Thanks for taking a look at my thread! I have just recently purchased Bears' Guide (kudos to him and degreeinfo!) and have been lurking on here for a while, also surfed many links posted by members of this board via searches. I am planning a career change into law enforcement and I would like to complete a degree for promotion benefits as well as education for my new career path. My 'stats' are: 24 of so credit hours from a RA community college 10 years ago 6 years military exp. I'm considering a criminal justice degree and looks like I am going to need a DL college that can provide a full degree course, not a degree completion as I will no doubt be short on requirements. I do desire a RA college as I will pursue a masters down the road. Only one I can find so far is Columbia College of MO. But, this college is not listed in Bears' guide (15th edition). Is anyone aware of any other colleges that might fit my needs? Is anyone familiar-knows-heard-rumors about Columbia? Any and all replies welcome and much appreciated!
There are several options for an undergrad degree in Criminal Justice. A few off the top of my head; Roger Williams University - B.S. in Criminal Justice Thomas Edison State College - B.S. in Human Services, concentration in Administration of Justice Washington State University - B.A. in Criminal Justice, or B.A. in Social Sciences with a concentration in Criminal Justice. Bruce
Thanks for the reply Bruce. Roger Williams requires campus located instruction. Thomas Edison requires current work experience or significant volunteer experience in their major area of study. And WSU is a degree completion program. I really need a complete degree program with NR. Perhaps what I'm looking for is not possible? Seems that the vast majority of Criminal Justice BS/BA degrees I can find are usually some sort of degree completion program, or require some residency requirement. Any thoughts?
Ollie: Columbia-Missouri is legit, RA, etc., etc. If it works, why not? Find out about the Ivy Chain ceremony, though--it seems important.
Ollie, As far as the degree completion programs go (there is one at indiana state too), you know (according to Excelsior's distance course database) there are many DL criminal justice courses and many different institutions. Just take your lower level course at different places and then apply to a degree completion program to finish the upper level courses. In the database results for criminal justice, there are also many upper level courses as well. So, if you were interested in doing the whole degree through different schools, you could apply the credits towards a BS in criminal justice @ Excelsior, TESC (unless they actually REQUIRE you to have CJ EXPERIENCE to apply), and COSC (if they have a criminal justice program). Were you an MP/PMO/whatever in the military? I am sure you know alot of the MOS schools and occupations are ACE accredited. Hope this helps! Best Regards, Bill
Thanks for the replies. Bill: I had considered that worst case I could do what you suggested (gather lower level courses from various schools), but before I went down that road I wanted to be sure I could not complete everything under one roof for less hassle and convenience. You mentioned Excelsior, it is my understanding that they will consolidate your credits and assist you in finding courses that a student still needs. Have I got that right? So if I was to go the "get'em where I can" route perhaps allowing Excelsior to do the leg work for me would be better. I was in intelligence in the army, not sure how my training would transfer, but again Excelsior would more than likely be the way to go there wouldn't it? Uncle Janko: I agree, trying to find out more info via phone/email. However, I cannot seem to locate any info on the Ivory Chain ceremony?
Ollie, Here's the deal on Excelsior's programs. Yes, they will assist you in finding courses that will apply to the degree. I have an AAS in Technical Studies from Excelsior and am looking into a BS in Physics from them as well. Now, as far as applying your Army intelligence MOS to the degree. If it is ACE accredited odds are it will squeeze into the elective area of the BSCJ. This degree is based on the liberal arts template they use for all the majors in the liberal arts catalog. There is a technology/career/professional component (or something similar) elective section. If they took your MOS credits, it would probably be applied to this section. My MOS was in avionics, and they said it would be put into professional electives area. Take a look at the LA catalog and look at the CJ major guidline. If some of the course guidlines look obvious (intro to criminlogy or something similar) then, maybe take it BEFORE you enroll. Of course, you risk the chance of taking a course that does not apply to the degree, however, if you plan right, you could avoid paying renrollement fees at Excelsior.. (because of the lack of course at excelsior they get their money from enrollment fees) Hope this helps. Bill
No, no it's the Ivy Chain not the Ivory Chain. I dunno either but it seems to be a big deal; maybe they mail leaves to DL students and tie up the residentials. It's on their website but they're kinda vague about it. Now if it were the Ivory Chain the French would interfere with it... (sorry). Seriously, the school goes back a long way and has a decent reputation in the area. If you want a regular degree rather than degree-completion it might work well for you.
Thanks to all for the advice. I'm going to do a little more research on finishing some lower level courses to open a few more options by allowing myself into degree completion programs offering BS/BA's. Question: I just don't feel I will need the regular traditional schedule term for some of the courses I need. On the other had I do not feel confident enough to try and CLEP them either. So can anyone suggest some RA colleges where I can control my own speed for the completion of the course? Thanks.
Well, doing a little more research on CCoM I discovered that they are on a 8 week course schedule. Just about what I was looking for. So seems like everything is falling into place for me. While they might not take my Army MOS into consideration, it is posted on their site that they do take Law Enforcement POST certification under review for elective hours, which I also have. So I think I'm in pretty good shape. Time will tell. I have applied and will call them Mon about my MOS etc. If anyone comes upoun this thread in a search and wishes to ask me about Columbia College of Missouri feel free to email me direct via my profile. Thanks again to all for the advice!
One more thing (serious). Columbia College (Missouri) was known as Christian College until about 1970, if there are any other old-timers with information. Ollie, I'm glad it looks like a good option for you. Best wishes as you pursue your degree, whether it's at CC or somewhere else.
Thanks for the info, I was hoping that I could find someone else on here with first hand experience Columbia. Anyone? I phoned admissions Fri and while the lady seemed in a big hurry and not very informed she was very nice. She confirmed for me that the entire degree, to include lower level courses are available online. So far I am very excited about the program. Just not sure why the college did not make the Bears' Guide. It would solidify things even further for me if they where. They have offered DL courses since 2000 I believe. But their BA in CJ program appears to be brand new, could that be why? Mr. Bear?
