Someone who is taking the BSIT degree here tell me how it is? These guys are accredited by an RA agency right?
There are four "brick and mortar" campuses in the University of Massachusetts system: Amherst, Boston, Lowell and Dartmouth. As the main component of the Massachusetts state college system, I can assure you it is accredited. They have an excellent website that connects all four campuses, check it out. It probably will answer most of your questions. BTW, it's UMass not Umass (a hanging offense in these parts ;^) ) Jack
If you're talking about UMass Amherst, it is one of the top engineering schools in the U.S. (and is RA-accredited, too). (So are the Lowell, Dartmouth and Boston campi.) They have video-taped graduate degree programs (VIP program), but I'm not aware of any totally-DL BS programs. Their Univ. Without Walls is mostly an evening/weekend/remote campus program. Via what campus is the BSIT offered?
Zar, You probably refer to the distance learning BSIT program at UMass Lowell. I am working on a second bachelor's degree through this program so I can speak with some familiarity. I transferred into UML from another online BS CIS program and I have really been impressed. It is well organized and the faculty I've had have been knowledgeable and very helpful. I had one problem which was addressed quickly and to my satisfaction. I know that some shy away because the program is offered through Continuing Ed which is sort of like a night school but I doubt this will ever be an issue. I have a friend who graduated from something like the College of General Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and no one has ever questioned his Ivy League degree. I'm not exactly sure what you would like information about. If you post specific questions I'll try to address them.
Hi, This is the same Zarich at a different computer. Yes it is the uMass lowell degree I refer to. What do you mean by continuing ed? It seems to be a total D/L degree to me. My main question is about software. I am currently considering this vs. uMuc and Franklin. What I want to be is a software engineer. Do you think this program will work for that? I guess my main concern is the title. Its a BS in IT and not a BSCS.
This is a university governance issue. Universities are typically comprised of a set of colleges and schools. Larger colleges like 'arts and sciences' or 'education' contain any number of individual departments. A typical university college of arts and sciences might include departments of math, english, sociology, chemistry and so forth. A college of education might include departments of educational psychology, curriculum and design, ed administratin and the like. Schools are dedicated toward an individual specialty like law, journalism or social work. Some universties create a separate entity for programs geared toward part-timers which is the case in UML's online BS. As regards your question about Franklin and UMUC. I transferred into UML from UMUC. I was not impressed by the BS CIS program; UML has my vote. Franklin may well be a great school but in the late 60s when I was getting my undergraduate degree at Ohio State, it had the reputation as the place you went when you flunked out of OSU. As I mentioned in an earlier post Franklin has established tranfer linkage with Illinos community colleges so I expect it passes muster.
So the only difference is that this is a seperate dept handling the cybered? That doesnt bother me at all. I have a question for you. I noticed their classes all have class times. Do you have to be there at those times? Im on the west coast so a class time of 530 for them is into work time for me. How do you feel about the classes. Such as any programming classes. Do you feel they know their stuff? Is the education thorough? Since this would be my first BS do you see this as a positive step towards getting me a job in the IT industry. In other words will employers.. specifical software employers see this degree in a positive light?
The times you see reflected are for weekly chats with the instructor. Which have been a bonus for me as they provide the chance for realtime instruction. Chat is optional but when you're having trouble with a concept it circumvents e-mail tag. My instructors at UML have uniformly been great about quick e-mail turnaround time, in any event. I once waited two weeks for a reply at UMUC. Regarding the quality of the instruction in the programming courses, I think it's good but I'm not a computer professional. I'm a psychologist doing this for avocational interests. Well, partly job-related. I find the courses challenging but I should share something that I've found to be the case at both UML and UMUC which is that not all online programming students are created equally. There are a lot of gifted programmers who skipped undergrad who take these courses for credit toward the degree. In many cases they could teach the course. Or, you may find that a number of the students are mid-career BSCS or BSEE types taking the course for continuing education purposes. The net effect is that it can make it difficult for the truly neophyte learner to peer over the fence to even see the playing field. One of my beefs with the UMUC CMIS department came about when this became a problem and the Chair refused to acknowledge and deal with it. I, along with the other neophyte learners in one programming course, were left hanging out to dry. ON the other hand, I struggled with the Visual C++ course at UML because the onramp was pretty steep and my plea was heeded immediately. I have found UML to be extremely student-centered where at UMUC it was every man for himself. As regards the marketability of this degree, I just don't know how to advise you. It is my sincere belief that the education is good but I'm not in the IT business and I believe no advice is preferrable to bad advice. My suggestion is that you sign up for one course and see what you think. If you have some programming experience go for 267; if not, I think the course you want to take is 211. If UML isn't for you move elsewhere as I did.
