,,,,,,
My Dad is a police officer in CA and earned his degree via the state. Meaning they have a great program for reimbursement. You have many choices. If you want DL I will defre to the board, but there is also UCLA, where he went and has a good criminal justice program (in his opinion).
Welcome pokerface--- I know that Thomas Edison State College has a criminal justice major, although their out of state tuition rates make this pricey. Excelsior College, which better meets both of your second criterion, inaugurates a new BS in crim justice degree just this new year; see more about this at: http://www.excelsior.edu/la_adden.htm The next step is to use their "Self-Review Assessment" forms to do some initial planning and determine where your previous learning puts you towards your goal. http://www.excelsior.edu/self_rev.htm And to center your objective out from other distracting options, search these pages and check out Lawrie Miller's web site. --Orson
Hopefully, some others will chime in as I have a traditional Bachelors. There are a great many options. Excelsior (formerly Regents), Charter Oak, and Thomas Edison State. All three (as I understand) are generous at taking CLEPS, prior credit, portfolio credit. One even takes or used to take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam). If you took it and passed you could receive 30 credits. The "big three" prgrams just mentioned are all Regionally Accredited. Following some advice you could probably finish fairly quickly. I am a big fan of traditional education (4 yrs reg semesters, didactic process) at the undergrad level. Nonetheless, for some folks that would be difficult to accomplish. For what you want the 'Big Three process' will get the job done and allow you to go on to a graduate degree. There are several here who have followed that process. Steve Levicoff earned all three of his degrees non traditionally. He went from a 'big three' B.A. to an accredited PhD (also non traditional). Good luck! Check this site with info on the three programs http://www.geocities.com/ba_in_4_weeks/mainmenu.html North
More info please It would be easier to make specific recommendations if you'd share some long term goals or either what you're interested in studying at the Master level. Once you bite the DL bug you'll be hooked. Steven King
Hi, My dad just received a flyer in the mail about the criminal justice program from the university of phoenix( it was a hoot;20 yrs ago he earned the same degree from uscs) although, they might be pricey it was 100% internet. I recently finished a small college here in SC, they just started a criminal justice program and they have tons of students in all majors via the internet. www.Limestone.edu Best, Gavin
Union Institute and University gives 32 Credits for California Police Academy! Welcome Pokerface! _The Blue Line_ (the LAPD Union newspaper) recently carried an advertisement, full page spread as I recall, for Union Institute and University. In the "ad" a Police Officer (from somewhere else in California) tells the reader that he was given 32 semester hours of credit for his police academy. Not sure if this would be duplication of credit or not, but it sure would be worth looking into. I know a Lieutenant in Sacramento County SO who completed his BA via Union (within the past 2 years) and his experience was VERY favorable. With regard to "bank breaking," Union probably does have the potential to cause concern here. With money being an issue, Lawrie's web site is the resource to jump on. Edison State, Charter Oak State, Excelsior and some others should keep the bank teller somewhat unemployed. Best of luck in your studies, BruceP MPA, Golden Gate University BS (CJ), Buffalo State College AS, Regents College
Wow.....thanks for all your help! I'm doing research on all of your suggestions. Also just discovered Ohio University. The degree program there looks very flexible and affordable. I read that they only accept CLEP credits for tests passed prior to enrolling. I plan on taking a few tests as soon as possible. Any thoughts on Ohio U or CLEP exams? Thanks
Hi Pokerface, welcome to the group. As you no doubt have discovered, distance education is most prevalent on the masters level. They are fewer opportunities at the bachelors and doctoral levels. CSU Chico has an interesting looking undergraduate degree-completion program leading to a BA in Sociology. This seems like a great major for a cop, and can be good preparation for a CJ masters. http://rce.csuchico.edu/online/programdetail.asp?program=50 CSUC offers 33 upper division major units themselves, and expects students to transfer in their general ed and lower division major courses from community colleges or other schools. (They offer some upper division general ed through their general extension DL courses.) The CSU's usually accept some (sometimes not all) CLEP credit, and they will give you some credit for stuff like military experience. As the step-by-step 'registration' webpage tells you, you probably need to talk to an advisor. As far as I can see, cost is very reasonable for in-state students. Online students apparently pay the same lump-sum fees as on-campus students, which add up to $816/semester part-time and $1146/semester full-time. Remember, you are only doing 33 units with them. If you transfer in and test out of all the rest of your requirements, you could finish a BA for $2294. Financial aid and deferred payment plans are available. (Check with the financial aid office to see if special fee-reductions are available for cops.) (Out of state students who aren't subsidized by the long suffering California taxpayers must pay an additional $246/unit, making it a less attractive deal.) CSU Chico also has a BA in liberal studies and a BA Social Science (breadth option) that might be of interest. (They also have a BS in Computer Science.) All of their online programs can be accessed here: http://rce.csuchico.edu/online/programlist.asp
The University of Texas Telecampus offers a degree completion program in Criminal Justice. I believe the cost was something like $100/credit hr. Another that sticks in my mind is Mountain State University http://www.cwv.edu/degree_programs/extended_distance/default.aspx, which is pricier at something like $185/cr hr. I have no experience with either program, just remembered having seen them listed. Melissa/Suse
I am a deputy sheriff in Georgia. I have been working on BS in emergency management at Jacksonville State Univ. The School is in Alabama. The price is around $400.00 per class. The degree fits in well with our line of work. They do not require you to ever set foot on campus. The web site is www.jsu.edu I hope this has helped. Jason Milhollin
Hello again, Pokerface... On your last question--"Ohio University?" name brand recognition (at least ini the mid-west), and provide a quality product. Testing experiences with them for me have all been positive. If their program works for you, I say "go for it!" On CLEPS? Search herein, as well as Lawrie Miller's mandatory site. Do you have any particular subject area to ask about? What are the limitations at OU? And don't you have to take your last year's credits from OU? Finally, I just noticed at Gradschools.com--click on the menu to the left fir "distance" gradschools--that Michigan State University offers an online Criminal Justice Master's. WOW. (FYI for the future.) --Orson
